Elevate Your Expertise: Embrace the Tradition of Trailblazing Nursing Research
-
Admissions Requirements
To verify you are an eligible candidate, please refer to the PhD Program Admissions Requirements page. -
Program Outcomes
Graduates of the Post-Graduate Certificate (PGC) program are expected to achieve the following outcomes upon completion:
1: Knowledge for Nursing Practice
Integrate scientific underpinnings into critical thinking and clinical reasoning, including knowledge from nursing and other disciplines, theology, philosophy and the other liberal arts and natural and social sciences, to make judgments and create innovations in advanced nursing practice/specialty levels for the common good.
2: Person-Centered Care
Implement, manage, and evaluate care that supports morally responsible, holistic, individualized, just, compassionate, coordinated, evidence-based, developmentally appropriate, and inclusive care that is respectful of the dignity of the human person and consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
3: Population Health
Implement evidence-based and collaborative activities that promote health, prevent disease, and manage risks, considering social determinants of health and advocating for the improvement of equitable health outcomes, across the continuum of care and levels of prevention through both traditional and non-traditional partnerships from diverse communities, public health, industry, academia, health care, local government entities, and others.
4: Scholarship for the Nursing Discipline
Synthesize, translate, apply, and disseminate nursing knowledge to improve health and transform health care.
5: Quality and Safety
Implement initiatives to address clinical quality issues using improvement science and evidence to promote a culture of patient, provider, and work environment safety through both system effectiveness and individual performance.
6: Interprofessional Partnerships
Implements models of interprofessional teamwork and intentional collaboration with colleagues, patients, families, and communities that value engagement with the city, nation, Church and world through participatory decision-making related to healthcare needs that optimizes, enhances and improves health outcomes within advanced nursing specialty practice.
7: Systems-Based Practice
Develop and lead strategy implementation for coordinated, cost-effective, proactive and efficient care within complex healthcare systems based on Catholic values to provide safe, quality, and equitable care to diverse populations.
8: Informatics and Healthcare Technologies
Navigate information and communication technologies to gather data, guide decision making, and provide care respecting the dignity of the human person that aligns with best practice and professional and regulatory standards.
9: Professionalism
Model a sustainable professional identity and cultivate professional development in others grounded in Catholic social teaching, inclusive of honesty, integrity, accountability, a collaborative disposition, and ethical behavior reflective of the Catholic identity and nursing’s unique characteristics and values.
10: Personal, Professional, and Leadership Development
Model and mentor others in activities that demonstrate a commitment to lifelong whole person well-being, intellectual curiosity, professional growth and development, resilience, and healthcare leadership.
-
Standard Program Plan
*All plans are for example only. Individual plans are worked out with one’s Academic Advisor. Some students may finish programs in shorter periods than illustrated in the samples. Availability and personal preference for summer courses and the number of credits taken each semester will affect program length.
Dissertation guidance ongoing until completion.
Sessions are 7-8 weeks in length. Some courses are conducted throughout two sessions.
-
DNP to PhD Program Plan
DNP to PhD Sample Program Plan
*All plans are for example only. Individual plans are worked out with one’s Academic Advisor. Some students may finish programs in shorter periods than illustrated in the samples. Availability, personal preference for summer courses, and the number of credits taken each semester will affect program length.
Dissertation guidance ongoing until completion.
Sessions are 7-8 weeks in length. Some courses are conducted throughout two sessions.
-
BSN to PhD Program Plan
BSN to PhD Sample Program Plan
*All plans are for example only. Individual plans are worked out with one’s Academic Advisor. Some students may finish programs in shorter periods than illustrated in the samples. Availability, personal preference for summer courses, and the number of credits taken each semester will affect program length.
Dissertation guidance ongoing until completion.Sessions are 7-8 weeks in length. Some courses are conducted throughout two sessions.
-
PhD Candidacy Requirements at for the Conway School of Nursing
PhD Candidacy Requirements | Conway Nursing
Students in the PhD Program are not considered to be doctoral candidates until after successful completion of the comprehensive exam. The date of candidacy is important as that is when the time limit begins for completion of the PhD dissertation . Please reference the policy below from the Graduate Handbook. From the date of candidacy, the student has 5 years (10 semesters) in which to complete the dissertation.
Admission to a doctoral program does not automatically include admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree. The faculty of the school and department (where applicable) must evaluate the progress of the student and determine that the student has completed all course and other requirements, has passed the Comprehensive Examination and is otherwise qualified to fulfill the requirements of the doctoral dissertation or its equivalent. Schools and departments (where applicable) may follow different procedures for formal admission to candidacy. The student should consult with the Director of the PhD Program for information on these procedures.
The student’s school or department (where applicable) may record the actual date of the successful vote for candidacy. However, candidacy for the doctoral degree begins formally and administratively on the first day of the semester following successful completion of the Comprehensive Examination. The student has five (5) years (i.e., ten [10] semesters) from this date of formal, administrative admission to candidacy to complete, defend and deposit the dissertation. Individual schools and departments may, at their discretion, set different time limits for completion, as long as these do not exceed the five (5) year (ten [10] semester) limit. If more than five (5) years, or the time set by the schools or departments, elapse between formal admission to candidacy and oral defense of the dissertation, the doctoral candidate may be required to retake the Comprehensive Examination or fulfill additional requirements as determined by the school and department.
Program Highlights
- Personalized Guidance: Faculty commitment and personal guidance are the cornerstones of our PhD program, ensuring a supportive journey throughout your time in our program.
- Diverse Expertise: Our faculty, representing various nursing backgrounds, bring a wealth of clinical practice, research, education, and healthcare leadership experiences, fostering a rich learning environment.
- Online Flexibility with Personal Touch: Our online PhD program offers flexibility without compromising personal interaction, featuring small classrooms, live sessions, and faculty support.
- Innovative Program Design: The program's innovative structure enables swift completion of coursework, allowing students to promptly engage in meaningful dissertation research experiences.
- Excellence in Research: Faculty expertise and commitment to the pursuit of excellence in research are showcased through support of a range of dissertation topics advancing the nursing profession.
- Faith-Based Nursing Practice: Grounded in Catholic values, our program emphasizes the spiritual nature of nursing practice, providing a purposeful foundation for PhD-prepared graduates.