Ph.D.

PhD Program
The central purpose of the doctoral program is to prepare teacher-scholars. The curriculum focuses on vulnerable populations, which include persons at high risk for adverse health outcomes. Persons who are vulnerable may include such groups as the unborn, impoverished children, chronically ill, frail elders, the dying and the marginalized. The graduate of this doctoral program will have the ability to advance health care through teaching, research and health care leadership.

Associate Dean, Graduate Programs and Research
(414) 288-3869

Kelly Hillard

PhD Program Assistant

414-288-3869

kelly.hillard@marquette.edu

Karen Nest
Graduate Program Assistant
(414) 288-3810
karen.nest@marquette.edu

Program Objectives
The program is designed to prepare graduates to:

1. Design and conduct independent research that will impact the health of vulnerable populations.
2. Teach nursing students and advanced practitioners to improve the health status of vulnerable populations.
3. Develop, test and refine theories as a basis for nursing science.
4. Analyze patterns of health and illness among vulnerable populations.
5. Synthesize research findings to provide leadership in health care.

Mission
The mission of the College of Nursing emerges from the mission of the university to provide a rigorous liberal education grounded in Catholic, Jesuit ideals. Marquette University nursing students are educated to promote the worth of all persons, to assure professional competence, to respect the pursuit of truth and to uphold a high standard of personal integrity. The faculty recognize their central responsibilities as influencing health, health care and health care policy through quality instructional programs, generation and dissemination of nursing knowledge, active involvement in the community and the profession and collaborative endeavors.

Doctoral education in nursing is built upon the masters level nursing foundation. It is characterized by the acquisition of research skills necessary for the discovery and use of new nursing knowledge and for preparation for teaching roles.

Curriculum
The PhD program is a 51-credit post-master of science in nursing program with course work in the following categories:

Nursing Science — 12 credits
Research and Statistics — 12 credits
Teaching — 9 credits
Cognates — 6 credits
Dissertation — 12 credits
The program may be completed on a full or part time basis.

Nursing Science
NURS 300 Nursing Knowledge Development
NURS 301 Vulnerable Populations
PHIL 258 Philosophy of Knowledge
NURS 304 Nursing Research Seminar & Practicum

Research and Statistics
HEAL 302 Qualitative Research
HEAL 303 Quantitative Research

PSYC 224 Advanced Statistics and Design 1

and

PSYC 225 Advanced Statistics and Design 2

OR

EDPS 321 Intermediate Research & Statistics
and
EDPS 322 Measurement & Evaluation

Teaching
NURS 232 Curriculum, Instruction & Evaluation Strategies for Nursing
NURS 334 Residency in Nursing Education

And one of the following:
EDPS 362 Educational Psychology of Motivation
EDPL 337 Theories of Learning Applied to Instruction

Cognates
6 credits supportive of dissertation

Dissertation
12 credits

Admission Requirements
To apply to the doctor of philosophy in nursing program, you should have graduated with a master of science degree in nursing from an accredited program, normally with a graduate GPA of at least 3.30 using the 4.00 system (4.00=A). A graduate level research course is a required prerequisite. If it has been five years or more since a statistics course, applicants must take a course which includes inferential statistics, either audit or for credit.

Other criteria include:

• A completed application form and fee
• Official transcripts from all current and previous colleges except Marquette University
• Three letters of recommendation
• Acceptable General Record Examination (GRE) scores such as a combined score of 1,000 on verbal and quantitative, and a writing score of 4.0 or greater
• A curriculum vita and objectives / career intentions, including research interests
• Sample of scholarly writing
• Personal interview
• For international applications only: a TOEFL score or other acceptable proof of English proficiency

Applicants may be denied admission to the PhD program due to space constraints. An applicant must be licensed as a professional nurse.