The program is based upon the beliefs that nursing is a science, that scholars in the field must receive the necessary advanced preparation to develop as scientists, and that doctoral education, the means by which scholars are developed, is best accomplished in a milieu where the faculty-student relationship culminates in a partnership of inquiry. The curriculum of the doctoral program, therefore, is organized to provide a course of study as well as an individualized sequence of research and scholarly development.
Students complete both a course of study and a series of progression requirements.
The curriculum is designed to interrelate three categorical areas of knowledge with three discrete substantive areas of nursing knowledge. The campus of the student's major adviser is the student's home campus, where the student completes residency requirements and receives the degree. Courses are cross-listed by the campuses to enhance program flexibility and provide students the enriching opportunity of selecting course offerings from all three campuses. Specific courses will be offered through telecommunications on a regular basis to give students the benefit of faculty expertise on all three campuses. Students may select doctoral program committee members from the other campuses.