PhD in Nursing PHD
The PhD in Nursing program integrates science, theory, and research to educate the next generation of nurse scientists and leaders. Our students strive to advance nursing knowledge and translate research into practice that promotes the health and care of patients.
The program is offered on-campus both full-time and part-time. The courses are structured so that the required doctoral nursing courses are offered only one day per week.
Program Type
Doctoral
Program Format
On Campus
The Potential of a PhD in Nursing from UWM
As the largest School of Nursing in the state, UW-Milwaukee partners with over 160 agencies to prepare nurse scientists, researchers and educators. Go beyond the bedside and make an impact on the world around you with a PhD in nursing from UWM.
What students accomplish in the school’s traditional PhD program depends on their focus area, personal interests, and long-term research and career preferences. The student’s major professor helps to define student success early so they can plan and conduct cutting-edge research.
Research and mentorship experiences prepare doctoral students for successful careers as academic or clinical scientists, as educators, and for other opportunities in the rapidly evolving nursing professions.
Scholarships & Funding
We understand that financial support is important to every student. A variety of options are available to help students finance their education at UWM, including over $500,000 in nursing scholarships & funding awarded annually, as well as loans, grants, student employment, fellowships, military education benefits and more. UWM offers generous aid options for students seeking to be nurse educators or nurse faculty.
Full-Time On-Campus PhD – 3-year plan
Year 1
| Course | Course Number | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Foundations of Inquiry for Health | NURS 801 | 3 |
| Multivariate Statistics | NURS 808 | 3 |
| Issues in Scholarship | NURS 890 | 3 |
| Specialty Elective | 3 | |
| Science of Nursing | NURS 802 | 3 |
| Qualitative Methods in Health Research | NURS 882 | 3 |
| Quantitative Methods in Health Research | NURS 883 | 3 |
| Measurement in Health Research | NURS 881 | 3 |
| Research Practicum | NURS 899 | 3 |
| First Year Exam, Summer |
Year 2
| Course | Course Number | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Choose one advanced methods course: Advanced Quantitative Advanced Qualitative | NURS 885 NURS 886 | 3 3 |
| Specialty Elective | 3 | |
| Research Practicum | NURS 899 | 2 |
| Health Policy | NURS 803 | 3 |
| Analysis of Nursing Phenomena | NURS 820 | 3 |
| Specialty Elective | 3 | |
| Integrative Studies | NURS 809 | 3 |
Year 3
| Course | Course Number | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Doctoral Independent Study (Comprehensive Exam) | NURS 997 NURS 897 | 1 |
| Dissertator | NURS 997 | 3 |
| Dissertator | NURS 997 | 3 |
Full-time On-Campus PhD – 4-year plan
Year 1
| Course | Course Number | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Foundations of Inquiry for Health | NURS 801 | 3 |
| Multivariate Statistics | NURS 808 | 3 |
| Issues in Scholarship | NURS 890 | 3 |
| Science of Nursing | NURS 802 | 3 |
| Qualitative Methods in Health Research | NURS 882 | 3 |
| Quantitative Methods in Health Research | NURS 883 | 3 |
| Measurement in Health Research | NURS 881 | 3 |
| Research Practicum | NURS 899 | 1 |
| First Year Exam |
Year 2
| Course | Course Number | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Choose one advanced methods course: Advanced Quantitative Advanced Qualitative | NURS 885 NURS 886 | 3 |
| Research Practicum | NURS 899 | 1 |
| Specialty Elective | 3 | |
| Health Policy | NURS 803 | 3 |
| Analysis of Nursing Phenomena | NURS 820 | 3 |
| Specialty Elective | 3 | |
| Integrative Studies | NURS 809 | 1 |
| Specialty Elective | 3 |
Year 3
| Course | Course Number | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Research Practicum | NURS 899 | 2 |
| Doctoral Independent Study (Comprehensive Exam) | NURS 897 | 1 |
| Dissertator | NURS 997 | 3 |
Year 4
| Course | Course Number | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Dissertator | NURS 997 | 3 |
| Dissertator | NURS 997 | 3 |
Part-time On-Campus PhD – 5-year plan
Year 1
| Course | Course Number | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Foundations of Inquiry for Health | NURS 801 | 3 |
| Science of Nursing | NURS 802 | 3 |
| Multivariate Statistics | NURS 808 | 3 |
| Quantitative Methods in Health Research | NURS 883 | 3 |
Year 2
| Course | Course Number | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Issues in Scholarship | NURS 890 | 3 |
| Research Practicum | NURS 899 | 1 |
| Specialty Elective | 3 | |
| Specialty Elective | 3 | |
| Qualitative Methods in Health Research | NURS 882 | 3 |
| Measurement in Health Research | NURS 881 | 3 |
| Research Practicum | NURS 899 | 1 |
| First Year Exam (Summer) |
Year 3
| Course | Course Number | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Choose one advanced methods course: Advanced Quantitative Advanced Qualitative | NURS 885 NURS 886 | 3 |
| Research Practicum | NURS 899 | 1 |
| Specialty Elective | 3 | |
| Health Policy | NURS 803 | 3 |
| Analysis of Nursing Phenomena | NURS 820 | 3 |
| Integrative Studies | NURS 809 | 3 |
| Research Practicum | NURS 899 | 1 |
Year 4
| Course | Course Number | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Doctoral Independent Study (Comprehensive Exam) | NURS 897 | 1 |
| Dissertator | NURS 997 | 3 |
Year 5
| Course | Course Number | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Dissertator | NURS 997 | 3 |
| Dissertator | NURS 997 | 3 |
All applicants must apply through the Graduate School’s application system and upload the following:
- a nonrefundable application fee;
- unofficial transcripts from each academic institution attended where at least nine or more credits were attempted or completed. Applicants are required to submit official transcripts after an admission offer is accepted;
- current curriculum vitae;
- references from three different people who know about your academic experience and your potential for graduate study in nursing.
- a written statement from the applicant that includes previous professional experience, professional career goals, research interests, motivation for PhD study and educational objectives for the program.
- Two examples of original work that demonstrate the applicant’s academic potential.
- A conversation with a faculty member is required as part of the application process. A telephone conversation or video meeting (e.g. Zoom, Skype) may be used when travel is prohibitive.
Prerequisites
Applicants to the PhD in Nursing at UWM must have:
- a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree in nursing or health related field from a professionally accredited program with a cumulative grade point average of at 3.2 (4.0 scale) for all previous graduate coursework;
- completion of a graduate-level statistics course (within the last five years) with a grade of B or higher.
UWM School of Nursing Approved Graduate Statistics Courses:
| University/College | Course | Course Number |
|---|---|---|
| UW-Milwaukee | Biostatistics (Online/On-Campus) | NURS 720 |
| UW-Stevens Point | Basic Statistical Methods for Social Science (On-Campus) | SOC 590 |
| UW-Stevens Point | Basic Statistical Methods in Education (Online) | EDUC 705 |
| Penn State World campus | Applied Statistics | STATS 500 |
| UMass Online | Introduction to Probability and Applied Statistics | EEOS 601 |
| University of Phoenix | Applied Business Research and Statistics | QNT 561 |
| University of Phoenix | Statistics For The Behavior Sciences | PSYC 625 |
| UCLA Extension | Advanced Statistics and Quantitative Methods | STATS 402.1 |
Important Dates
Priority Application Deadline
February 1
(Fall start)
Upcoming Information Sessions
Register for Information Sessions
February 1
(Fall start)
Upcoming Information Sessions
Register for Information Sessions
Contact
PhD Program Research Areas
| Faculty Name | Areas of Interest | Methods Used |
|---|---|---|
| Alexa Anderson PhD, MA Associate Professor | – Behavioral pharmacology – Substance use disorders – Health-related behaviors – Perinatal populations – IPV – Veterans-Military | – Correlational Research – Cross Sectional Studies – Descriptive Research – Experimental Research – Mixed Methods – Quantitative Research – Quasi-experimental Research – Survey Research |
| Jennifer Doering PhD, RN, FAAN Professor & Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Head of School | – Perinatal mental health – Perinatal sleep and fatigue – Mothering, motherhood ideology, and feminism – High education nursing administration – Leadership and career development including “career cartography” – Philosophy of science focused on nursing science and knowledge development | – Qualitative: Grounded theory – Quantitative – Mixed methods |
| Julie L. Ellis PhD, RN Associate Professor | – Gerontological nursing – Health disparities – Vulnerable populations – Self-management of chronic disease | – Qualitative Research – Quantitative Research – Survey Research – Participatory Research |
| Jovan Gwon PhD, RN, FIAAN Associate Professor | – Tobacco cessation – Young adults in rural areas – Rural health – Social determinants of health | – Experimental Research – Clinical Trials Research |
| Barbara Haase PhD, MSN, RN, APRN, CPNP-PC, IBCLC Assistant Professor | – Lactation, breastfeeding | – Experimental – Observational Studies |
| Jeana M. Holt PhD, DNP, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, APNP Associate Professor, Kellner Entrepreneurship Fellow | – Human-centered design in healthcare and graduate healthcare education – Nurse-Led Innovation and Entrepreneurship – Art and technology-based Autism interventions – Knowledge representation and terminologies – Person-centered Primary Care | – Program Evaluation – Mixed methods – Community-based Participatory Research – Implementation Science – Artificial Neural Network Analysis and Predictive Analytics |
| Peninnah Kako PhD, RN, FNP-BC, APNP Professor, EC Chair | – HIV/AIDS and women – Health needs evaluation – International research (sub-Saharan Africa) – Vulnerable populations – Rural and urban comparative research – Multicultural research | – Qualitative Research – Multistage Narrative Inquiry – International Collaborative Research – Multilingual approaches to interviews |
| Jennifer Kibicho PhD, DTM, CPA (K) Associate Professor | – Health Economics – Economic analyses of health care costs, prescription drug cost drivers, cost containment policies, and the cost of providing care to persons living with HIV/AIDS – Pharmacy-mediated medication adherence interventions in diverse real-world pharmacy settings – Global health, including evaluations of structural-level interventions that address poverty, gender-based violence, and other structural factors that place individuals at elevated risk for HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa | – Econometrics – Health system financial analysis – Health care cost – benefit analysis |
| Kim Litwack PhD, RN, FAAN, APNP Professor & Dean, College of Health Professions and Sciences (CHPS) | – Peri-anesthesia Care – Primary Care – Nurse Practitioners – Pain management – Educational Research – Program Evaluation | – Qualitative Research – Quantitative Research |
| Michele Polfuss PhD, RN, CPNP-AC/PC, FAAN Professor & Joint Research Chair in the Nursing of Children, Children’s Wisconsin/UW-Milwaukee | – Childhood overweight and obesity and co-related morbidities – Overweight and obesity in individuals with a developmental disability – Accurate assessment of body composition in a clinical setting – Energy expenditure – Weight-related behaviors (e.g., nutrition, activity, and sleep) – Role of the family in weight-related behaviors – Chronic conditions in children and adolescents – Influence of a chronic condition on the family – Health disparities – Individual and Family Self-Management | – Quantitative Methods – Qualitative Methods |
| Julia Snethen PhD, RN, FAAN Professor & PhD Program Director | – Childhood obesity – Chronic conditions in children and adolescents – Parents/siblings of children with chronic conditions – Family focused care – Creative teaching strategies – Maternal-child health care/postpartum – International nursing | – Q-methodology – Qualitative methods – Quantitative methods – Focus groups |
| Murad Taani PhD, MPH, RN Associate Professor | – Older adult health and illness care – Physical activity – Sarcopenia – Self-Management – Community health nursing | – Clinical Trials Research – Correlational Research – Cross-Sectional Studies – Descripting Research – Experimental Research – Quantitative Research – Quasi-experimental Research |
| AkkeNeel Talsma PhD, RN, FAAN Associate Professor and Kellner Entrepreneurship Fellow | – Health Services Research – Mixed Methods – Participatory Research | – Maternal health and Infant outcomes – Innovation, Clinical registries, Big Data, Quality and Safety |
| Lynne M. Woehrle PhD Associate Professor, Peacebuilding Program Director | – Systems change – Community-based research and evaluation Peacebuilding and community health – Community economic development – Food, Work, Gender, Racism – Health equity – Violence prevention | – Qualitative methods – Mixed methods – Community Based Action Research – Focus groups |
