PhD in Nursing
The purpose of the Doctor of Philosophy in nursing program is to prepare nursing researchers and scholars to explore, develop, and move forward the scientific body of knowledge in nursing practice, administration/management, and education. Students will develop critical and analytical skills from in-depth study of advanced nursing, social, and behavioral sciences. They will learn to synthesize information from a range of sources (for example published literature, health statistics, national and local policy documents) to enable them to generate new ideas and make an original contribution to nursing knowledge. Developments in nursing science and health care will emerge from research. Dissertation research will prepare graduates to expand knowledge and advance professional practice to the frontiers of nursing. Graduates of the program will use innovative thinking to develop research questions, and will select and apply appropriate research methods to solve problems empirically, thereby expanding the evidence base of nursing. The program will develop in its students a range of specific and transferable skills which will be required by leaders of the nursing profession in public and private health care organizations, and to make a major contribution to health care policy development, education, research, and administration.