The PhD in Nursing Science requires a minimum of 96 quarter credits.

School of Nursing core

• NURS 588 Philosophical Inquiry and Nursing Science (4)
• NURS 589 Application of Theory and Evidence in Nursing Science (4)
• NURS 587 Leadership Seminar (1.5 credits each in Autumn and Winter of Year 1)
• NMETH 579 Quantitative Research Methods (5)
• NMETH 582 Qualitative Inquiry (5)
• NURS 595 Synthesis of Nursing Science (4)
• NMETH 596 Application of Methods in Conduct of Research (4)
• NURS 610 Teaching Practicum (3)
• NMETH 610 Research Practicum (minimum 4 credits)

Timing for the teaching and research practica is flexible and planned with your adviser.

Additional requirements:

• Statistics, 12 credits, including one of several approved sequences in biostatistics, sociology, educational psychology or psychology
• Epidemiology, 4 credits minimum
• Clinical trials, 3 credits minimum
• Health policy, 2 credits minimum
• Advanced nursing science or nursing methods, 6 credits minimum
• Related field coursework outside nursing, 6 credits minimum, at the 400 level or above

Approved course lists are updated regularly.

After admission, you’ll be matched with a faculty adviser who provides guidance until you select a supervisory committee chair. Your chair will then guide your individualized program of study and dissertation research.

View the PhD Full-Time Study Sample Curriculum Grid
View the PhD Part-Time Study Sample Curriculum Grid
PhD Required and Elective Courses

The Nursing Science Statistics Area of Concentration requires at least 14 credits of advanced statistical methods coursework beyond the 12 statistics credits required for the PhD degree. Of these, two credits are fulfilled by the CSSS Seminar, and a minimum of 12 credits are fulfilled by at least four advanced statistics courses, three of which must come from the list of CSSS courses approved for the concentration.

All courses taken as part of the statistics concentration must be graded. However, a 500-level course that is graded credit/no credit may be considered for inclusion in your Area of Concentration proposal if:

• In the course, you submit an individual project (i.e., not a group project); and
• Major course assignments are submitted to your supervisory committee for review.

Full-time students receive a three-year funding package that includes full tuition and a stipend. Students receiving tuition support or a stipend enroll in a minimum of 10 credits in Autumn, Winter and Spring; registration is not required in Summer.

Most students complete the degree in four years. You’ll work with your committee chair to plan funding beyond the three-year package. Students commonly pursue individual fellowship or traineeship funding, such as the NIH F31, and research or teaching assistantships across the University.

Both are doctoral degrees in nursing, but they prepare you for different kinds of work.

The PhD is a research-focused degree. It prepares you to generate new nursing knowledge, lead programs of research and shape the foundation for nursing practice and health policy. If your goal is a faculty or research career, the PhD is the right degree for you.

The DNP is a practice-focused degree. It prepares you to translate research into practice, lead in clinical and organizational settings and drive improvements in patient outcomes and health systems. If your goal is advanced clinical practice, leadership or healthcare administration, the DNP is the right degree for you.

The two programs also differ in format. The PhD is an in-person program based in Seattle. The DNP combines online coursework with quarterly on-campus intensives and clinical placements in Washington state. Some nurses pursue both degrees over the course of their careers.

Not sure? Contact us and we can help you think through the decision.

The PhD in Nursing Science program requires a minimum of 96 quarter credits for completion, and graduates must meet five expected student outcomes:

1. Have multiple perspectives of knowing and acknowledge multidisciplinary contributions to knowledge generation
2. Demonstrate substantive knowledge within a particular area of nursing science with particular emphasis on issues and questions within the field that require scholarly attention
3. Innovate and rigorously test, generate and extend knowledge in an area relevant to nursing science
4. Communicate, disseminate and critique nursing science and scholarly activities in both oral and written formats
5. Demonstrate critical interrogation of positionality, recognition of implicit biases, as well as knowledge and application of anti-racism principles to promote health equity.

PhD in Nursing Science graduates demonstrate core competencies across the following 12 domains:

1. Development of research questions that advance nursing science

• Distinguish the epistemological and ontological basis of diverse forms of inquiry for generating knowledge in nursing.
• Identify observations or problems that lead to researchable questions.
• Evaluate strengths and limitations of major approaches to knowledge development as applied to a particular concern/phenomenon in nursing.
• Formulate and distinguish among a purpose statement, research question, hypothesis and specific aim for addressing a problem with research.
• Prepare the background and significance sections of a research proposal that build a compelling case for conducting a study, including how current research priorities are addressed.

2. Critique of theories and literature

• Critique theories that serve as frameworks for nursing inquiry, education, practice, or [health-related] systems.
• Differentiate between types of literature review (systematic, scoping, targeted) for summarizing knowledge about a particular problem.
• Conduct a comprehensive search of the global literature that addresses a clinical problem or research question.
• Use established rating systems for evaluating level of evidence and methodological quality as the basis for critiquing and interpreting results of published studies.
• Identify potential sources of bias and variation in published studies.
• Synthesize evidence from the literature on a clinical problem.
• Identify gaps in knowledge within a problem about which research is needed.
• Apply concept analysis techniques related to a phenomenon of interest to nursing.
• Develop a conceptual framework or model to represent the concepts and relationships involved in a clinical problem that synthesizes relevant literature globally.

3. Designing research to advance nursing science

• Describe the basic principles and practical importance of methodological perspectives.
• Describe how different research questions guide the use of different study designs.
• Assess the strengths and weaknesses of possible study designs for a given research question.
• Describe the different phases of a clinical trial.
• Identify where a planned or published study is situated in the phases of translational research.
• Identify the difference between a research design statement and study methods.
• Apply theoretical/conceptual frameworks to guide hypothesis testing and intervention development.
• Identify a target population and setting for a research project.
• Design an analysis plan that addresses the research questions, hypotheses, and study aims.
• Develop a research study protocol.
• Determine resources needed to implement a study protocol.

4. Research ethics

• Describe the fundamental principles of the protection of human subjects, the main authoritative bodies, key human rights codes, and scope of enforcement.
• Explain the purpose and overall policies to ensure ethical use, care, and safety of animals.
• Explain the ways in which the principles of research ethics are integrated into the design, conduct, oversight and dissemination of research.
• Describe the essential elements of voluntary informed consent.
• Critique a proposal for risks to human subjects and protections of vulnerable populations.
• Prepare an application for IRB approval.
• Understand the significance of and considerations for data and safety monitoring plans.
• Explain the procedures for reporting and investigating misconduct in research.
• Explain conflict of interest management in research.
• Outline criteria for determination of authorship.
• Describe the role of peer review in funding and publication.

5. Measurement and sources of error

• Identify and describe measures that operationalize stated study concepts.
• Identify how outcome and process measures correspond with conceptual models.
• Evaluate and describe the reliability and validity of study measures.
• Describe the basic principles and practical importance of variation and error.
• Assess data sources and data quality to answer specific research questions.
• Assess threats to internal and external validity in any planned or completed research study.
• Implement data quality assurance procedures for different study designs and analyses.
• Describe strategies for establishing trustworthiness and rigor in qualitative studies.

6. Analytical approaches

• Scrutinize the assumptions and corresponding limitations behind different research methods.
• Explain the uses, importance, and limitations of intent-to-treat analyses and early stopping rules in clinical trials.
• Describe the uses of meta-analytic methods.
• Describe approaches and steps for analyzing qualitative data.
• Describe the uses of and integration/triangulation of mixed-methods approaches.
• Describe use of statistical modeling techniques for answering research questions.
• Generate simple descriptive and inferential statistics that fit the study design chosen and sources/levels of measurement to answer research questions.
• Interpret computer output containing the results of statistical procedures and graphics.
• Identify approaches for minimizing and/or addressing outliers, group equivalence, analytic assumptions about distribution, and missing data in analyses.
• Compute sample size, power and precision.
• Collaborate with statisticians in the design, conduct, and analyses of research.

7. Secondary data, big data and informatics

• Describe the effects of technology on medical research, education, and patient care.
• Describe the essential functions of the electronic health record and the barriers to its use in research.
• Describe the fundamental precepts, methods/measurement, and analytic approaches for omics research in nursing science.
• Discuss the role of bioinformatics in the study design and analyses of high-dimensional data in areas, such as genotypic and phenotypic genomics.
• Identify considerations for consolidating and harmonizing data sets.
• Develop an approach to use of secondary, administrative, or electronic health records, including issues and best practices for working with received data.
• Collaborate with informatics specialists in the design, development and implementation of research projects.

8. Grant and proposal writing

• Describe the strategic priorities of and differences between relevant funding agencies and organizations at the local to international levels.
• Understand the elements involved in building a cohesive and compelling case within a research funding proposal.
• Develop an NIH biosketch for a research study.
• Develop a budget and budget justification for conducting a small/pilot research study.
• Prepare an extramural grant proposal.
• Participate in peer review and critique of research proposals.

9. Scientific communication

• Identify established guidelines (e.g., CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA) for reporting on research in scientific publications.
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate an effective research argument and to give and receive feedback.
• Develop tables and figures to depict data/analyses and communicate scientific findings.
• Write summaries of scientific information for use in the development of healthcare policy.
• Communicate research findings to different groups of individuals, including colleagues, students, the lay public, policy makers, and the media.
• Develop and submit an abstract for presentation at a scientific conference.
• Present a scholarly report of a research study in manuscript and oral presentation formats.

10. Diversity and equity

• Describe the relevance of cultural and population diversity in research design.
• Describe cultural and social variation in standards of research integrity.
• Identify NIH requirements regarding data collection about gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation.
• Describe the role of implicit bias in health disparities and methods for enhancing health equity.
• Recognize the demographic, geographic, and ethnographic features within communities and populations when designing a research study locally and globally.
• Critique studies for evidence of health disparities, such as disproportional health effects on select populations (e.g., gender, age, ethnicity, race).
• Appraise the role of community engagement as a strategy for identifying community health issues, translating health research to communities, and reducing health disparities.

11. Cross-disciplinary teamwork

• Describe how to build a collaborative, cross-disciplinary team that aligns with the objectives of the research.
• Identify strategies for collaboration and management in team science.
• Advocate for multiple points of view in research.
• Clarify terminology/language differences across disciplines.
• Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team in the conduct of research.
• Demonstrate group facilitation and decision-making skills.

12. Leadership and future roles

• Understand roles and responsibilities as a mentor and mentee.
• Understand the elements of a cohesive program of research.
• Identify attributes of leaders.
• Build a network of scholarly support and mentorship.
• Demonstrate an understanding of career development strategies and role transitions in the support of post-graduation plans.
• Develop leadership and team management skills that foster innovation and creativity.
• Apply principles of adult learning and competency-based instruction to educational activities.

The PhD program welcomes applicants from a wide range of academic backgrounds. A nursing degree is not required.

To be considered, you’ll need:

• A bachelor’s degree in any discipline from an accredited university. Your degree may be in progress when you apply but must be completed before the program begins.
• A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0, or a 3.0 GPA in the last 60 semester or 90 quarter graded credits.
• The ability to meet the criteria for Essential Qualifications and Behaviors.
• If you plan to take clinical nursing courses, an active, unrestricted Washington state RN license by the time the program begins. RN licensure is not required if you do not plan to take clinical courses.
• International applicants who plan to take clinical nursing courses must hold an active, unrestricted U.S. RN license at the time of application.
• Proof of English language proficiency (reading, writing, comprehension and spoken), if required.

Questions about your eligibility?

Email asknursing@uw.edu or join an upcoming information session.

Applications are submitted through the UW Graduate School online application system. The GRE is not required.

You will need to submit:

• A current curriculum vitae.
• A statement of goals and research interests.
• Three letters of recommendation.
• Transcripts from all postsecondary institutions attended.
  • Transcripts issued in a language other than English must include an English translation.
  • You do not need to submit a separate foreign transcript for study-abroad coursework that appears on your home institution’s transcript.
• Proof of English language proficiency (reading, writing, comprehension and spoken) if required.
• UW School of Nursing predoctoral training fellowship information (optional).

Before you apply

Review our faculty directory and identify two or three faculty members whose research aligns with your interests. Filter by Research Interests and select Accepting PhD Students. Faculty mentorship is central to the program, so this step will help you assess research fit and prepare a focused application.

PhD applicants who submit complete and competitive applications will be invited to a 40- to 45-minute live online interview in January.

You’ll receive an email with your scheduled time and Zoom link. Log in 5–10 minutes early on the day of your interview to test your camera and microphone.

Be prepared to discuss your research interests, curriculum vitae and relevant experiences, and to explain why UW is the right place for your doctoral work. We are not looking for polished answers; we are looking for genuine engagement with the questions that drive you.

If you completed coursework outside the United States, review our International applicants page for transcript, credential evaluation and English language proficiency requirements.