Nursing Ph.D. Doctoral Program Goals

The goal of advancing nursing knowledge must be grounded in respect for the dignity of the individual human being. It must also emerge from principles and methods of scientific inquiry and an examination of nursing actions within nursing environments. The process for reaching this goal is provided in a core of required courses that address the theoretical and empirical basis for nursing and the substantive construction of research and theory to guide nursing practice.

The program design allows students to expand upon prior educational endeavors through a variety of individually selected learning experiences. Scholarly electives provide additional flexibility to plan a program of study that strengthens dissertation, research, and career goals. Depth of knowledge in the research interest area is developed through the combination of required coursework, elective courses, research residency (an immersion in activities with a research-active faculty mentor), independent study and the dissertation process.