Ph.D. in Nursing
Program Director:
Barbara Mawn
Telephone: 978-934-4485
About the Program and Recent Updates
The Ph.D. program in nursing prepares nurse scholars in health promotion. Graduates function as researchers, clinicians and educators who demonstrate leadership in health promotion, professional, political and social arenas.The post-Master's curriculum has been recently been streamlined from 60 credits to 48 credits In addition, to meet the needs of working students with a more flexible program design, we have changed our nursing core courses to either fully online or to a weekend executive blended format with in-person class meetings once/month on a Saturday and the remainder of the learning sessions conducted online using state of the art technology.
Career Opportunities
The Health Promotion option of the Ph.D. program focuses on the development of nurse scholars who will
- Demonstrate leadership roles as researchers, clinicians and educators
- Advance knowledge in the area of health promotion
- Improve the health of diverse populations through the development, implementation and evaluation of health- promotion research and community programs.
Admissions and Degree Requirements for the Ph.D. in Nursing
Students wishing to apply for admission to the program must submit a graduate admission application form online. The preferred application deadline for Fall Admission is April 1. Applications submitted after this deadline will be considered if space allows. There are no spring applications at this time.
Admission requirements include
- A master's degree in nursing* with a minimum G.P.A. of 3.3*,
- Current Massachusetts R.N. license or eligibility
- An official report of scores on the Graduate Record Exam within the past 5 years
- Official transcripts from prior academic undergraduate and graduate records
- A personal statement about the applicant's interest in the program and career goals
- Three letters of recommendation from individuals who can assess the applicant's academic preparation for advanced graduate work. It is requested that each reference include a personal letter on official stationary in addition to a numerical evaluation of the student using the standard UMass Lowell graduate reference form.
*RN Applicants who hold a non-nursing master's degree, who have established professional records in nursing and who show potential for success in the Ph.D. program will be considered for admission on an individual basis.
International Applicants
Applicants who are from outside of the United States, who hold a nursing master's degree, have established professional records in nursing and who show potential for success in the Ph.D. program will be considered for admission. The TOEFL and GRE's are required in addition to having grades translated into English by a reputable program. For further requirements please review: http://www.uml.edu/International-applicants/default.aspx
Degree Requirements
The program requires a total of 48 credits beyond the master's degree. Students may be full or part time but in order to maintain a cohort program, part time students are expected to enroll in a minimum of two courses per semester until course work is completed.
Students must pass the Nursing Qualifying Examination which consists of two written publishable papers on approved topics related to theory and methods at the completion of all nursing core courses before enrolling in dissertation credits. The full and part time course program of study includes the following:
Course of Study (pdf)
The dissertation requirement is designed to demonstrate that the student has
- acquired a substantial body of knowledge related to the selected field of study
- conducted an original research study
- developed the ability to use appropriate research methods
- contributed to the advancement of nursing knowledge related to health promotion.
- Completed Dissertations (pdf)