Nursing Doctoral Degree Requirements

Faculty | Master's | Doctoral | Courses

Ph.D. in Nursing

Program Objectives and Course of Study

The purpose of the Ph.D. in Nursing Program is to develop doctorally prepared nurse researchers, scholars, and educators who will be able to advance nursing knowledge and improve nursing practice; synthesize knowledge from nursing and other disciplines to address complex

health problems; and be leaders in nursing research and nursing education.

Graduates will be beginning-level researchers with a strong foundation in inquiry in the areas of clinical nursing research or health services research who can assume research and faculty roles in schools of nursing or centers of nursing research. Upon successful completion of the program, students are awarded the Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Description of the Program

The Ph.D. Program graduates will have three major areas of expertise: knowledge of the discipline of nursing; knowledge of a clinical or practice population; and strategies of research and scholarship, such as grant writing and publication.

They will think critically and lead the profession and public to policies which promote health. To achieve this expertise, students will be educated didactically, through course work, seminars, and tutorials, and experientially, through grant writing, and independent research. The program consists of a minimum of 57 credit hours including 12 credits in nursing knowledge and theory development, 15 credits in research statistics, 12 credits in electives, and 18 credits for the dissertation. Elective credits are distributed so that students select six credits in advanced nursing electives and six credits in cognates (non-nursing courses). The remaining three credits are for an advanced methods course that corresponds to a student's dissertation research. Students are also required to successfully complete a qualifying examination, comprehensive examination, dissertation proposal defense, and defense of the completed dissertation. The program is designed to be completed in three years of full-time study that includes two years of course work and one year for the dissertation. There is a one-year residency requirement.

Admission Policies

Decisions regarding admission to the doctoral program are based on an overall appraisal of applicants' abilities to undertake doctoral study and of their potential contribution to nursing science as evidenced in the following:

1. Official transcripts from colleges or universities attended.

2. Graduate grade point average of 3.0 or better.

3. Master's degree in nursing from a nationally accredited School of Nursing.

4. Acceptable verbal and quantitative scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) taken in the past five years.

5. Two letters of recommendation.

6. Two examples of scholarly writing (e.g., publications, scholarly papers).

7. A clinical research focus congruent with that of a faculty sponsor.

8. Completed application forms with fee.

9. Participation in an admission interview.

Further information may be obtained from:
Master's and Ph.D. Program Office, School of Nursing, 229 Arnold House, University of Massachusetts, Box 30420, Amherst, MA 01003-0420, tel. (413) 545-1302.