Doctor of Philosphy in Nursing

BSN to PhD

Entry into the PhD Program with BSN

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The BSN to PhD program is designed to prepare the applicant for a nursing career as either an educator,
a researcher, an administrator, or a clinician. It is not designed to prepare a certified nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist. Students entering this program receive a PhD nursing degree; the BSN student completing the PhD degree in nursing does not earn a master’s degree. Students wishing to earn a master’s degree must first enter the master’s program and complete the requirements before applying to the PhD program. 

Admission: The applicant with a BSN will need to meet all the admission requirements for the PhD program and must have 2000 hours of documented clinical nursing practice. In addition, an applicant will need approval from the master’s specialty coordinator of the applicant’s chosen clinical, administrative, or nursing education specialty. 

Program of Study: The program of study for a person entering the PhD program will include a minimum of 82-83 credit hours. The program of study will include all the core courses for the doctoral program, 12 hours of electives, and 18 hours of dissertation study. In addition, the student must select a clinical, administrative, or nursing education specialty at the master’s level and complete the credit hours required for the specialty. The credit hours required for completing vary depending on the selected specialty. The specialty areas are Adult Acute Care Nurse Practitioner or CNS, Family Nurse Practitioner, Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Gerontological Nurse Practitioner, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner or CNS, Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, Nursing Administration, and Nursing Education. Those selecting nursing education must also have co-acceptance in another master’s specialty. Taking the BSN entry pathway into the PhD program will shorten the student’s program of study for the PhD degree by approximately 20 credit hours.

 Changing Programs: If a BSN to PhD student in good academic standing makes a decision not to complete the PhD program and withdraws, he/she will be able to receive a master’s degree after completion of 39-45 hours, depending on the specialty. Selected PhD courses will substitute for required courses in the master’s program.

Requirements for BSN to PhD: Clinical Specialization

For those choosing to specialize in administration, the program of study required includes:

For those choosing to specialize in nursing education, the program of study required includes choosing either a clinical specialization or an administration specialization as described in the information above and completion of the following courses:

For additional information contact the
 Doctoral Program office at (501) 686-7970 or email :

Dr. Elaine Souder, esouder@uams.edu
 Director, PhD Program in Nursing