Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing

Are you ready to begin a life of inquiry and discovery? Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston now offers two entry points to our research-focused PhD Program. Potential students may apply for admission at the master’s or bachelor’s level. The BSN-PhD option was added for Fall 2022 to enable nurses interested in clinical research to become nurse scientists earlier in their careers.

The mission of the PhD Program in Nursing at Cizik School of Nursing is to prepare nurse leaders in the profession. Graduates of this program will lead the development and dissemination of knowledge through the conduct of nursing and interprofessional research.  Through the integration of theory, research, and practice, our goal is to prepare nurse scientists who will improve health and health care for patients and families.

In contrast to the practice-based Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), this doctoral program is rooted in foundations of theory and research needed to develop educators, leaders and discoverers of knowledge in the field of health care.

The Faculty

Our outstanding faculty are committed to preparing nurse scholars and scientists who can lead in extending the body of nursing knowledge. We foster a collegial and supportive environment with close faculty interaction. Our learning atmosphere is distinctive, challenging and includes rich mentoring experiences.

Research at UTHealth

The School’s dedicated Faculty promote collaborations, enhance scholarship and stimulate clinically relevant investigative questions and innovative approaches. We offer unique access to expert faculty researchers in a comprehensive six-discipline academic health center. Doctoral students also have access to courses and resources in the affiliated institutions of the Texas Medical Center, a vibrant academic and healthcare community in the heart of Houston.

Whether you see your future in the nursing world as a nurse scientist, UTHealth's PhD in Nursing is the next exciting step toward enhancing your career trajectory.

Student-Centered Support

Each PhD student will be assigned an academic advisor at the time of admission to the PhD program. The PhD student and their academic advisor will complete a degree plan to specify which courses are to be taken to complete the degree requirements. Degree plan policy and procedures may be found in PhD Program Policy D7320 (pdf).

Scholarship Assistance

Each year the School strives to fund between 15-20% of each class with some level of financial assistance. Scholarship awards are available for both full and part-time students. Interested students are encouraged to complete the application for admission and the Cizik School of Nursing Supplemental Scholarship Application before April 1. 

An additional resource for doctoral students is the Nurse Faculty Loan Program ("NFLP")which is a low-interest federal loan forgiveness program offered by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for MSN and doctoral degrees. For eligibility requirements and application information, please contact Heather Bright in the UTHealth Financial Aid office at 713.500.3866.

Curriculum Plans

The curriculum includes 66 semester hours for MSN-prepared students and 90 hours for BSN-prepared students, distributed as shown below. The course sequence is designed to prepare nurse scientist to develop, test, and implement innovation in health care delivery and to teach the next generations of nurses in research and practice. During the sequence of courses the student participates in development of a research program that includes interdisciplinary interactions. The student works with an interdisciplinary team of faculty mentors who have established research programs. Courses in the nursing sequence are focused on the health care delivery system, theory, and research. The student also takes one elective and three cognate courses that allow the student to develop knowledge in a focused area of interest. The theory, research, practice links provide the basis for the student to develop a dissertation that is focused on preparing a nurse scientist who will improve health and health care.

• Course Structure
• Full-time Plan
• Part-time Plan
• BSN-PhD Course Structure
• Full-time BSN-PhD
• Part-time BSN-PhD

* Required courses are offered only one (1) time a year.
** These courses may be selected from offerings at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston or other universities through enrollment agreements.

Note: 1 semester hour of credit is earned for

• 3 clock hours per week of clinical experience,
• 1 clock hour per week of lecture, or
• 2 clock hours per week of seminar.

Consult individual course descriptions in the catalog for details on clinical, lecture, and seminar hours and prerequisite or corequisite requirements.

Candidacy Exam

The candidacy examination serves as a basis for determining the student's readiness for pursuing dissertation research. It is composed of a written paper and an oral examination. The student should demonstrate a command of the theoretical and methodological issues related to the selected topic as a basis for pursuing research in a specific population of interest. The candidacy examination is viewed as a continuing step in the educational process building on previous course work and leading to the dissertation proposal defense and the dissertation. Candidacy exam policy and procedures may be found in PhD Program Policy D7315 (pdf).

Dissertation Requirement

An original research dissertation that constitutes a substantial contribution to the body of knowledge in nursing must be completed under the direction of a dissertation committee chairperson who is a member of the School of Nursing faculty. Information regarding the dissertation policy and procedures may be found in PhD Program Policy D7400 (pdf). The Dissertation Manual for students admitted before Fall 2021 can be found at Dissertation Manual (pre 2021) (pdf). For students admitted Fall 2021 and after, the Dissertation Manual can be found at Dissertation Manual (post 2021) (pdf).

An active list of recent graduate dissertations are available for viewing through the Texas Medical Center library.

***N7554 Research Forum. Students will need to complete three (3) one credit Research Forum course during the course of the program. Research Forum can be taken any semester but must be taken three different semesters.

Dissertation- Students must complete 12 hours of dissertation prior to graduation. The 12 hours are taken after Candidacy is successfully completed and should be taken in increments of 3 hours but must have at least 3 hours in the last semester (semester of final defense)

NOTE: The elective and cognates taken must be at the graduate level.   

The cognates chosen should reflect the focus of the dissertation research and should be taken outside the school of nursing and must be approved by the dissertation Chairperson/Student Advisor

                          Cognates = 3 Courses= 9 credits                           Elective =1 Course= 3 credits

**** N7555 Research Practicum- Research Practicum will be offered every semester. The student should plan with their advisor for timing of completion  

Accreditation

The baccalaureate degree program in nursing, master’s degree program, Doctor of Nursing Practice program, and post graduate APRN certificate programs at the Cizik School of Nursing are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (http://www.ccneaccreditation.org).

Program Director

Geri L Wood, PhD, RN, FAAN

Director, PhD Program (Email)