Best PhD in Nursing Programs

Nursing PhD programs require the applicant to have a minimum GPA of 3.0 - 3.5, depending on the program (based on a 4.0 scale). Application materials include a curriculum vitae or resume, and your college transcripts for any previous undergraduate or graduate work. GRE scores are usually optional but can be submitted if one does not meet the GPA requirement. Individuals whose native language is not English will need to submit their TOEFL scores or otherwise demonstrate proof of English proficiency. Some programs will also ask for a writing sample, which can be a publication or a graded paper from your undergraduate coursework.

You will also need three letters of recommendation. It is best if these letters are recent and come from individuals who can judge your academic performance and from those who can judge your professional performance.

And you will need a personal statement or statement of research interests. This statement should detail your interest in pursuing a nursing PhD by stating your motivation, research goals and what you hope to do upon completion of your degree. Should your application be under consideration, you will be invited to a formal interview.

The ability to perform healthcare-related research can be developed through a variety of pathways and not only through a traditional nursing track. For instance, PhD nursing programs will accept students who hold master's in public health (MPH) degrees or an academic background in healthcare administration. These non-nursing backgrounds can prepare the applicant for success in a nursing PhD program, which is why many programs will accept non-nursing educational backgrounds. However, some programs will determine eligibility of non-nursing applicants on a case-by-case basis. The completion of a BSN or MSN will satisfy educational requirements for all nursing PhD programs, and students with a nursing background will have to provide copies of their registered nurse (RN) license. Some schools even have BSN-PhD programs or dual MSN/PhD options.

Applicants with a non-nursing master's degree or other eligible doctoral degrees can typically apply some of those credits toward their nursing PhD.

As with any graduate degree program, academic quality is critical to a fruitful learning experience and to the advancement of your career. Accreditation is important because it provides the applicant with some assurance that the program to which they are applying meets certain quality standards and helps the institution hold itself accountable to the goals it sets for itself. Accreditation also allows for comparability between programs offered from different institutions.

For nursing programs, the two main accreditation bodies are the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). Both bodies are recognized by the US Department of Education as accreditation agencies. The ACEN accredits all levels of nursing programs throughout the US and internationally, while the CCNE accredits nursing baccalaureate and master's programs throughout the US.

CCNE has four standards that the applicant institution must meet, while ACEN has six. In general, the standards will focus on the commitment to core values by the institution's administration as well as the resources made available to support students and to ensure that faculty have the appropriate qualifications to successfully teach nursing PhD students. In addition, the curriculum of the nursing PhD will be evaluated as well as outcomes, which is the measurement of student achievement in completing the coursework and the PhD dissertation.

A nursing PhD typically takes 3 to 5 years and depends on how many credits are required for graduation and how fast the student can complete their dissertation. Students with MSNs or other graduate degrees may have fulfilled some of the required credits with their previous degrees compared to those entering a program with a BSN.

Typically, the first year is spent on core classwork, while the second year is spent on electives. These are spread across the fall, spring and summer semesters and can be taken online or in person.

By the third year, students focus on their dissertation, which can take another 1 to 3 years to complete.

Overall, one can expect to complete 50 to 90 credit hours of study and dissertation work.

Exact curricula will vary slightly from program to program, but in general, students can expect a mix of course work focusing on professional development, research methods, nursing theory and a variety of electives. Unlike the DNP, a nursing PhD is not clinical, so no clinical hours are required, and the focus is classwork and research.

Most programs include core classes in two broad areas - the theory behind nursing science and research methods. Doctoral-level education will always contain some amount of instruction on the foundations of knowledge for the discipline and a nursing PhD is no different. When writing your dissertation, it will be important to understand the ethics in conducting research, how to collect and interpret data, and how to analyze data, which will involve statistics classes.

Electives can include coursework on topics such as health policy, writing or teaching and might be selected based on the student's interest in a potential career path after completing their PhD. For example, if you are interested in an academic position, you may take electives focused on teaching and grant writing, while a position in the industry may include electives on healthcare law or policy.

Preparing Your Nursing Dissertation

After your coursework is complete, you will perform the research for your dissertation. And you will first establish a dissertation chair and a committee that will ultimately evaluate your work. Each institution will have its specific policies governing the selection of your dissertation committee, and the changing of committee membership, but typically your committee is drawn from graduate tenure-track faculty.

The next step is selecting your dissertation topic and seeking approval from your dissertation committee. In this step, you would draft a proposal and present and defend your proposal during a qualifying exam. And once approved, you move on to conducting research.

After your research is complete, you then draft your dissertation per the institution's policies - items like document formatting, how to cite references and how to submit your official copies. The last step is to present your work to your committee during an oral defense, with your committee voting on whether to approve your dissertation. Your committee may have suggestions for edits or ask you to repeat some of your research. After making whatever edits or modifications were requested, the student will resubmit their dissertation for final approval.

If you are considering the nursing field, but are not ready for the PhD, there are other options, ranging from an associate to the master's degree levels. In addition to the nursing PhD, there are other doctoral-level nursing degrees and related non-nursing doctoral degrees worth mentioning:

• PhD in Public Health. While this is not a nursing degree, some of the research methodologies and data analysis are similar.
• PhD in Human Services. These fields of study consist of disciplines like social work, counseling or gerontology. The same commitment to healthcare and level of compassion for patients as you would have for a nursing PhD is needed for a PhD in these fields.
• PhD in Health Science. This is a somewhat broad description for a field of study, but it has a lot in common with a PhD in nursing, where you aim to improve healthcare delivery at a high level, not just through nursing alone.
• PhD in Health Administration. This degree does require previous health care experience that could come from being an RN, but the outcome for this field of study is to become an administrator in a healthcare setting.
• Doctorate in nursing education. This degree can be a nursing PhD or a DNP or even a Doctor of Education (EdD). Regardless of the path, this training is to focus solely on teaching.
• DNP in Nursing Informatics. This degree deals with managing information and information systems. If you are interested in nursing and technology, this could be a degree for you, and it could lead to a leadership position in nursing.

Nursing Associate Degrees

If you want to become a registered nurse (RN), you can get your start by completing an associate degree in nursing (ADN) or an associate of science in nursing (ASN) degree. Both degrees are the minimum amount of training you need to become an RN. These programs typically take around 2 years; many qualify you to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) RN exam, which you must pass to be licensed as an RN.

To enter an ADN or ASN program, you will typically need a high school diploma or GED as well as some prerequisite science classes like chemistry and biology. High school GPA requirements will vary from program to program, but you will typically need to have taken the SAT.

You can expect to take coursework related to the foundations of nursing, microbiology, and chemistry. You may also have to spend some time at a healthcare facility to obtain the required number of clinical hours (this can vary by state).

If you start your career in nursing with the ADN/ASN and you think that you might want to progress to teaching at the college level someday, you could consider becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant Teacher to gain some valuable teaching experience.

Nursing Bachelor's Degrees

After completing an ADN or ASN degree, you can count those credits toward a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. Many nursing schools have what is known as the RN-BSN route, where you expand upon your ASN / ADN coursework by taking classes in anatomy and physiology, emergency care, pharmacology, public health, and additional classes on nursing foundational topics.

You can also pursue a BSN straight out of high school, where eligibility requirements are likely to include minimum GPAs. You can expect to take all the same classes that you would in the ASN / ADN or RN-to-BSN route and this would include clinical hours. After completing your degree, you would then sit for the NCLEX-RN exam to become a licensed RN.

Finally, there is the accelerated BSN option. This is for students who have completed a bachelor's degree in a different field of study. This accelerated path will expose you to the same course work as the RN-to-BSN or the traditional BSN routes, but allow you to carry over credits from a prior bachelor's degree.

A BSN can enable you to work in more specialized areas, such as pediatrics, public health or the ICU and surgery.

Nursing Master's Degrees

The next step in nursing education would be the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree. You can take the RN-MSN route, which allows you to pursue the MSN degree after a few years of work as an RN without having to obtain a BSN or other bachelor's degree first. Or you can enroll in a traditional MSN program after completing a BSN or other bachelor's degree.

The course work and enrollment requirements are like those required for a BSN, except you will take higher-level classes that will train you on how to be an advanced practice nurse. For instance, you may take classes on diagnosing illness and prescribing medications or in the administration of patient care. You will also be exposed to research in nursing. This higher-level coursework reflects the outcome of completing an MSN, where you will be able to take positions in nursing leadership or administration in a variety of healthcare settings.

MSN programs typically take another 2 to 4 years depending on other previous degrees and coursework you possess.

Nursing Graduate Certificates

Nurses who wish to specialize in a specific field can choose to complete a graduate certificate after earning their master's degree. For instance, you can become a certified nurse-midwife (CNM). These certificates are highly focused and can typically be completed in under a year. For instance, you might expect to take 15 to 20 credits across two semesters.

As with most careers in healthcare, the outlook for nurses with PhD is very good and there will be a wide array of career options available to you. Career paths exist in academia, healthcare providers and the pharmaceutical industry. And depending on your chosen career path, the nursing doctorate salary can reach a six-figure income as you progress through your career.

Become a Nursing Teacher

Nursing PhDs who pursue a career in academia will conduct research, often supported by grants, and may have teaching responsibilities. As a researcher, you will publish your findings in peer-reviewed journals and will have the opportunity to mentor undergraduate nursing students and graduate students pursuing their PhD in nursing. Teaching is a very important part of this career path, and some nursing PhDs focus solely on teaching. Teaching is in very high demand, given that there is a shortage of nursing educators. This in turn creates a shortage of nurses (RNs) by limiting the number of students that can be accommodated with too few faculty members to teach them. Many qualified nursing applicants are turned away for this reason. To be successful in this career path, you must enjoy conducting research and teaching. According to PayScale.com, graduates who take on an academic role can expect to earn between $73,000 and $102,000 as a professor.

Become a Research Director at a Healthcare Facility

You can use your PhD in nursing to obtain a position in the nursing research department in a healthcare facility. The institution may want to know the best way to improve some aspects of patient care like controlling blood glucose. The Director of Nursing Research would lead a study to determine the best process to lead to the optimal level of care. You would often lead junior research staff who might be RNs and review and analyze data and ensure that the study protocol was followed. To be successful in this role, you would have to be skilled with working with many different types of people in different roles throughout the organization and have some people leadership skills. Salary for this type of role will vary based on the size and type of organization as well as its location. However, you can expect it to be comparable to the salary of other doctoral-level nursing positions at the same institution.

Become a Director of Clinical Services

Nursing PhDs also use their degree to direct clinical services. You can think of this role as one that is more operational than one involving research. In this role, you are responsible for maintaining high-quality clinical service to patients in a healthcare setting. You will be involved in managing staff, including providing for their continuing education, maintaining compliance with applicable regulations. While non-PhDs could occupy this role, nursing PhDs would bring a unique perspective to such a role and would be skilled innovators in improving clinical service delivery. To be successful in this role, you must have good people management skills and the ability to interact with individuals in other roles and different skill sets. The commitment to providing great clinical care applies to this role and all others occupied by nursing PhDs.

There are dozens if not hundreds of state, national and international professional organizations dedicated to nursing or some sub-specialty of nursing.

Among the largest and oldest is the American Nurses Association (ANA). Founded in 1896, and with a membership of 4 million, the ANA serves as an advocate for nursing careers and in public policy related to nursing in healthcare. Only RNs are eligible to join the ANA and membership includes benefits such as career and networking opportunities and continuing education through national and regional meetings and online content.

The National Student Nurses' Association (NSNA) is a 60,000 strong organization founded in 1952 to promote professional development in nursing students. To join the NSNA, you need only be enrolled in a nursing or -pre-nursing program and membership benefits include career and networking events, educational tools, and preparation resources for exams such as the NCLEX-RN and scholarship opportunities.

And for nursing PhDs, the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) may be an organization of interest after gaining some experience in your career. The AAN has nearly 3000 members and most members have nursing PhDs. Members are known as fellows and must be sponsored by two existing fellows for acceptance. The organization is dedicated to advancing health policy for the benefit of patients and nurses and fellows participate in panels as experts within their expertise.

The total cost of a nursing PhD can vary depending on how many credits are carried over from a previous degree. For example, a student with an MSN may require fewer credits than a student entering the PhD program with a BSN or non-nursing bachelor's degree. In addition, whether you are getting in-state or out-of-state tuition can have a significant impact on the total cost.

Cost per credit can vary from $485 to over $2000 per credit. Total cost per year, including credits and other fees, can range from $30,000 to nearly $50,000. These do not include other costs like travel and personal expenses.

Scholarships & Funding Opportunities for a Nursing Doctorate

There are several funding options for nursing PhD students. One can apply for financial aid, grants or student loans. But there are many options for support that do not require you to go into debt. There are several sources of funding that are oriented for nurses pursuing their PhD. These programs may be broadly supportive of nursing education or target specific therapeutic areas. Some sources of funding geared toward nursing PhD students are listed here:

• The nurse faculty loan program will forgive student loan debt (up to 85%) in exchange for a nursing PhD to teach at the college level for four years. This program seeks to encourage nursing PhDs to pursue a career in teaching.
• The Jonas Nurse Scholars Program supports students seeking nursing doctorates, including the PhD as a way of investing in the future of healthcare in the US by investing in future healthcare leaders. This scholarship covers tuition and supports graduate assistantships at a total value of over $30,000.
• The Hartford Foundation funds a scholarship program through the American Academy of Nursing and provides over $100,000 of support and is aimed at attracting nurses to an academic career in geriatric medicine.
• The Oncology Nursing Society offers one-time unrestricted grants of $3000 - $5000 and research grants of $10,000 to encourage PhD nurses to focus on oncology.

In addition to nurse-specific grants, some graduate programs will provide financial support to their nursing PhD students in the form of graduate fellowships and teaching assistantships with tuition remission. In most cases, a stipend is provided too for living expenses.