The University of Tennessee College of Nursing
A-Z Index  /  WebMail  /  Dept. Directory

PhD Program

 

Ph.D. Home Page

Dear Prospective Doctoral Student:

Thank you for your interest in the University of Tennessee, College of Nursing Ph.D. Program. The College of Nursing offers a doctoral program leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree with a major in Nursing. The doctoral program prepares nursing scholars capable of integrating research, theory, and practice into their roles as researchers, educators, and/or administrators. Given the impending shortage of nursing faculty in the U.S., we place special emphasis on preparation for the faculty role through course work and preceptorship experiences. Newly available is an accelerated curriculum option for nurse educators, involving 4 consecutive semesters of course work (15 months), followed by the dissertation. Students pursuing this option will earn a certificate in Nursing Education. Faculty research expertise is strong in the areas of women’s physical and mental health, anger and violence, empathy, gerontology, psychoneuroimmunology,and nursing education. The College of Nursing is a Cooperating Site of the International Institute for Qualitative Methodology (co-directors Joanne Hall and Sandra Thomas). Discourse analysis, phenomenology, hermeneutics, and grounded theory are prominent among the qualitative approaches used by faculty researchers. A new manuscript dissertation option is available.

Program objectives
Upon completion of the doctoral program, graduates should be all to:
1. Analyze, test, refine, extend and expand the theoretical basis of nursing practice.
2. Conduct nursing research that generates knowledge and advances nursing as a discipline.
3. Provide leadership as nurse scientists who can function in a variety of roles and settings.
4. Collaborate with members of other disciplines in health-related research.
5. Develop, implement, evaluate, and recommend health care policy at various levels.
6. Demonstrate professionalism, advocacy, ethical principles and scientific integrity.

The over-arching philosophy of our program is individualized education. Each student’s program of study is designed to foster his or her unique interests and career goals. The Faculty value community, quality, innovation, and accessibility. We have small classes and committed faculty who are engaged in nursing research and scholarly writing. Our students become part of an exciting community of scholars, devoted to extending and expanding nursing knowledge. Many students have presented formal papers and posters at meetings, have published papers in scholarly journals and contributed chapters to faculty edited books.

Admission Requirements:
1. Meet requirements for admission to the Graduate School.
2. Hold a master’s degree in nursing from a program accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission or Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Some outstanding applicants who are prepared at the bachelor’s level in nursing may be considered. In such cases, graduate level courses in nursing theory, clinical specialties, and/or research will be integrated into the formal program of doctoral degree requirements.
3. Have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale for previous college work.
4. Have successfully completed a basic statistics course and graduate nursing theory and research courses prior to enrollment in the nursing doctoral courses.
5. Have achieved a competitive score on the verbal and quantitative portions of the Graduate Record Examination.
6. Complete College of Nursing Graduate Program Data Form.
7. Submit three (3) Graduate School rating forms from college level instructors and/or nurses and administrators who have supervised applicant’s professional work.
8. Submit a sample of scholarly writing (e.g., thesis, published paper).
9. Submit an essay describing personal and professional aspirations.
10. Have 2 personal interviews with the College of Nursing PhD program Admissions Committee. Interviews can be conducted by telephone in some cases.
11. Submit entire application (3 rating forms, essay, Graduate Application for Admission, Graduate Program Data Form, academic transcripts, writing sample, and GRE scores) by the specified deadline.
12. Submit TOEFL Scores if native language is not English. A minimum score of 550 is required.

 

 

 

Admission is closed for the Class of 2010. Applications for the Class of 2011 will be accepted in the fall of 2010. Transcripts must be submitted directly to the Graduate School, 218 Student Services Building, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996; other items should be sent to: Dr. Sandra Thomas , College of Nursing, UT Knoxville, 1200 Volunteer Blvd., Knoxville, TN 37996. Testing dates for the Graduate Record Examination are in October, December, February, April and June. Application to write the examination on a specific date must be made approximately one month prior to the testing date. The Educational Testing Service has also developed a computerized GRE which permits immediate score reporting; 100 cities offer this new form of the test. Contact the Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ 08450, or call 609-771-7670 for application forms. You can access the graduate catalog online at http://admissions.utk.edu/graduate/. The PhD program in Nursing requires 43 semester hours of course work and 24 hours of dissertation credits. The course numbers, titles and semester hours are as follows:

601 Philosophy and Theory of Nursing Science 3 ence Seminar 2
612 Health and Nursing Policy/Planning 3
613 Nursing Leadership in Complex Systems 3
Inferential Statistics 3
Multivariate Statistics 3
Cognates 6
Elective 3
600 Dissertation 24
Total: 67
*1 hour per semester must be taken for 2 semesters.

Important Facts

There are four (4) options* to complete the program:

  • An accelerated option for nurse educators that includes a minor in education (course work in completed in 15 months).
  • A full-time curriculum for students desiring cognates other than education.
  • A part-time curriculum (2 courses per semester).
  • A BSN-to-PhD curriculum for students who do not have an MSN degree.

* Note that all options make maximum use of summers. Possible cognate areas include but are not limited to anthropology, child and family studies, psychology, education, gerontology, management, medical ethics, philosophy, public health, social work, and statistics.


Program Delivery Mechanisms

The PhD program is delivered by a combination of on-line learning and periodic block scheduling of on-campus orientation and instructional activities. Students are required to be on campus once early in the semester and once near the end. On-campus time is for professional development, face to face meetings, classes, presentations, examinations, seminars, discussion and mentoring. On-campus schedules may vary slightly from term to term.

 

An agreement among cooperating Southern states for sharing certain graduate programs allows residents of some states to enroll in certain programs at UT Knoxville at an in-state tuition rate. Additional information may be obtained from the Admissions Specialist in the Office of Graduate Admissions and Records: 865-974-3251.

After you have reviewed the enclosed informational materials, I will be happy to answer questions about our program. We welcome both full-time and part-time students. Visits to the school to meet faculty and students are highly encouraged. I will look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,


Sandra P. Thomas, RN, PhD, FAAN (sthomas@utk.edu)
Professor and Director of the PhD Program

PhD Brochure

PhD Brochure Insert

PhD Program Data Form

PhD Program Schedule 2009-2010

BSN to PhD curriculum plan

PhD Graduate Handbook 09-10

PhD Rating Form

Campus Image
Contact the College of Nursing

1200 Volunteer Blvd.
Knoxville, TN 37996-4180

Phone: 865-974-7606
Fax: 865-974-3569