Highlights
- •PhD Curricula from 45 schools of nursing with 3-year PhD programs were analyzed.
- •Challenges to incorporating emerging priority areas in nursing science into curricula remain.
- •Overall, curricula were analogous to traditional curricula but delivered in a truncated manner.
Abstract
Background
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Future of Nursing Scholars program (FNS)
supported 45 nursing schools to create or adapt their PhD curricula to facilitate
students completing a PhD degree in 3-years.
Purpose
This analysis characterized the PhD program curricula of 45 schools. Differences in
curricula were examined based on school characteristics.
Methods
Data were collected from five cohorts of school FNS applications. Summaries of curricula
are provided and differences in curricula between schools were examined.
Findings
Most of the PhD programs (73.3%) were at very high research intensive universities.
A median of 60 credit hours were needed to complete a 3-year PhD. Most programs (84.0%)
required year-round enrollment, oftentimes inclusive of summers, and placed an emphasis
on scholars pursuing additional coursework to meet the 3-year timeline.
Discussion
Findings highlight common elements of 3-year PhD curricula that can be utilized to
inform the development and educational needs of future nurse scientists.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 06, 2023
Accepted:
November 8,
2022
Received in revised form:
September 22,
2022
Received:
August 14,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Journal Pre-ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
