Doctoral

The Doctoral Program in the Faculty of Nursing is designed to educate professionals for excellence in nursing scholarship through original research with identified populations.

The program offers opportunities to become research intensive, gain core disciplinary knowledge and expertise within a substantive field (CASN 2011). Applicants are required to seek out faculty with who they believe would be a good "fit" with their focus of study prior to application. Information about our faculty members and their research areas is available on the Nursing Research Website at http://nursing.ucalgary.ca/contact-us/directory/

Admission Requirements

1. 3.0 Grade Point Average:  Will vary depending on the previous degree(s) held.
2. Scholarly work:  Examples of applicant’s written work such as publications, research reports/proposals, previous master’s thesis, etc.
3. Curriculum vitae.
4. Applicant’s Academic Plan:  Outlines applicant’s academic background and proposed plan of study.
5. Successful completion of the following prerequisite courses:  One master’s level half-course in each of the following areas:  quantitative methods; qualitative methods; statistics.
6. Supervisory Letter of Support:  Completed by the proposed supervisor which addresses the fit between the applicant’s focus of research and the supervisor’s program of research and area of expertise.
7. Two sets of transcripts from ALL post-secondary institutions.
8. Three letters of reference:  Specific instructions are included in the PhD program application package.
9. Eligibility for active nursing registration in Alberta.
10. Security Clearance Letter: Alberta Health Services will require security clearance checks for all nursing students including graduate students who will be doing a practicum or research in the region.
11. For applicants required to provide proof of proficiency in English submit a minimum TOEFL score of 600 (written test) or 100 (internet-based test); IELTS score of 7.0; MELAB score of 83; or Level 3 on the EAP program.

Note:  All doctoral students will be required to meet the U of C immunization standards (Click here for Nursing Graduate Immunization Form).  Out of province/country students who may require the N95 fit testing should wait until their arrival in Alberta to obtain this (Click here for the N95 Fit Testing).

Application Deadlines:

Early Bird - December 1 for the following September admission 

February 1 for the following September admission

September 15 for the following January admission*

Detailed information on the program is on our Website at http://nursing.ucalgary.ca/gradprogram

Program Requirements

A minimum core of six half courses is required.  The number and type of courses included beyond those courses identified as core will vary according to the applicant’s academic background, research and practice experience, and career goals.  The core courses are as follows:

• Nursing 705, Philosophy of Science in Nursing
• Nursing 769, Contemporary Issues in Health Care
• Two Advanced Research Courses, one in quantitative research methods and the other in qualitative research methods, one of which must be Nursing 721 or Nursing 783
• Nursing 711, Doctoral Scholarship in Nursing
• Nursing 733, Doctoral Thesis Seminar

The program must be completed within six years of initial registration.  Candidacy examination normally must be completed within 28 months of initial registration.

OR

Funding

The University of Calgary is committed to assisting new doctoral students to achieve funding support through awards, faculty research programs, teaching assistantships, and research scholarships.  All doctoral students are expected to apply for internal and externals awards, fellowships, and studentships to support subsequent years of their program.  Funding support should be discussed with the potential supervisors at the time of application to the program.

In addition the Faculty of Graduate Studies has an excellent Website on graduate student funding offered through the University.  That location is http://grad.ucalgary.ca/