Ulf Bronas, Ph.D., ATC, FSVM, FAHA
Associate Dean for Research
Edilma L. Yearwood, PhD, RN, PMHCNS-BC, FISPN, FAAN
Professor and Program Director
The Ph.D. in Nursing program is a full time on campus programs that prepares nurse scientists and scholars to be ethical leaders engaged in rigorous inquiry, scholarship, and dissemination focused on transformative advocacy and knowledge generation. Graduates will be prepared to serve in academic, community health, healthcare, policy, global, and research settings.
Academic Policies
Additional academic policies governing the Ph.D. program can be found in the program handbook.
In Year 2 (summer semester), Thesis Research and Written Comprehensive Examination are required. In Year 3, Dissertation Proposal Defense NURP 9999 and Dissertation Research are required. In Year 4,
Dissertation Research NURP 9999 s required.
Program Requirements
To earn the Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing, students must complete 44 credits of coursework, pass the written comprehensive exam, pass the oral qualifying exam, and write and successfully defend a dissertation.
Plan of Study Grid
| Year One |
|---|
| Fall |
|---|
|
1 |
|
2 |
|
3 |
|
1 |
| | Credits | 7 |
| Spring |
|---|
|
3 |
|
3 |
|
3 |
|
1 |
|
0 |
| | Credits | 10 |
| Summer |
|---|
|
3 |
|
3 |
| | Credits | 6 |
| Year Two |
|---|
| Fall |
|---|
|
3 |
|
3 |
|
3 |
|
1 |
| | Credits | 10 |
| Spring |
|---|
|
3 |
|
3 |
|
3 |
|
2 |
| | Credits | 11 |
| Summer |
|---|
|
3 |
|
|
|
|
| | Credits | 3 |
| Year Three |
|---|
|
|
|
|
| | Credits | 0 |
| Year Four |
|---|
|
|
| | Credits | 0 |
| | Total Credits | 47 |
Required Examinations
Comprehensive Examination
Students who have completed all coursework with at B average are eligible to take the comprehensive examination. The written exam is a take home, open book examination that covers coursework covered in doctoral studies. Students are provided with a list of 10 questions and must answer at least six questions.
To pass the exam, students must correctly answer all questions. Students who fail one question will pass pending mandatory remediation, and students who fail two or more questions will fail the examination.
Qualifying Examination
Once a student has completed all coursework and passed the Comprehensive Examination, they are eligible to take the Qualifying Examination—an oral exam that comprises the defense of the dissertation proposal. Students must provide the written proposal prior to the examination.
For the exam, students do not need to present the proposal. Students should expect to answer questions on all aspects of the proposal, including methods utilized in the proposal and basic scientific principles.
Thesis Requirements
During the third and fourth years of the program, the student devotes the majority of their time and efforts to original research and to the preparation of the doctoral dissertation. While carrying out dissertation research, the student may, with the instructor’s and Dissertation Chair’s permission, also enroll in courses with subjects of particular relevance to their dissertation research. At the conclusion of the dissertation research and the writing of the dissertation, the student will complete a formal Dissertation Defense.
