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. 

QUALIFYING EXAMINATION

Students in the dual-title degree program must meet the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination requirements specified by Nursing; a single Qualifying Examination will be administered that includes assessment of both Nursing and Bioethics. At least one member of the Qualifying Examination committee must have a graduate faculty appointment in Bioethics. Because students must first be admitted to a graduate major program of study before they may apply to and be considered for admission into a dual-title graduate degree program, dual-title graduate degree students may require an additional semester to fulfill requirements for both areas of study and, therefore, the Qualifying Examination may be delayed one semester beyond the normal period allowable.

COMMITTEE COMPOSITION

In accordance with the Graduate Council’s requirements, the doctoral committee shall contain at least four members. At least one of the committee members must be a faculty member affiliated with the Bioethics Program who is not a member of the Nursing faculty. If the committee chair is not affiliated with the Bioethics Program, the faculty member representing the Bioethics Program must be designated as co-chair of the committee. The Bioethics program representative(s) will be expected to participate in constructing and grading comprehensive examination questions that cover the secondary area of study. The Bioethics program faculty member may serve the joint position of out of the unit and out of field member, in accordance with the Graduate School’s Graduate Student Committee Procedures.

COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION

The faculty member (or members) affiliated with the Bioethics Program will be responsible for administering a portion of the comprehensive exam that will require the student to demonstrate an understanding of various theoretical and methodological approaches to bioethics, and an ability to apply them to issues and problems (including, where appropriate, practical problems) in their primary discipline of nursing.

DISSERTATION AND DISSERTATION DEFENSE

A dissertation on a bioethics-related topic or with a substantial bioethics component is required of students in the dual-title Ph.D. program. The bioethics-related topic of the dissertation or the bioethics component will be approved by the student’s committee.

COURSES TO FULFILL REQUIREMENTS

Information on required and elective courses to fulfill Bioethics Program requirements can be found on the Bioethics website https://bioethics.psu.edu/dual-title-ph-d-in-bioethics-course-list/ 

SAMPLE PLAN OF STUDY FOR DUAL-TITLE NURSING & BIOETHICS

Dual-Title Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing & Bioethics
Full-Time Study

49 Credits (minimum) + NURS 602

Dual-Title PhD in Nursing & Clinical and Translational Sciences (CTS)

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