A series of colloquia provides opportunities for faculty and students to interact and collaborate based on shared interests. At the completion of the program graduates will be able to design and conduct research relevant to nursing practice, extend the theoretical base of nursing by empirical investigation of nursing phenomena and developing theories, and test conceptual models and theories which are derived from knowledge of nursing and related disciplines and have relevance to nursing practice. Course work is organized in three areas. Philosophy of Science and Transmission of Knowledge includes course work in theory development, nursing concepts, and principles of teaching and learning. Methods of Inquiry includes research design and methods, measurement, uses of data, and statistics.
Policy includes health policy, and nursing research and policy.
Cognates may be taken in psychology, human development, ethics, health policy, nursing, or any area related to the student's research, including appropriate courses in methods. A dissertation is required with a minimum of ten credit hours of advisement. Some courses may be available for nonmatriculated study with permission of the chairperson of the doctoral program and the course instructor. The following is a sample plan of study for the full-time program, but varies by focus area. Credit hours are in parentheses.