diff --git a/examples/new_project_templates/single_gpu_node_ddp_template.py b/examples/new_project_templates/single_gpu_node_ddp_template.py
index 95f69266..b5966a0e 100644
--- a/examples/new_project_templates/single_gpu_node_ddp_template.py
+++ b/examples/new_project_templates/single_gpu_node_ddp_template.py
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ def main(hparams):
         checkpoint_callback=checkpoint,
         early_stop_callback=early_stop,
         gpus=hparams.gpus,
-        distributed_backend='ddp'
+        distributed_backend=hparams.dist_backend
     )
 
     # ------------------------
@@ -95,6 +95,8 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
     parent_parser.add_argument('--gpus', type=str, default='-1',
                                help='how many gpus to use in the node.'
                                     ' value -1 uses all the gpus on the node')
+    parent_parser.add_argument('--dist_backend', type=str, default='ddp',
+                                help='When using multiple GPUs set Trainer(distributed_backend=dp) (or ddp)')     
     parent_parser.add_argument('--test_tube_save_path', type=str, default=test_tube_dir,
                                help='where to save logs')
     parent_parser.add_argument('--model_save_path', type=str, default=checkpoint_dir,