Nursing, PhD

Course Requirements (46-48+ credits total)

Students pursuing the PhD in Nursing must take required courses in research, theory, and practice. Post-Master’s students complete 45-47 credit hours. BS-PhD students require an additional 9-12 credits of clinical/research specialization courses and require permission of the program director. After core coursework is completed, students enroll in dissertation credits each semester until all degree requirements are satisfied.

Choosing Dissertation Advisor, Chair, and Committee

Appointment to a dissertation committee must fit the guidelines of the Binghamton University Graduate School as stipulated in its bylaws. The vice provost and dean of the Graduate School may approve exceptions to these restrictions in specific cases. Upon such approval, individuals who are not members of the graduate faculty may serve as members, but not as faculty advisors or chairs of the graduate student dissertation committee. See the Academic Policies and Procedures for Graduate Students  for additional details about Dissertation Committee composition. A list of Decker College faculty who can serve as committee chairs and/or members is provided to the student by the program office.  In these situations, the student/advisor/mentor should complete the Decker Request Former Faculty Serve as an Advisor/Chair form and submit it to the Decker Graduate Programs Office.

Exam Requirements

See the Academic Policies and Procedures for Graduate Students  for a description of the Comprehensive Examination. The student may repeat all or part of the comprehensive examination only once. The student has five years to complete the doctorate after passing the comprehensive examination. 

Before the student takes the comprehensive examination, and in consultation with the student, a dissertation committee of at least three members is appointed from among the graduate faculty. Each student’s chair and committee develop questions based on the student’s research area of interest. The comprehensive exam will be written and may be followed by an oral examination at the committee’s discretion. The oral examination will involve the student meeting with the committee and discussing the student’s written answers. Students should have two weeks to complete their comprehensive examination. Broadly, the areas of theory, methodology and policy will be addressed in the exam questions developed by the committee. The earliest students can arrange to take a comprehensive exam is during the final semester of their PhD coursework. 

Final Oral Exam (Dissertation Defense)

The final oral examination is open to any person wishing to attend. Members of the examination committee must be given sufficient time to question the candidate about the dissertation. The final defense is a public examination, however, and the committee chair is responsible for the conduct of an open and impartial examination, including reasonable participation by observers. At the end of the examination, it is customary for the chair to request that everyone except the examining committee leave the room, so that the members may reach a decision. This procedure should not be invoked at any other time during the examination and should not preclude any questions from either committee members or outside observers. To pass, the student must receive the unanimous approval of the dissertation examining committee approved by the Graduate School. 

Following the oral exam and approval of the dissertation, the Decker director of graduate programs/PhD director submits to the Graduate School the signed Graduate School Recommendation for Admission to Candidacy form, indicating that the student has now fulfilled all academic requirements for the doctoral degree and has successfully defended the dissertation. Members of the dissertation examining committee sign the Recommendation for Award of Doctoral Degree form. 

If, at the final examination, the examiners generally approve of the dissertation but require significant changes and are not yet prepared to sign the Recommendation for Award of Doctoral Degree form, the chair of the examination committee will coordinate with other committee members to compile the required changes and will inform the student of the scope and substance of those changes. The committee will establish how the changes will be reviewed and approved.

Outside Examiner

In addition to the committee of at least three members, the Dean of the Graduate School, upon recommendation from the department, adds an outside examiner to the examination committee as the representative of the faculty of the Graduate School. Review additional information about the Outside Examiner in the Academic Policies and Procedures for Graduate Students  .

Additional Program Requirements

• Unencumbered, license and registration to practice nursing in the United States.

• Experiential Training in Research and Teaching

  • NURS 661: Teaching Practicum 

    • Since it is likely the majority of PhD in nursing students graduating from the program will be employed in academic settings, students must demonstrate expertise in teaching before graduation. Specific guidelines for meeting this requirement will be individually determined and a teaching practicum course (NURS 661) will be required. Depending on students’ prior teaching experience (undergraduate vs. graduate courses; clinical vs. theory courses), a teaching practicum will be designed to complement and build upon students’ previous experiences. The goal will be to provide students with new skill sets. 

  • NURS 690/691 Research Seminar

    • Research seminars allow students to work with faculty and build research skills. Students in NURS 690 and NURS 691 (Research Seminar I and Research Seminar II) will be assigned a faculty member to work with for the semester.