Admission Requirements
Requirements for admission are accessible by visiting the College of Nursing website at https://nursing.rutgers.edu/phd-admission-requirements-0.
Degree Requirements
Students entering the doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) program in nursing are expected to
have passed an undergraduate course in statistics and graduate-level
courses in nursing theory and research. The in-class curriculum requires
a minimum of 67 credits. Of that total, 9 credits are allocated to
cognate courses; of these cognate credits a minimum of 6 must be taken
outside of the discipline of nursing. The remaining credits are taken
within the College of Nursing and include 15 credits allocated to
statistics, measurement, philosophy of science, and data management; 13
credits allocated to research methods and theory development; 6 credits
allocated to scholarship and policy development; 3 credits for a
research practicum; 3 credits for an education practicum; 3 credits for a
dissertation seminar; and 15 credits for dissertation research.
In addition to completion of 67 credits, students must also:
Academic Advisement
Upon admission to the Ph.D. in nursing program, students are assigned to a faculty adviser. Every attempt is made to identify an adviser with similar research interests as the student. Each semester, before registering for classes, students should arrange to meet with their faculty adviser for a progress review on their plan of study.
Nursing Ph.D. students will have the same adviser until the Dissertation Committee is formed. Once the Dissertation Committee is formed, the dissertation chair becomes the adviser. Before registering for any cognate courses or dissertation research credits, prior approval must be obtained from the adviser (or dissertation chair).
A student's adviser will be changed if: a faculty member leaves the College of Nursing, if the adviser or student indicates that a change would be beneficial, or if the faculty member's workload needs to be readjusted. The change may be initiated by the adviser or student in a written request to the associate dean for the Ph.D. program. Once approved, the student will be assigned to another adviser.
Time Limit
Requirements for the Ph.D. in nursing degree must be completed within eight years.
