Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing

Established in 1975, the Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing program is designed to prepare researchers and scholars to provide leadership to the profession and discipline of nursing. The program emphasizes the development of the student’s capacity to make significant, original contributions to nursing knowledge.

The understanding that nursing provides services that help individuals, families, and communities achieve health, health-directed self-care, and effective caregiving behaviors conceptually drives the doctoral program. These services are based on systematic knowledge about human health and human-environment relationships. Particular attention is given to the kinds of human-environment relationships that are optimal for health, self-care, and caregiving. This systematic knowledge base is the foundation of nursing science.

The purposes of the doctoral program are:

To prepare scientists capable of generating rigorously tested knowledge that contributes to the positive development of individuals, families, communities, society and the discipline of nursing.

To prepare nursing scholars who will test, generate and extend knowledge related to individuals’, families’, and communities’ self-care and caregiving behaviors; and to extend knowledge of urban environments that influence and alter health, and reduce health disparities.

To prepare leaders for the discipline and profession of nursing.

Our PhD program attracts students from throughout the world, including the Philippines, the Caribbean, Thailand, Mexico, Colombia, Jordan, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Canada, as well as the United States. Our graduates make a difference! Our alumni are prominent deans, professors, researchers, and nurse leaders throughout the world. They epitomize excellence, leadership and commitment to the nursing profession.

Students can enter the PhD program as a post-BSN student or as a student who has attained the master's of science in nursing (MSN) degree. Post-BSN students may choose to complete only a PhD in nursing or complete both the MSN and PhD degrees. More information about our three paths to a doctoral degree can be obtained here.

Nursing Research at WSU

Consistent with Wayne State’s mission as a national research institution, faculty research is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), foundations and other sources. The opportunities for collaborative research at facilities such as the Detroit Medical Center, an extensive network of hospitals and community health centers; the Wayne State University School of Medicine, the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy & Allied Health, the Institute of Gerontology, the Center for Urban and African American Health, and other schools enhance faculty research. Faculty research interest areas are found here.

Wayne State University

Wayne State University, located in the heart of Detroit's Cultural Center, offers students unrivaled connectivity to resources enabling them to achieve success in their chosen fields of study. The Carnegie Foundation classifies Wayne State University as a doctoral-extensive research university - ranking Wayne State in the top 2.5 percent of all institutions. The National Science Foundation ranks Wayne State as among the top 50 public research universities. WSU offers baccalaureate and graduate education at 12 colleges and schools located on a sprawling 203-acre campus.