Nursing — PhD Requirements

The PhD in Nursing Program with a concentration in health policy prepares graduates to be nurse leaders in the health care policy roles of analyst, educator, and researcher. Offered in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Lowell, the PhD Program on the Boston campus focuses on the development, maintenance, and enhancement of health care delivery environments that foster equitable access to quality care. Emphasis is on policies that affect the health-related quality of life of urban populations and the elderly.

The PhD in Nursing requires 60 credits beyond the MS degree. For full-time students, the program normally requires two years of course work, including courses in health policy and economics, research methods, and statistics. Courses are offered by the College of Nursing and a number of collaborating departments at UMass Boston and UMass Lowell.

After completing core courses, students undertake a 6-credit policy internship, followed by a qualifying examination. Successful performance in the qualifying examination is a prerequisite to admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree. In the third year, students complete electives and research courses related to completion of the doctoral dissertation. Full-time students should complete the program in four years. Part-time students are required to register for 6 credits per semester and should complete the program in 5 or 6 years.

The Major Advisor and the Dissertation Committee: An interim advisor is appointed for each entering PhD student. Sometime before the semester in which they will be taking NURSNG 791, students should select a major advisor, a choice which must then be approved by the graduate program director. This advisor is responsible for monitoring student progress and assists in the choice of the student’s dissertation committee chair and members.

Core Courses

NURSNG 701 (Science as a Way of Knowing), 3 Credits

NURSNG 702 (Models of Health Care Services), 3 Credits

GERON 734 (Law and Health Policy for the Elderly), 3 Credits

NURSNG 703 (Health Economics), 3 Credits

NURSING L704/GERON L772 (Seminar in Health Care Financing), 3 Credits

NURSNG 741 (Health Policy I), 3 Credits

NURSNG 742 (Health Policy II), 3 Credits

NURSNG 743 (Internship in Health Policy), 6 Credits

NURSNG 791 (Integrating Theory and Policy in Dissertation Research) 3 Credits

Research and Quantitative and Qualitative Methods Courses

PPOL G 604-605 (Statistics I and II), 6 Credits

GERON 601 (Research Methods and Experimental Design), 3 Credits

Two courses in advanced methods, 6 Credits

NURSNG 899 (Dissertation Research), 9 Credits

Electives

(Chosen from courses offered on the UMass Boston and UMass Lowell campuses to support dissertation research), 6 Credits