Penn Nursing: PhD Programs

We also have a curriculum for students who wish to enter directly into a Ph.D. program from their baccalaureate program (MS to PhD program). The MS/PhD program offers students the opportunity to plan an academic trajectory culminating in the doctorate at as early a point as feasible and in a manner tailored to the student’s career goals.

Fall Semester, Year 1	Spring Semester, Year 1
MS Program Fall Year 1 doctoral funding starts here N802 Proseminar in Applied Clinical Scholarship MS Course MS Course MS Course (can be Doctoral Statistics)	MS Course MS Course MS Course MS Course (can be Doctoral Statistics) Take MS General Examination and submit doctoral plan of study
PhD Program: Fall Semester, Year 2	Spring Semester, Year 2
N750 Inquiry and Nursing N813 Qualitative Paradigm Empirical Nursing Research Statistics (either SOCI535, STAT500, or PUBH501) if taken in MS: higher level stats or elective	N753 Evolving Nursing Science N754 Quantitative Research Designs and Methods Statistics (either SOCI536, STAT501, or EPID524/525) if taken in MS: higher level stats or elective
Fall Semester, Year 3	Spring Semester, Year 3
Concentration Course Concentration Course Concentration Course	Concentration Course Concentration Course Concentration Course
Fall Semester, Year 4	Spring Semester, Year 4
N800 Dissertation Seminar PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION	Defense of Dissertation Proposal DISSERTATION STATUS UNTIL DEFENSE OF DISSERTATION Funding ends here. All remaining semesters of dissertation status need to be funded by extramural sources or self-funded by the student until the final dissertation defense.

Framework of important criteria for M.S. (masters in passing) for students admitted to MS to PhD program:

1) PhD advisor assigned upon admission will meet with the student to prior to the beginning of coursework to establish a plan of study for the MS to PhD, designating the minimum 8 c.u. that will be counted as the MS.

2) All courses at 500 level and above are considered “graduate” courses in the School of Nursing and most other University schools. The faculty members who teach these courses must be members of the Graduate Group. The courses can’t be clinical courses.

3) 500 level courses may admit upper level BSN students with permission of instructor, remembering that a single course can only be counted toward 2 degrees (BSN and MS, or MS and PhD). Required doctoral core nursing courses are limited to doctoral students only. All nursing faculty teaching 500 and above level courses need to be clear about needed pre-requisites for their individual courses so that the student is not disadvantaged in being admitted without needed prerequisite knowledge.

4) The University requires that a minimum of 8 c.u. a course of a theoretical/research character, and General Examination be completed in order to award the M.S. upon recommendation of the Nursing Graduate Group. The General Examination is the final check on whether the student will be allowed to continue with PhD study.

5) Four of the 8 c.u. for the MS must be in nursing (“the field of the major”).

6) The minimum total number of c.u. post-BSN for the PhD is currently 21 (8 at MS level and 13 at PhD level).

7) The Field of Concentration for the PhD will be defined/agreed no later than the completion of the 8 c.u. for the MS. The 8 c.u. needed for the MS will relate to the field of concentration for the PhD.

8) All programs of study for MS to PhD students will be reviewed by the Curriculum Committee for discussion and ongoing evaluation of the programs a minimum of once per year.

9) Allow two basic patterns of graduate course choices to structure the first year in the MS to PhD option:

a) A set of 8 preparatory courses (no overlap with courses now usually taken by “traditional” first year PhD students)

b) Beginning one or more of the PhD core courses right away—then replacing the core PhD credits later in the program with more advanced courses (for instance, more advanced statistics, advanced seminars, etc.). The remainder of the first 8 courses would be drawn from the usual pool, including NURS 802.

To be approved in a MS/PhD plan of study, MS courses must have a logical relationship to the student's overall development; PhD concentration courses must relate to the student's intended dissertation research.