Contact Info
Office location: Education II North, Room 3255
Mailing address: 13120 East 19th Avenue, 3rd Floor
Aurora, CO 80045
Phone number: 303-724-1812
Web Page: https://nursing.cuanschutz.edu/
Email: Nursing.admissions@cuanschutz.edu
Become a Nurse Scientist and Earn Your PhD
CU Nursing provides one of the nation’s top Ph.D. in Nursing programs, with innovative programming, exceptional faculty, and unique resources on the Anschutz Medical Campus. In two to three years, you can complete a Doctor of Philosophy Ph.D. in Nursing as a culmination of your education. This doctorate opens the doors of academia and research so that you can become a professor, researcher, scientist or healthcare analyst. In this program, nurse scholars will advance the art, science and practice of the discipline.
Most of your coursework is taught online. Once per semester, students are also required to come to our Denver metro area campus for a week-long residency in the fall, spring and summer. This is the heart of our doctorate program because it gives you a chance to get to know your colleagues and develop your research skills.
The Ph.D. program includes 42 credits of coursework and 18 credits of dissertation. Students must also select a focus:
- Biobehavioral Sciences
- Caring Science*
- Health Care Systems Research
The MS-PhD program prepares baccalaureate-prepared nurses to enter the doctor of philosophy program, which is designed to promote knowledge development for reflective, theory-based and research-guided nursing practice, after completion of a master's program focusing on a specialty nursing area.
For further information about the PhD Program in Nursing, please visit: https://nursing.cuanschutz.edu/academics/graduate-programs/masters-dnp-phd/doctor-of-philosophy-(phd).
*Caring Science is not admitting for the Fall 2024 Semester
Nursing PhD Admission Requirements
For updated admissions requirements for the PhD Program in Nursing, please visit: https://nursing.cuanschutz.edu/academics/graduate-programs/masters-dnp-phd/phd-admissions.
Applications are submitted through Nursing’s Centralized Application Service (NursingCAS).
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Nursing
Our blended program provides each student with three different tracks. You may choose the research track that matches your professional and research goals. As a newly admitted student, you will be paired with a faculty advisor from your chosen area who will help you acclimate to the PhD environment, accomplish each requirement of the degree, and develop the research question that will be the foundation of your dissertation. Once per semester (Fall, Spring, and Summer), you will come to the Anschutz Medical Campus in the Denver metro area for a week-long residency. This will provide you with rich opportunities to get to know your colleagues and faculty and benefit from the collective knowledge you all bring to in-person conversations.
Our tracks include:
Biobehavioral Sciences
When studying biobehavioral sciences, you seek to understand the connections between patients’ physical health and things like lifestyle, behavior, environment, and genetics. Biobehavioral scientists seek to improve patient care by understanding these connections and effectively educating patients on the ways their actions and decisions can impact their health.
Health Care Systems Research
This track provides you with the foundation you need to research health care systems. For example, our students have researched health outcomes related to hospital staffing best practices and how to optimize management skills of head nurses. This track is particularly unique to CU Anschutz. We are the only university in the West providing this kind of focus, and one of only four programs like this in the entire nation.
For further information about the PhD Program in Nursing, please visit: https://nursing.cuanschutz.edu/academics/graduate-programs/masters-dnp-phd/doctor-of-philosophy-(phd).
*Caring Science is not admitting for the Fall 2024 semester.
Curriculum
The PhD program includes 42 credits of coursework and 18 credits of dissertation. All students must take the core courses in addition to selecting a focus in health care systems or biobehavioral science.
PhD Core
Year 1
| Year 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | |
| NURS 7101 | Metatheory in Nursing I | 3 |
| NURS 7621 | Advanced Qualitative Research Design, Methods & Analysis I | 3 |
| NURS 7001 | Diversity of Scientific Perspectives | 1 |
| Hours | 7 | |
| Spring | ||
| NURS 7102 | Metatheory in Nursing II | 3 |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 10 | |
Year 2
| Year 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | |
| NURS 7631 | Advanced Quantitative Research Design, Methods & Analysis I | 3 |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Spring | ||
| NURS 7622 | Advanced Qualitative Research Design, Methods & Analysis II | 3 |
| NURS 7632 | Advanced quantitative Reserach Design, Methods & Analysis II | 3 |
| Hours | 6 | |
| Total Hours | 9 | |
Year 3
| Year 3 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | |
| NURS 7350 | Research Practicum | 3 |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Spring | ||
| NURS 8990 | Dissertation (Take 18 total credits after coursework completed.) | 1-10 |
| Hours | 1-10 | |
| Summer | ||
| NURS 7440 | Measurement for Nursing Science | 3 |
| NURS 7856 | Independent Study | 1-4 |
| Hours | 4-7 | |
| Total Hours | 8-20 | |
Health Care Systems (HCS)
Year 2
| Year 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | |
| NURS 7720 | Health Care Systems I: Evaluating Health Care Delivery System | 3 |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Spring | ||
| NURS 7730 | Health Care Systems II: Changing Health Care Delivery Systems | 3 |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Summer | ||
| NURS 7803 | Health Care Systems: State of the Science | 3 |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 9 | |
Year 3
| Year 3 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| NURS 7200 | Writing Discipline for Scientific Publishing | 3 |
| Hours | 6 | |
| Summer | ||
| Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 9 | |
Biobehavioral Sciences (BBS)
Year 2
| Year 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | |
| NURS 7740 | BBS I: Intrapersonal Determinants & Phenomena | 3 |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Spring | ||
| NURS 7750 | BBS II: Interpersonal Phenomena & Determinants | 3 |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Summer | ||
| Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 9 | |
Year 3
| Year 3 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | |
| NURS 7760 | Interventions & Outcomes in Biobehavioral Research | 3 |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Summer | ||
| Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 6 | |
Expected PhD Program Outcomes
- Create new knowledge through the research process.
- Demonstrates commitment to the profession through publications and conference presentations or engagement in professional organizations.
- Examines multiple theories and methodologies for application to research problems.
- Engages with fellow scientists and students in scholarly discourse.
- Demonstrates ethical responsibility and action as a scientist.
- Considers research findings relevant to public health and healthcare policy.