Nursing (PhD)

Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing
Unit: School of Nursing (GN)
Program Website 
Academic Plan Code(s): NURSPHDBSN, NURSPHDMSN, NURSPHDDNP

Program Information

The Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing is designed to prepare nurse scientists to assume a variety of roles in education, research, leadership, and health policy. The program prepares nurse scientists to:

• Generate knowledge, test interventions and evaluate outcomes to reduce risks of illness/disability and promote quality of life;
• Collaborate with other disciplines to improve the delivery of healthcare;
• Assume research, leadership, executive, public policy and/or teaching roles; and,
• Affect health policy through the application of scientific knowledge.

Three progression options are offered: 1) BSN to PhD  2) MSN to PhD and 3) DNP-PhD.  The BSN to PhD students complete the first year of coursework at the master's level and then continue on to the doctoral-level work without earning a master's degree. The MSN to PhD and DNP to PhD students will enter directly into doctoral coursework.

The PhD in Nursing consists of at least 55 credit hours of coursework beyond the baccalaureate degree, 40 credit hours beyond a master's degree and 31 credit hours beyond a DNP, plus dissertation credit hours. Full or part-time programs of study are available; however, full-time study is recommended to allow students to devote themselves entirely to the program and immerse themselves in the life of a scholar.

Graduate Student Assistantship

A PhD Graduate Student Assistantship is a financial award to a full-time PhD student for the period of one year. To be eligible for the award the student must be admitted to the PhD degree program or be a continuing PhD student. For the full year, the award includes tuition, health insurance, and a monthly stipend. The student is required to maintain full-time study during the award period and participate for 20 hours per week in a Research Assistant or Teaching Assistant role in the School of Nursing. These activities serve to augment and enrich the student's academic program. Students who receive assistantships will be assigned by the Dean's designee to either research or teaching. Descriptions of activities are available for each type of assistantship. Assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis. The assistantship financial support is limited to a maximum of five years for BSN-PhD students and four years for MSN-PhD students.

Admissions Criteria

The holistic review process is used when considering applications for admission to the PhD Program in Nursing.  The holistic review considers multiple criteria for admission, including the applicant's professional career goals, academic capabilities, GPA, research interest, RN license, area of expertise, community engagement, and potential for a scholarly career in nursing.

The University of Louisville School of Nursing participates in Nursing's Centralized Application Service (NursingCAS), which provides you with an online application.  NursingCAS collects and processes your application documents and verifies your transcripts.  The School of Nursing will receive application information from NursingCAS and use it to make an admission decisions.

To be considered for admission to Degree Status, the following items must be submitted:

To the Graduate School

• University of Louisville Graduate Application with a reduced application fee. Online submission is preferred.

To NursingCAS

1. Transcripts
   • BSN applicant: Official transcripts representing all college coursework with a recommended undergraduate cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree must be from a regionally accredited institution and a CCNE-, ACEN-, or NLN-accredited nursing program.
   •  MSN applicant: Official transcripts representing all college coursework with a recommended graduate cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale. MSN degree must be from CCNE- or NLN-accredited nursing program.
   • DNP applicant:  Official transcripts representing all college coursework with a recommended graduate cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale.  DNP degree must be from CCNE- or NLN-accredited nursing program.
2. ​Applicants who have attended a college or university outside the United States are also required to submit a course-by-course evaluation of their transcript through World Education Services (WES) or Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE).  Please note that transcript evaluations can sometimes take several weeks.
3. Three letters of recommendation from individuals who can speak of academic and/or professional capabilities and potential. Recommendations should be requested from former faculty members, current or immediate past employers, or other nursing/health professionals. Recommendations must have been completed within the last year.
4. Current resume or curriculum vitae (CV) including RN license number.
5. Unencumbered RN license from a US state board of nursing. International students need to be licensed as registered nurses in their country of origin, if licensure is available. If course work, research, or graduate assistantship involves direct patient care activities, an RN license to practice in Kentucky must be obtained prior to December in student's first year of study.
6. Responses to all questions asked on the NursingCAS application.
7. Students for whom English is not their primary language must show English Proficiency.
8. A written statement  of career goals, area(s) of expertise, research interest, and reasons for pursuing doctoral studies. Maximum three pages; double spaced; 12-point font.

To the School of Nursing, Office of Student Services

1. Personal interview with School of Nursing faculty will be required.
2. Criminal background check. Information is available through the School of Nursing web-site.

Applicants accepted into the MSN-PhD and DNP-PhD programs are strongly advised to have completed a three (3) credit hour graduate level statistics course (applied descriptive and inferential statistics) with a grade of B (3.0) or higher within five years of the enrollment date. Applicants who wish to take a refresher statistics course will be advised of available statistics courses to take in the summer prior to beginning fall PhD coursework in statistics.

Program Requirements

BSN-PhD students will complete 15 credit hours of required master's-level courses.

BSN-PhD and MSN-PhD Students will complete the following 40 credit hours of required doctoral-level courses, the qualifying exam, and a dissertation:

DNP-PhD Coursework