PhD in Nursing
Want to reach the top of your field? Earn your PhD in Nursing and make a difference for both your patients and the profession.
Want to reach the top of your field? Earn your PhD in Nursing and make a difference for both your patients and the profession.
Whether you want to influence policy or shape the next generation of nurses, earning your PhD in Nursing from Walden can empower you to impact the healthcare industry at a higher level. Find your voice, and gain the confidence you need to turn your knowledge, experience, and ideas into action.
The PhD in Nursing is the highest-level graduate degree in the nursing field. It’s geared toward those who wish to teach in academia or contribute original new research to the profession.
Walden’s PhD in Nursing program offers a variety of specializations to help you meet your personal and professional goals. Learn more about each specialization and its related curriculum:
Drive continuous improvements in nursing science, education, or practice with a PhD in Nursing online from Walden. Gain the expertise to conduct research and develop healthcare policies, systems, and services for tomorrow’s nursing professionals. By earning your PhD at Walden, a pioneer in distance learning, you will benefit from our 50 years of experience educating doctoral students.
As a graduate of Walden’s PhD in Nursing online program, you’ll be able to:
Demand for nursing faculty is especially high. A lack of nurse educators is forcing many nursing schools to turn away thousands of qualified applicants to bachelor’s and graduate programs.3 The nursing field needs leaders and innovators who are committed to transforming the profession.
A PhD in Nursing degree can empower you to reach your full potential as a nursing professional and impact the lives of many. Pursue meaningful work that makes a difference while opening the door to the possibilities of increased salary, promotion, and new career opportunities.4
A PhD in Nursing can prepare you to pursue career options such as:
A PhD in Nursing can prepare you to work in settings such as:
Career options may require additional experience, training, or other factors beyond the successful completion of this degree program.
Nancy Moss, PhD
Program Director
With more than 25 years of experience, Dr. Moss is a certified nurse-midwife and family nurse practitioner (FNP). She received her PhD from the University of Utah in Health Education and Health Care Administration with a focus on stress management. Dr. Moss has developed and implemented a university nurse-midwifery program as well as several nurse-midwifery practices for rural communities.
Leslie C. Hussey PhD, RN, CNE
Nursing PhD Academic Program and Residency Coordinator
Dr. Hussey has served as a tenured faculty member at several universities with a teaching and clinical focus on intensive care nursing. She received her PhD from the University of North Texas in Higher Education and Administration with a focus on Gerontology. Dr. Hussey has experience developing and implementing MSN-level practitioner and doctoral program curriculum.
My inspiration for getting my degree was the idea of giving back to the community.
I now have the best of both worlds: to educate and care for future nurses.
Note: Time to completion and cost are not estimates of individual experience and will vary based on individual factors applicable to the student. Factors may be programmatic or academic, such as tuition and fee increases; transfer credits accepted by Walden; program or specialization changes; unsuccessful course completion; credit load per term; part-time vs. full-time enrollment; writing, research, and editing skills; use of external data for the doctoral study/dissertation; and individual progress in the program. Other factors may include personal issues such as the student’s employment obligations, caregiving responsibilities, or health issues; leaves of absence; or other personal circumstances.
Note on licensure
The PhD in Nursing is not a licensure program and will not prepare students as nurse practitioners.
1Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) IPEDS database. Retrieved February 2020, using CIP codes 51.3801 (Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse); 51.3808 (Nursing Science); 51.3818 (Nursing Practice). Includes 2017–18 provisional data.
2 Time to completion and cost are not estimates of individual experience and will vary based on individual factors applicable to the student. Factors may be programmatic or academic, such as tuition and fee increases; transfer credits accepted by Walden; program or specialization changes; unsuccessful course completion; credit load per term; part-time vs. full-time enrollment; writing, research, and editing skills; use of external data for the doctoral study/dissertation; and individual progress in the program. Other factors may include personal issues such as the student’s employment obligations, caregiving responsibilities, or health issues; leaves of absence; or other personal circumstances.
3Source: American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Nursing Faculty Shortage Fact Sheet.
4Source: Data from January 2019 to January 2020 for this analysis of job postings for nurses with a PhD was retrieved using Burning Glass Technologies Labor Insight Real-Time Labor Market Information Tool. Results are at the national level and may not reflect local and/or short-term job conditions and are subject to change. Some jobs may require other credentials besides completion of a degree. Walden makes no representation or guarantee that completion of Walden coursework or programs will permit an individual to obtain state licensure or other credential.
5Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, Occupational projections and worker characteristics. National long-term projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions, do not guarantee actual job growth, and are subject to change.
