Program Requirements

Review the Technology Requirements for a MU Sinclair School of Nursing Graduate Degree to make sure you have the hardware and software you need to complete your coursework. You must have your laptop, with the necessary software installed, before you arrive for your on-campus summer orientation.

During the first summer of enrollment, all new PhD students register for the distance-mediated course N7087 Leadership & Technology Institute. Additionally, new PhD students are required to attend a 3 day On Campus Intensive on the University of Missouri Campus. During the On Campus Intensive, students will meet other doctoral students and faculty, gain valuable information about PhD program resources and requirements, and obtain hands on training with the newest techniques in technology to assist them with their coursework. Learn more about dates of future Leadership and Technology Institute On Campus Days.

The interdisciplinary PhD in Nursing at MU requires a minimum of 72 credit hours beyond the baccalaureate degree. Students entering with a graduate coursework or degree can transfer in a maximum of 30 credits. A minimum of 42 credit hours must be completed at the University of Missouri. The typical student will exceed the minimum required number of credits by including additional coursework related to their research interests and professional goals. Ultimately, the student’s doctoral program committee, in collaboration with the student, determines the student’s plan of study and total credit hours necessary to adequately prepare the student to successfully complete their dissertation research. 

Students must maintain a minimum cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 in order to graduate.

Some online PhD courses are taught asynchronously using discussion boards while others are taught synchronously using videoconferencing technology (e.g. Skype, Collaborate Ultra, Go-To-Meeting, etc.). Students are responsible for attending all synchronous chats that are required for their doctoral coursework. If a course will be taught synchronously, the required synchronous chats will be either Tuesday evening, Wednesday during the day or Wednesday evening. The one exception is the summer statistics course which has synchronous chats on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Teaching modalities are determined by the faculty member(s) teaching the course and can found in MyZou at the time of course pre-registration (typically 2-3 months prior to the start of the semester).

All MU graduate students are required to submit an annual report of academic progress. MU SSON students complete the Annual Graduate Student Self-Assessment Qualtrics survey in March of each year and report on academic progress, required forms, awards/honors, publications, presentations, conferences, internal/external funding and job placement. Advisor then completes Advisor’s Annual Review Qualtrics survey in May summarizing student’s accomplishments and providing written feedback on progress. 

All PhD students are expected to attend the 4-day April On Campus Intensive each year they are enrolled in coursework. During the April On Campus Intensive experience, students will meet have time to meet with their PhD advisor and committee members, obtain hands on training with software programs such as EndNote, Excel, SPSS, and Zotero; develop writing and professional presentations skills, and learn about the cutting-edge research being done by their peers and faculty members. Click for dates of future PhD April On Campus Intensives. All On Campus Intensive experiences are at the student’s expense.

Each PhD student is expected to attend a minimum of two (2) professional, scientific conferences during their tenure as a PhD student. Examples would include the Midwest Nursing Research Society (MNRS) Annual Research Conference, a national research conference (e.g. Gerontological Society of America) or an international research conference (e.g. European Tissue Repair Society). While not required, students are encouraged to attend research conferences with their PhD mentor or one of their doctoral program committee members to help facilitate professional networking. Generally speaking, the student will be responsible for their own expenses. A limited amount of funding is available each year to support PhD students who are selected to represent the SSON in the MNRS Student Poster Competition. 

Additionally, travel funds are available for graduate students from the MU Graduate Professional Council, MU Graduate Students Association, and MU Graduate Studies to attend professional conferences, present research at a professional conference, and collect dissertation research data. For information, visit MU Graduate Studies’ Travel Scholarships for information.

Students are expected to document completion of the PhD Student Competencies prior to graduation.  It is expected that the student will have substantially completed the PhD Student Competencies at a satisfactory level prior to taking the Comprehensive Examination.  The PhD Competencies for MU SSON PhD Students can be found in the PhD Student Handbook.

Each student must successfully pass the Doctoral Comprehensive Examination by demonstrating his/her ability to address the theoretical, methodological and substantive issues of his/her field of study. The Doctoral Comprehensive Examination consists of a written section followed by an oral section. The two sections of the examination must be completed within one month. The student is expected to complete the Doctoral Comprehensive Examination within five (5) years of enrollment in the PhD program and it must be completed at least seven (7) months before the final defense of the dissertation.  The student is not allowed to sit for the doctoral comprehensive examination until all incompletes with the exception of N9090 are satisfied. Specifics of the MU SSON Doctoral Comprehensive Examination policies and procedures can be found in the MU SSON PhD Handbook. 

After successful completion of the Doctoral Comprehensive Examination, all PhD students are required to remain continuously enrolled until the approved dissertation document is submitted to MU Graduate Studies.  Continuous enrollment is maintained by registering for N9090 Research for two credit hours each fall and spring semester and for one credit hour each summer session up to and including the term in which the dissertation is defended. Failure to enroll continuously in N9090 Research until the PhD degree is awarded terminates candidacy.

The culmination of the PhD degree is the completion of a written doctoral dissertation. Within the MU SSON, the Doctoral Dissertation process consists of:

• Development of a dissertation proposal
• Approval of the proposal by the doctoral dissertation committee
• Approval of the research project by the Health Sciences Institutional Review Board
• Ethical conduct of the research project
• Writing the doctoral dissertation
• Public defense of the doctoral dissertation
• Approval of the dissertation by the candidate’s doctoral dissertation committee
• Submission of the approved dissertation to MU Graduate Studies

Specifics of the Doctoral Dissertation Process can be found in the PhD Handbook. 

PhD students must successfully complete the PhD Doctoral Comprehensive Examination within a period of five (5) years beginning with the first semester of enrollment as a PhD student. In addition, the PhD doctoral dissertation must be completed within five (5) years of passing the PhD Doctoral Comprehensive Examination.