Nursing Education (DNP to PhD), Ph.D. (40 hrs)

Location(s): Hybrid

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Program Overview

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Nursing Education program is a terminal degree designed for D.N.P.-prepared nurses to serve as nurse scholars as well as nurse educators. Graduates will be prepared for the educator role including the ability to use sound educational concepts, principles, and knowledge in order to develop undergraduate and graduate nursing students who will be able to contribute to the health and well-being of diverse populations across the lifespan. Graduates will also be able to assume leadership and upper level administrative roles in nursing education in order to assure accountable clinical nursing practice.

The PhD in Nursing Education program (DNP to PhD) is designed to be completed in two years, including summer terms. Students are allowed to attend on a part-time basis, but the student must complete all required work within a period of six years. The total number of hours required is 61 hours. Students receive 21 hours of Ph.D. course validation credit with 40 hours to be completed within the program. The student will take courses with a nursing education focus and dissertation classes to complete the Ph.D. in Nursing Education program. The program is in a hybrid (web-enhanced) format. Doctoral classes will meet face-to-face two weekends a year and synchronous online two weekends a year; the rest of the content and student activities will be conducted via Canvas learning management system.

Each student must complete a dissertation. The dissertation process will begin in the fall term and continue for six trimesters. The research courses will be developed to help the student design the essential components of a dissertation. Each student will have a committee of four Ph.D. program faculty members. There will be a written comprehensive examination during the second year to determine mastery of the Ph.D. content. Students will enroll for didactic courses along with the dissertation courses. One (1) theory credit hour equates to 1.25 contact hours. One (1) clinical credit hour equates to 40 contact hours. The faculty reserves the right to make curricular changes to maintain standards consistent with the changing needs of society and of the profession.

Graduate Outcomes

The following graduate competencies were adapted from the NLN educator core competencies (NLN, 2005) AACN Essentials for Master’s Education for Advanced Practice Nursing, 2011.

The graduate will:

Utilize concepts, knowledge, and skills to create an environment that facilitates classroom and clinical learning in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains.
Facilitate students’ development as professional nurses.
Utilize sound principles to develop strategies to assess academic achievement in the classroom and clinical settings and in the cognitive, affective, and psycho-motor domains.
Design, implement, evaluate, and revise nursing curricula and program outcomes that reflect the academic institution’s mission and goals, reflect current trends and evidence-based practice, and prepare graduates to function as professional nurses.
Function as a change agent to promote the profession of nursing.
Develop and articulate a vision for professional nursing practice within the healthcare delivery system.
Utilize information and communication technology effectively in the global environment of nursing and education.
Establish relationships with the community of interest.
Demonstrate proficiency in scholarly writing.
Utilize Christian principles as a nurse educator.

Program Admission Requirements

To be admitted as a regular student, the applicant must:

Submit a completed application to William Carey University graduate school and pay the application fee.
Submit official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended.
Submit a scholarly narrative of 1-2 pages of personal philosophy of nursing education and goals.
Submit a current curriculum vita.
Submit three letters of reference: two from individuals who can attest to research and scholarship and one personal reference (a reference form will be emailed to the references entered in the online application).
Submit the completed and notarized criminal background check affidavit.
Have earned an D.N.P. from an accredited school of nursing.
Have earned a GPA > 3.0 on D.N.P. courses.
Have an active, unencumbered Registered Nurse license with no pending legal or state board action (unencumbered license must be maintained throughout program enrollment).
Be eligible to re-enter any previously attended college or university in good standing. If previously enrolled in a Ph.D. program, the applicant must be in good standing with that program and must provide a letter of good standing from that program.
Demonstrate computer literacy involving proficiency in word processing, email correspondence, and the Internet.

Transfer Credit Policy

Transfer credit is available for any student. A maximum of 6 hours may be transferred from another accredited university. Approval of transfer hours is considered on an individual basis. The student must apply for transfer credit to the program coordinator prior to the first term in the nursing program. Master’s level credit cannot be accepted for doctoral level courses. Transfer credit cannot be received for NUR 7530 , NUR 8010 , NUR 8020 , NUR 8030 , NUR 8040 , and NUR 8050 .

Program Progression Requirements

Successful progression through the program requires the following:

Demonstrate competency in scholarly writing through one of the following options: (1) successful review of the writing submission, (2) submission of a GRE Writing Score of > 4.0 or better within the last five years, or (3) passing the NUR 7990 Academic Writing for Doctoral Students with a grade of ‘B’ or better prior to taking courses in the program.
Demonstrate basic competence in statistics as evidenced by successful completion, with a grade of ‘B’ or better, in an undergraduate or graduate level statistics course within the past ten years or substantial experience in nursing research projects prior to taking NUR 7520 and NUR 8000 .
Complete all assignments with a passing grade. All courses must be completed with no grade below a ‘B’. The student is allowed to repeat two courses with a ‘C’ to improve the grade to a ‘B’.
See Academic Regulations in this catalog for additional information regarding minimum course grades and GPA requirements.
Any student who makes an ‘F’ in a Ph.D. course will be dismissed from the program and be ineligible to readmit.
Student grades will be reviewed at the end of each term by the administrator of the graduate program and other WCU SON administration to determine status in achieving the GPA necessary to progress and graduate.
The student must successfully complete NUR 8010 , NUR 8020 , NUR 8030 , and NUR 8040 in sequence.
The student will be admitted to doctoral candidacy upon successful completion of comprehensive examination and the dissertation proposal defense.
The student must successfully complete the comprehensive examination to indicate mastery of program content. The student must have completed all courses of the curriculum (except NUR 7240 and NUR 7260 ) and all other degree requirements. This excludes dissertation hours.
The student must successfully complete a dissertation.

Program of Study (40 hrs)

NUR 6640 - Role Development for the Nurse Educator 2 hrs
NUR 6650 - Curriculum Development and Program Planning 2 hrs
NUR 6660 - Instructional Strategies and Evaluation of Student Learning 2 hrs
NUR 7210 - Creating an Online Educational Environment 3 hrs
NUR 7250 - Advanced Curriculum Assessment and Evaluation 3 hrs
NUR 7260 - Role Perspectives and Practicum 3 hrs
NUR 7340 - Program Evaluation 3 hrs
NUR 7520 - Advanced Research Methodology 3 hrs
NUR 7530 - Research Development 3 hrs
NUR 8000 - Statistics 3 hrs
NUR 8010 - Research Process I 3 hrs
NUR 8020 - Research Process II 3 hrs
NUR 8030 - Research Process III 3 hrs
NUR 8040 - Research Process IV 4 hrs