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The curriculum for the Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing Program at Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston includes 66 semester hours for MSN-prepared students and 90 hours for BSN-prepared students. The course sequence is designed to prepare nurse scientists 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 to develop knowledge in a focused area of interest. The theory, research, and 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.

MSN to PhD (66 hours)

Full-time Plan

Part-time Plan

BSN to DNP (90 hours)

Full-time Plan

Part-time Plan

Curriculum notes

* Required courses offered only once 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.
***N7554 Research Forum. Students will need to complete three (3) one-credit Research Forum courses during the course of the program. Research Forum can be taken any semester but must be taken three different semesters.
**** N7555 Research Practicum- Research Practicum will be offered every semester. The student should plan with their advisor for timing of completion

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.
  • Course numbers ending in “W” denote courses that are web-based or mainly online that may require some on- campus class time.
  • Course numbers ending in “B” denote courses that are clinical and include additional fees.

The elective and cognates taken must be at the graduate level. The cognates chosen should reflect the focus of the dissertation research, 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

Consult individual course descriptions in theacademic catalogfor 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 inPhD 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 Cizik School of Nursing faculty.

学生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)

Information regarding the dissertation policy and procedures may be found in PhD Program PolicyD7400(pdf). The Dissertation Manual for students admitted before Fall 2021 can be found at found atDissertation Manual (pre 2021)(pdf). For students admitted Fall 2021 and after, the Dissertation Manual can be found atDissertation Manual (post 2021)(pdf).

一个活跃的最近的毕业论文列表available for viewing through theTexas Medical Center library.

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