The doctor of philosophy (PhD) program is designed to meet the educational needs of nurses who are committed to playing a significant role in the creation, clarification, and refinement of nursing knowledge. In Fall 2006, the PhD program will be offered in an online and blended format. The program prepares nurse scientists who advance the discipline of nursing through research, theory development, and other academic endeavors. Graduates are expected to provide leadership for the advancement of the discipline in the scientific community and in academic and service institutions.
The PhD program in nursing was initiated in 1989 and is the first PhD program in
nursing in New Jersey. Until now, classes have been held in the traditional classroom setting. Today’s doctoral students desire more flexibility in their options for coursework due to, for example, family, work, and financial demands. Therefore, beginning in Fall 2006, Rutgers College of Nursing will offer the doctoral program in an online and blended format. This means that the majority of nursing courses will be offered online in a synchronous and asynchronous manner. Statistics, research methods, and cognate courses may be taken in either an online or in a traditional classroom setting either at Rutgers or a university where the student resides. Students will be required to attend a two-week residency period in August in each of the first three years of the program. A required research experience may be completed in collaboration with Rutgers nursing faculty or can be arranged to be conducted with qualified nursing faculty where the student resides.
PhD students at Rutgers are required to complete a qualifying examination after they have completed the majority of their coursework. The examination entails application of course content to a phenomenon of interest to the student. Ideally, the phenomenon of interest selected by the student becomes the focus of their dissertation. The purpose of this examination is to determine whether a student has acquired sufficient mastery of their coursework in order to advance to the dissertation stage.
After successful completion of the qualifying examination, the student becomes a candidate for the doctoral degree and is ready for the final stage of the doctoral program, which is the dissertation. The dissertation process is comprised of (a) the identification of the dissertation chair and three committee members (one member has to be from outside the College of Nursing), (b) the successful approval of the dissertation proposal by the chair and committee, (c) supervised conduct of original and independent research, and (d) a successful defense of the dissertation to the chair, committee members, and the public who attend the defense.
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