Nurse Scientist Educator PhD

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The PhD program is designed to prepare nurse scientists to advance nursing knowledge, transform nursing education and to contribute to optimal health in the regional, national and global community.

The post-MS PhD curriculum requires 52 credits and is designed to be completed in 48 months of full-time study that includes work in the summer months. The BS- PhD curriculum is a 73 credits post-BS that is designed to be completed in 60 months of full-time study. After completing 39 credits, students may apply for the MS degree. There is a one-year residency requirement.

The Certification Examination includes two components that demonstrate the student’s in-depth understanding of a substantive area in promoting health, guiding the illness experience or shaping the health care system for people living with chronic illness or in nursing pedagogy. The first component is a qualifying exam given at the conclusion of year one courses and demonstrates a student’s mastery of nursing philosophy and theory. The second component consists of developing one article that is submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. Once both of these components are completed, along with 30 credits of coursework, the student is eligible for candidacy. The PhD dissertation is an original body of work in which the candidate demonstrates an in-depth understanding of a substantive area in promoting health, guiding the illness experience or shaping the health care system for people living with chronic illness or in nursing pedagogy.

The structured mentorship experience begins upon admission, when students are assigned to work with a specific faculty mentor to guide the student in academic writing, writing for publication, grant writing, and completing qualifying examination requirements. A doctoral seminar is held three times a semester on scholarly topics. The students’ experiential learning includes writing for publication, grant writing, opportunities for research and teaching assistantships, qualifying examination, presentation of research, dissertation proposal hearing, and defense of the completed dissertation.

The curriculum addresses four core areas of study: knowledge development in nursing; nursing education; research methods; and the theory and research in promoting health, guiding people through health/illness experiences and shaping the health care system with a focus on nursing care of people with chronic illness. The curriculum includes courses in philosophy of science and strategies for developing nursing knowledge. Research expertise is developed through courses in qualitative and quantitative research methods, statistics, clinical research topics, a series of research practica and dissertation advisement.

An elective course is planned with the advisor and mentor for the chosen area of research concentration.

Requirements

Elective: 3 credits

Students select one PhD-level course from the following three areas:

Elective in Research/Theory
Education
Issue pertinent to Health/Illness

Comprehensive Examination: 0 credits

Students are eligible for the candidacy review upon completion of 30 credits of required course work with no incomplete grades and status as a student in good standing. To fulfill candidacy criteria, the student presents evidence to the PhD committee that the first manuscript is in review for publication in a peer-reviewed journal and has successfully passed the first-year qualifying examination.

Dissertation: 16 credits

Required Courses

NUR 780 - Doctoral Seminar I Credits: 1
NUR 786 - Dissertation Development I Credits: 2
NUR 787 - Dissertation Development II Credits: 2
NUR 788 - Dissertation Proposal Developemnt Credits: 3
NUR 789 - Dissertation Completion and Defense Credits: variable; .00 to 3.00

Dissertation Proposal

The dissertation research proposal is submitted in Fall of Year 4 by December 1. All dissertation work follows the format of the American Psychological Association Manual for Publication, 7th Ed. and the relevant University guidelines in “Requirements for Theses and Dissertations”. The suggested length of the proposal is 40 pages but may vary with the candidate and the topic, the proposal must include the following elements:

cover page;
table of contents;
300-400 word abstract;
introduction that clearly states the problem, establishes its significance, states the research questions to be examined or the hypotheses to be tested;
clear statement of the conceptual-theoretical-empirical structure that will guide the research;
critical review of the literature that synthesizes the current research on the problem, explores related bodies of knowledge that contribute to the understanding of the problem, and explores the theoretical framework of the study;
thorough description of the methodology including research design, a description of the study population and sample, a plan to access the study population, human subjects considerations, data collection methods, and the plan for data analysis;
work plan that identifies needed resources, indicates how they will be obtained, and presents a realistic time line for data collection and analysis;
references;
appendices with informed consent letters and instruments.

The candidate works closely with the chair of the committee. Together they decide when to forward the draft proposal to the entire committee for review. After review, the candidate and the chair review the committee members’ recommendations and make necessary adjustments to the proposal. The chair schedules a proposal hearing that is open only to the dissertation committee members. Three weeks prior to the scheduled hearing the final draft of the proposal must be received by all committee members. All members of the committee are expected to read the proposal, forward any clarification questions to the full committee and the candidate 72 hours in advance of the proposal hearing, and attend the proposal hearing. For external committee members, either a video or audio conference call can be arranged. Following the hearing, the committee meets in executive session and makes one of four determinations regarding the proposal: 1) approve; 2) approve subject to minor changes; 3) action deferred pending major revisions; and 4) disapprove. In the case of approval, the candidate may proceed with the dissertation. In the case of approval with minor revisions, the candidate need only resubmit the revised proposal to the chair and any other specified committee members. In the case of major revisions, the candidate must resubmit the proposal to all committee members. The candidate must complete both minor and major revisions within three months. In the rare case of a rejection, the committee will meet with the candidate and decide how to proceed.

The Dissertation

The candidate works closely with the chair and other appropriate committee members throughout the data collection, data analysis and final writing phases of the dissertation. The candidate should expect to produce repeated iterations of the dissertation to accommodate the committee chair’s and members’ input and guidance.

The dissertation contains all of the elements listed under Dissertation Proposal above. In addition, the methods section is revised to report the actual protocol for data collection and analysis. The final section of the dissertation will include a copy of the final defense powerpoint slides and also an executive summary of the dissertation and plans for dissemination. All students will create a findings paper for submission to a peer reviewed journal that must be approved by the dissertation committee prior to defense.

Dissertation Defense

A dissertation defense is scheduled by the committee chair after the committee members agree that the dissertation is sufficiently complete to undergo defense. Three weeks prior to the scheduled defense the final draft of the dissertation is delivered to all committee members. All members of the committee are expected to read the dissertation, forward any questions to the candidate and the committee at least 72 hours in advance of the scheduled dissertation defense and attend the dissertation defense hearing.

Committee Determination

Following the dissertation defense, the dissertation committee meets in executive session and makes one of two determinations: 1) approve; or 2) approve subject to minor changes. In the case of approval, the chair forwards two copies of the dissertation cover sheet to the graduate program director and the candidate can prepare the dissertation for binding and submit the peer reviewed paper for publication.

In the case of approval with minor revisions, the candidate need only submit the revised dissertation to the chair and any other specified committee members. The dissertation manuscript must conform to Requirements for Theses & Dissertations at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. The College of Nursing and Health Sciences has designated the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Ed. as the format for organization, tables, illustrations and references. Students must pay particular attention to deadlines and the timing of their dissertation defense hearing to allow enough time for a completed manuscript to be filed prior to Commencement exercises.

Total Credits: 52

Program: BS-PhD

The BS-PhD is 73 credit post-BS curriculum that is designed to completed in 60 months of full-time study. After completing 39 credits, students may apply for the MS degree. There is a one-year residency requirement. A Certification Examination demonstrates the student’s mastery of nursing science in promoting health, guiding the illness experience and shaping the health system for people with chronic illness and/or addressing innovations in nursing education. The Qualifying Examination consists of developing one article that is submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. Additionally, qualifying exam is given at the conclusion of year one courses. The PhD dissertation is an original body of work in which the candidate demonstrates an in-depth understanding of a substantive area in promoting health, guiding the illness experience or shaping the health care system for people living with chronic illness or in nursing education. The dissertation demonstrates the candidate’s ability to effectively incorporate theoretical, conceptual, and methodological tools in addressing the influence of nursing practices and the delivery of nursing services to people living with chronic illnesses.