I recently became interested in obtaining my PhD in nursing informatics. On the top of my head, I know the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the University of Utah offers this degree. I attended a webinar last November and someone on the call informed the participants
that the University of Utah offered a PhD distance program in nursing informatics. My ears perked up when I heard this. Can you guess why? I didn’t know of a PhD program offering a distance program, especially of the caliber of the University of Utah. The University of Utah is the first school to offer nursing informatics. I was excited when I heard this and after the webinar, I quickly went to the University of Utah website. I specifically looked for the PhD program in nursing informatics but couldn’t find it. I emailed the program director and he sent me a link to the website.
I realized why I couldn’t find the website. The website is specific to the PhD program in nursing and not nursing informatics. I was a bit surprised to see the application deadline for the Fall 2012 term was January 15, 2012, only weeks away. I looked at the admission requirements and realized I would not be able to take my graduate record examination (GRE) and write my goals statement in two weeks.
The minimum qualifications for the BS to PhD are:
- Bachelor’s degree (BSN, BS) from an accredited nursing program with a major in nursing.
- Recommended undergraduate GPA of a 3.3/4.0 or higher.
- Required Graduate Record Examination (GRE) within the last 5 years. Favorable GRE scores are greater than 50th percentile on the verbal and quantitative tests and greater than 4.0/6.0 on the analytical writing test.
- Extraordinary potential for a research career with leadership potential in nursing and health care
The minimum qualifications for the MS-PhD program are:
- Master’s degree with a major in nursing. Individuals with a Master’s degree in other fields will be considered.
- Recommended Graduate GPA of 3.5/4.0 or higher.
- Required Graduate Record Examination (GRE) within the last 5 years. Favorable GRE scores are greater than 50th percentile on verbal and quantitative tests and greater than 4.0/6.0 on the analytic writing test.
- Extraordinary potential for a research career with leadership potential in nursing and health care
If you think the University of Utah is the right school for you, I encourage you to contact them for additional information or go to their website. Good luck on your educational journey!