Doctor of Philosophy in the Field of Nursing

To meet the demands of a growing health workforce, the nursing profession needs to increase the supply of doctorally prepared faculty and researchers trained to educate the next generation. The national shortage of faculty is reaching critical proportions, resulting in a significant impact on educational programs and their capacity to educate future generations of nursing students.

GW Nursing offers a low-residency PhD in nursing with opportunities to collaborate with faculty on subjects such as nursing education, symptom management, health equity, health services, and more. Students will be prepared as nurse scientists and faculty with an emphasis on research. A dissertation and comprehensive exam is required.

Visit the GW nursing website for additional information.

Adminssion Requirements

Article	Requirement
Admission deadline:	Fall - Priority: December 1 | Final: May 15
Recommendations required:	Three letters of recommendation
Prior academic records	Official transcripts from all post-secondary schools attended
Statement of Purpose:	Statement of purpose (addressing research and potential GW research mentors)
Prerequisites	Graduate-level inferential statistics course taken within the past five years
Additional Requirements:	Master's degree in nursing or related field Current RN License Writing sample (published article or graded academic paper) 3.0 (on 4.0 scale) preferred GPA Interview if selected as a top candidate
International Requirements:	TOEFL is: Internet-based test: 100 or higher Paper test: 600 or higher The minimum required score for the IELTS is: An overall band score of 7.0 Individual band scores of 6.0 or higher

Supporting documents not submitted online should be mailed to:
Office of Admissions
45085 University Drive, Suite 201-T
Ashburn, VA 20147

Contact for questions:
nursing@gwu.edu ~ 571-553-0138 (phone)
https://nursing.gwu.edu/admissions-aid
9:00 am – 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday

The following requirements must be fulfilled: 57 credits, including 54 credits in required courses and 3 credits in elective courses.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Required
NURS 8430	Determinants of Health
NURS 8439	Data Management and Analytics
NURS 8440	Philosophy of Science and Theories
NURS 8441	Statistics for Healthcare Research I
NURS 8442	Statistics for Healthcare Research II
NURS 8443	Research Program Development Seminar I
NURS 8444	Research Program Development Seminar II
NURS 8445	Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research Designs
NURS 8446	Qualitative Research Design
NURS 8447	Measurement for Health Care Research
NURS 8448	Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
NURS 8449	Non-Experimental Research Design
NURS 8450	Research Rotation
NURS 8452	Team Science and Collaboration
NURS 8453	Leadership and Health Policy
NURS 8454	Proposal Development Seminar
NURS 8455	Dissertation
Electives
3 credits in graduate-level elective courses selected with the advisor's approval.

Note regarding curriculum change: The addition of NURS 8430 Determinants of Health and reduction in elective credits from 6 to 3 was approved after the fall 2024 semester began. Students should contact the School of Nursing with any questions.