Examples of Possible Careers*

Contact Information

• Student Services: Teresa Adams | tadams27@kent.edu | 330-672-8761
• Chat with an Admissions Counselor

Fully Offered

• Delivery:
  • In person
• Location:
  • Kent Campus

Admission Terms

• Fall
• Spring

_*Note

^{Source of occupation titles and labor data is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. Data comprises projected percent change in employment over the next 10 years; nation-wide employment numbers; and the yearly median wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.}

Description

The Ph.D. degree in Nursing prepares nurse scientists to develop methods to advance health, health care and the nursing profession. Graduates are expected to lead and promote interprofessional innovative scholarly endeavors and to assume leadership roles in the profession.

Admission Requirements

• Active, unrestricted U.S. registered nurse license (international students need to show proof of legal ability to practice as a registered nurse in country of origin)
• Bachelor's or master's degree in nursing or related field, or a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, from an accredited program¹
• Minimum overall 3.000 graduate GPA on a 4.000-point scale
• Official transcript(s)
• GRE scores (must be less than five years old at the time of application) - effective for fall 2023 admissions, GRE scores will no longer be required
• Résumé or curriculum vitae
• Essay (two pages, single-spaced) addressing the following questions:
  • Why do you want to pursue a Ph.D. in nursing?
  • What are your professional goals?
  • How have you been involved in research, publications and professional presentations?
  • How have you been involved in professional organizations?
  • What are your research interests?
  • Why are you interested in these research areas?
  • How could research—and specifically your research—in these areas advance science?
• Sample of written work - effective for fall 2023 admissions, sample will no longer be required
• Three letters of reference from health care professionals or academic faculty members who can speak to the applicant's professional and academic abilities (two of the three references from doctoral-prepared individuals are preferred)
• Interview
• English language proficiency - all international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions) by earning one of the following:²
  • Minimum 560 TOEFL PBT score (paper-based version)
  • Minimum 83 TOEFL IBT score (Internet-based version)
  • Minimum78 MELAB score
  • Minimum 6.5 IELTS score
  • Minimum 55 PTE score
  • Minimum 110 Duolingo English Test score

For more information about graduate admissions, visit the graduate admission website. For more information on international admissions, visit the international admission website.

¹

A bachelor's degree in a closely related health field may be considered if the applicant has a master's degree in nursing or a D.N.P. degree from an accredited program. A master's degree in a closely related field may be considered if the applicant has a bachelor's degree in nursing from an accredited program.

²

International applicants who do not meet the above test scores may be considered for conditional admission.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates from this program will be able to:

1. Generate new knowledge that contributes to the advancement of health, health care and nursing science.
2. Disseminate advances in scientific knowledge.
3. Use collaborative, interdisciplinary and innovative approaches to knowledge generation.
4. Assume leadership roles in health care and education as researchers, educators and advanced clinicians.
5. Serve as stewards of the body of knowledge for the discipline of nursing.

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
Major Requirements (min B grade in all courses)
NURS 70710	HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING SCIENCE	2
NURS 70711	SCIENTIFIC WRITING	2
NURS 70712	RESEARCH DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS	2
NURS 70713	ADVANCED STATISTICS I	2
NURS 70714	LEADERSHIP FOR NURSING SCIENCE	3
NURS 70715	THEORY CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT IN NURSING	3
NURS 70740	ADVANCED STATISTICS II	3
NURS 70741	ADVANCED STATISTICS III	3
NURS 70742	ADVANCED QUALITATIVE METHODS FOR HEALTH SCIENCES	4
NURS 70743	ADVANCED QUANTITATIVE METHODS FOR HEALTH SCIENCES	4
NURS 70744	PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT	3
NURS 70791	VARIABLE CONTENT SEMINAR: EMERGING ISSUES IN NURSING SCIENCE AND RESEARCH	3
NURS 70798	RESEARCH IN NURSING	3
Electives, two courses chosen in consultation with faculty advisor 2		6
Culminating Requirement
NURS 80199	DISSERTATION I 1	30
Minimum Total Credit Hours:		73

¹

Each doctoral candidate, upon admission to candidacy, must register for NURS 80199 for a total of 30 credit hours. It is expected that a doctoral candidate will continuously register for Dissertation I, and thereafter NURS 80299, each semester, until all requirements for the degree have been met.

²

Elective courses support the student's research interest and are selected with the approval of the student's academic advisor. Two 3-credit hour doctoral-level courses will supplement the student's program of study in a substantive area of research or specific method of research, including advanced statistical approaches, or assist the student with career goals following graduation.

Candidacy Examination

At the conclusion of coursework, students sit for the candidacy examination. The examination provides the basis for evaluation of the student’s readiness for completing the dissertation. Students must successfully pass candidacy and a proposal defense before beginning dissertation work.

---

Graduation Requirements

• Minimum B grade in all courses. If a course must be repeated, the student cannot take other courses that require that course as a prerequisite until the course is successfully retaken. If the student retakes the course and does not earn a minimum B grade, the student may be dismissed from the Ph.D. degree.
• Passage of the candidacy examination
• Submission and successful defense of a dissertation

Roadmap

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this major. However, courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

Plan of Study Grid

Semester One		Credits
NURS 70710	HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING SCIENCE	2
NURS 70711	SCIENTIFIC WRITING	2
NURS 70712	RESEARCH DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS	2
NURS 70713	ADVANCED STATISTICS I	2
	Credit Hours	8
Semester Two
NURS 70715	THEORY CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT IN NURSING	3
NURS 70740	ADVANCED STATISTICS II	3
NURS 70742	ADVANCED QUALITATIVE METHODS FOR HEALTH SCIENCES	4
	Credit Hours	10
First Summer Term
NURS 70714	LEADERSHIP FOR NURSING SCIENCE	3
Elective		3
	Credit Hours	6
Semester Three
NURS 70741	ADVANCED STATISTICS III	3
NURS 70743	ADVANCED QUANTITATIVE METHODS FOR HEALTH SCIENCES	4
NURS 70798	RESEARCH IN NURSING	3
	Credit Hours	10
Semester Four
NURS 70791	VARIABLE CONTENT SEMINAR: EMERGING ISSUES IN NURSING SCIENCE AND RESEARCH	3
NURS 70744	PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT	3
Elective		3
	Credit Hours	9
Second Summer Term
Candidacy Examination
	Credit Hours	0
Semester Five
NURS 80199	DISSERTATION I	15
NURS 80199	DISSERTATION I	15
	Credit Hours	30
	Minimum Total Credit Hours:	73