Dual Title in Nursing

In addition to the purpose and outcomes of the Ph.D. program in Nursing, the purpose of the dual-title Ph.D. program in Nursing and Clinical and Translational Sciences (CTS) is to provide Nursing Ph.D. students with the skills and knowledge necessary to pursue career paths that involve clinical trials or clinical research programs. 

In addition to the above outcomes for the Ph.D. in Nursing, the program outcomes of the Dual-Title Ph.D. Degree in Nursing and CTS include the ability to: 

1. Provide value-added training and scholarship for current and future Ph.D. students in the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing. 

2. Add novel coursework and training not prescribed in an existing (major) graduate degree program. 

3. Integrate clinical/translational research training into dissertation work (i.e., Qualifying Examination Exam, Comprehensive Exam, Final Oral Exam, and Dissertation). 

4. Enhance methodological/analytical skills and training. 

5. Expand employment and career opportunities within the nursing and health sciences arenas. 

To qualify for a dual-title degree, students must satisfy the requirements of the Ph.D. program in Nursing. In addition, they must satisfy the requirements described below, as established by the CTS program committee. Some courses may satisfy both the Nursing and CTS requirements. The dual-title Ph.D. in Nursing and Clinical and Transitional Sciences requires a minimum of an additional 2-11 credit hours of course work depending on the student’s area of specialization. Additional information can be found on the Clinical and Translational Science Institute website: https://ctsi.psu.edu/education/dual-title-phd/.

Click here to view required coursework: 

In addition to B.S.N., M.S, or M.S.N. to PH.D., the purpose of this dual-title degree is to provide Nursing Ph.D. students with the skills and knowledge necessary to conduct research and the perspective necessary to fully engage ethical issues within the discipline of nursing, to conduct original bioethics research, and produce bioethics-related scholarship. 

In addition to the above outcomes for the Ph.D. in Nursing, the program outcomes of the Dual-Title Ph.D. Degree in Nursing and Bioethics include the ability to: 

1. Produce graduates who have the breadth of knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to engage fully with scholarship from the full range of disciplines related to the interdisciplinary fields of nursing and bioethics. 

2. Enhance employment opportunities for dual-title degree graduates with bioethics training that will prepare them to contribute research and analysis to a broad range of academic and policy programs. 

3. Enhance interdisciplinary research and education in bioethics at Penn State. 

To qualify for a dual-title degree, students must satisfy the requirements of the Ph.D. program in Nursing. In addition, they must satisfy the requirements described below, as established by the Bioethics program committee. Some courses may satisfy both the Nursing and Bioethics requirements. Within this framework, final course selection is determined by the student, their Nursing adviser and their Bioethics adviser. The dual-title Ph.D. in Nursing and Bioethics requires a minimum of additional 2 credit hours to 11 credit hours of course work depending on the student’s area of specialization. Additional information can be found on the Bioethics website https://bioethics.psu.edu/graduate. 

To learn more click here to view required coursework.