Doctor of Philosophy
The PhD program prepares nurse scholars for educational leadership roles and is based on the belief that nursing is a professional discipline with its unique role and body of knowledge.
The graduate is a practitioner who applies rigorous methods of disciplined inquiry to scholarship, teaching, and service to the profession and society. As a leader in education, the graduate synthesizes nursing science and higher education knowledge to advance nursing education.
The course of study consists of three related units designed to prepare competent scholarly nurse educators. Unit One emphasizes nursing science: philosophy, epistemology, theoretical thinking, and knowledge synthesis, as well as nursing theory and nursing science development. Unit Two is related to general and nursing education. It consists of specialized courses in contemporary nursing education, curriculum development, teaching concepts, and evaluation methods. Unit Three addresses qualitative and quantitative design, statistical analysis, and data interpretation. Students develop and implement a dissertation proposal that will contribute to the scientific basis of nursing education.
Applicants to the PhD program must have a master’s degree in nursing from an accredited school.
Students complete at least 48 credits of approved doctoral coursework beyond the master’s degree in nursing and pass a comprehensive examination prior to beginning dissertation research.
Application Deadlines
- March 15
- July 15
- November 15
Program of Study
| Level I |
| NURS 702 |
Nursing Science I: Epistemology |
3 |
| NURS 705 |
Psychology of Learning |
3 |
| NURS 706 |
Philosophy of Education |
3 |
| NURS 816 |
Quantitative Research I: Correlational Designs |
3 |
| NURS 817 |
Quantitative Research II: Experimental Designs |
3 |
| Level II |
| NURS 720 |
Curriculum Theory in Nursing |
3 |
| NURS 750 |
Evaluation Methods |
3 |
| NURS 813 |
Nursing Science II: Synthesis in Nursing |
3 |
| NURS 815 |
Qualitative Research |
3 |
| NURS XXX |
Elective |
3 |
| Level III |
| NURS 814 |
Nursing Science III: Theory Development in Nursing |
3 |
| NURS 820 |
Current Issues in Higher Education Organization |
3 |
| NURS 853 |
Teaching in Nursing |
3 |
| Comprehensive Examination |
| NURS 900 |
Dissertation Seminar I |
3 |
| NURS 901 |
Dissertation Seminar II |
3 |
| TOTAL CREDITS: |
48 |
| NURS 950 |
Dissertation Advisement
This course must be taken each fall, spring, and summer until the dissertation is completed. |
3+ |