Admission Requirements

All applicants must meet the general requirements for admission to the Graduate School. In addition to these general requirements, the College of Nursing requires the following for admission to the doctoral program:

• A course in statistics;

• A course in research at the graduate level;

• A master's degree with a major in nursing from a program accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting body (preferred);

• Scores for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Miller Analogies Test;

• Two letters of recommendation;

• A statement of research interest area and professional goals;

• A current license to practice professional nursing in the USA*;

• A curriculum vita or resume.

*Nursing credentials of international students will be assessed individually

Admission to the nursing doctoral degree program may be awarded on an unconditional or provisional basis. The criteria for unconditional admission are as follows:

• A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 on prior graduate level course work or

• A preferred score of 460 on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Verbal and 500 on the GRE Quantitative; or

• A preferred score of 50 on the Miller Analogies Test (MAT).

Applicants who do not meet the unconditional criteria, but who have a minimum GPA of 3.0 on prior graduate level course work may be considered for provisional admission on an individual basis. Factors that will be considered in the admission decision are

• GPA on graduate level work,

• GRE verbal and quantitative scores or MAT score,

• scholarly activities,

• professional leadership, and

• work history

Admission Deadlines

In order to be considered for admission, please use the following application deadlines. These are the deadlines for all materials to be submitted, including your application, all transcripts, reference letters, CV, and letter of research goals and professional interests.

Application for admission to the PhD program involves two steps:

1. Letters of reference, the letter stating research goals and interests, and current curriculum vitae should be mailed to the program coordinator at the location you plan to attend.
    

2. Your application, application fee, transcripts, and GRE/MAT scores should be mailed to Graduate Admissions in Denton.  The Denton address is on the application form.

Academic Advisement

At the time of admission to the doctoral program each student is assigned a major advisor from the graduate nursing faculty.  The student, together with the major advisor, plans the first twelve hours of course work.  Students must contact their major advisor prior to enrolling in any course work.

At the completion of twelve specified hours in the program (N6023, N6053, N6004), an advisory committee will be formed for the student. This three member academic advisory committee has the primary authority and responsibility for the academic program and progress of the student.  This responsibility includes the formulation, with the student, of a total program of doctoral study. The Doctoral Degree Plan [pdf], as approved by the academic advisory committee, must be filed in the Graduate Office.

The chairperson of the academic advisory committee is the faculty member whom students should contact for information related to procedures and requirements for the degree program planning, changes in the program of studies and/or changes in committee membership, advisement about courses to be taken, and transfer of credit from other institutions.

Transfer of Credits

The doctoral program consists of a minimum of 60 semester hours, post master's credit (90 semester hours minimum post baccalaureate).  At least fifty percent of the work counted toward the doctoral degree must be composed of courses completed at TWU.

The master's degree in nursing is considered a part of the doctoral program.  These courses will appear on your degree plan even though they may have been completed at another university.  Additional hours may be transferred into the doctoral degree program with the advisory committee's approval.  Transfer courses (not including the master's degree) must not be more than ten years old.

Program Requirements

Research Tools

To complete the first research tool requirement, students must take statistics. The student must complete six hours of graduate level statistics.

To complete the second research tool requirement, students may choose one of the following options:

• Information Retrieval: Complete LS 5553 and LS 5573
• Computer Packages: Complete CSCI 5793 and CSCI 5893 or pass a competency exam
• Qualitative Research: Complete SOC 5773/6203 Data Gathering and SOC 5773/6203 Data Analysis
• Writing Research Tool: Complete ENG 5903 (Academic & Professional Writing) and an additional writing course selected from the following: ENG 5333, ENG 5365, ENG 5373, ENG 6313, ENG 6323, ENG 6343. If courses are taken elsewhere, approval of the doctoral coordinator is required. 

Credit hours for research tools do not count toward the total hours required for the degree.

Special Requirements

1. Grade of B or better is required in all nursing courses. A student who has earned a grade of less than B (C, D, F, or WF) in two nursing courses at the graduate level or who has earned a grade of less than B (C, D, F, or WF) twice in the same graduate level nursing course will be removed from the nursing program. For the purpose of removal from the nursing program, a grade of less than B is counted as a grade of less than B even if the course has been successfully repeated.
2. Students admitted to the doctoral program provisionally, based on a low GPA or GRE/MAT, must complete the first 12 hours of coursework with a grade of B or better in each course; at least 6 hours must be in nursing courses. A provisionally admitted student will be dismissed from the program if a grade of C or lower is made in any course during the probationary period.

Preliminary Examination

Upon completion of NURS 6023, NURS 6053, and NURS 6004 students will complete a preliminary examination to determine if further course work toward the doctorate may be completed.

Admission to Candidacy

For admission to candidacy the following are required:

1. Unconditional admission status.  If the admission was provisional, the student must have satisfied the requirements listed on the admission letter for advancement to unconditional admission status.  The Graduate School must receive formal notification from the Dean of the College of Nursing that the requirements for advancement to unconditional admission have been met.  The student is responsible for completing the form to change admission status from provisional to unconditional admission.  This form is given to the Doctoral Coordinator who forwards it to the Associate Dean on the campus the student is attending. The final decision to change status is from the Dean of the Graduate School.
2. An accepted degree plan must be filed in the Graduate School.  If, during the course of the program, the student has substituted a course on the degree plan, an Application for Change of Degree Plan must be submitted to the Graduate School.  These forms should be channeled through the Doctoral Coordinator.  
3. Good academic standing.  No grade below B is accepted toward a doctoral degree.  
4. Completion of research tools.  
5. Completion of all course work.  
6. Successful completion of the preliminary examination and a preproposal meeting.

Completion of Dissertation

Each student is required to conduct a research project that exhibits evidence of scholarship and potential for adding the body of nursing knowledge.

The choice of a dissertation chairperson is an important mutual decision between the student and the faculty member.  The student and chairperson should have a shared interest in the research topic and work together to develop the dissertation.  In addition to the chair, the student selects at least two (2) additional committee members.  The chair and at least one other committee member must be from the College of Nursing.  Consult the Graduate Catalog for a comprehensive discussion of the Policies and Guidelines for Graduate Committees on Thesis, Dissertation, and Professional Papers.

The dissertation is a multi-step process.  Proposal defense occurs following the preparation of the first three chapters.  After proposal defense and Graduate School approval, students complete data collection and analysis. Approval from the Human Subjects Review Committee and agencies should be obtained prior to data collection.  After chapters four and five of the dissertation are written, a final defense is scheduled.  Students should follow the Guidelines for Thesis and Dissertation, which can be downloaded from the TWU web page www.twu.edu/o-grad/degree_completion.htm. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association should be used by all students in the College of Nursing for preparation of the prospectus and dissertation.

Students must be enrolled during the semester in which they defend their proposal or file their dissertation for graduation.  Students must also be enrolled in dissertation hours during semesters when they utilize their chair or committee members while working on the dissertation.  Six hours of credit are earned for the dissertation.

Students should be aware of the filing dates, graduation application dates, and fees required for graduation.  This information is available from the Graduate School.

Final Examination

Oral, over the completed dissertation

Timelines

All program requirements must be completed within ten consecutive calendar years from the date when the first doctoral credit is earned.  Students who have two continuous years of non-enrollment must reapply for admission to the program.

A student considering the doctoral program should plan on a minimum of two years of full time and one year of part-time study to complete the course work plus the dissertation.  Full time study is at least 9 hours of course work per semester.  Part-time study is also an available option.  Many students complete the program on a part-time basis.  Regardless of whether full or part-time study options are selected, efforts are made to provide rich opportunities for study and development.

Readmission

Doctoral students who interrupt their progression in the doctoral program for more than two years must make a formal request to the College of Nursing for readmission to the program. The Graduate Academic Affairs Committee will evaluate the request. If the request is granted, the Academic Advisory Committee will, in consultation with the Doctoral Coordinator, stipulate any course work to be repeated. However, the ten-year time limitation for completion of the program shall remain in effect from the time the first doctoral credit is awarded. If during the student's absence, the curriculum or admission standards have changed, the student will be expected to meet any new admission standards and fulfill the requirements of the current curriculum.

Students not in good standing at the time they cease course work shall not be readmitted to the program. Students who have been dismissed from the program shall not be eligible for readmission. Students who have failed the qualifying examination for the second time shall not be eligible for readmission.