Ph.D. Admission Requirements

Admission Requirements | Application Instructions | Application Deadline

Admission Requirements

Applications are reviewed by the Graduate Programs Committee of the School of Nursing.  An important part of the admission process involves identifying the major professor for the applicant and the discipline for secondary concentration. The careful match of faculty and students research interests is important since the major professor will supervise the student's program and provide the research training experience.  Applicant interviews with potential faculty advisors are scheduled as part of the application process.  Limited funding is available to cover travel costs for the interview process.

Students may be accepted into the doctoral program either post-baccalaureate or post-master's; students admitted post-baccalaureate will obtain the master's degree as part of the doctoral course preparation. Students are encouraged to enroll full-time. If part-time study is necessary, a minimum of 6 credits per semester is required. Applications should be submitted by January 15 for admission in the fall semester and by September 15 for spring semester consideration.

Admission requirements for the Ph.D. program are:

• a bachelor's degree in nursing from an accredited (CCNE or NLN) program with an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) on the last 60 credits of the most recent baccalaureate degree
• verbal and quantitative aptitude scores on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) that sum to at least 1200
• satisfactory academic references
• copies of two original papers
• for international students whose native language is not English, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) Exam is required. Minimum score for admission on the TOEFL is 550 (213 for the computer based exam), or 80 on the MELAB.

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Application Instructions

The materials that are required for admission and the office to which they should be directed are summarized below.

• Complete and submit the UW-Madison graduate electronic application: http://info.gradsch.wisc.edu/admin/admissions/appinstr.html
  
  
• One complete set of official transcripts from all institutions attended.
  
  
• Official results of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) completed within the last five years.  To register for the GRE or request copies of scores, applicants should contact the Educational Testing Service, Box 6004, Princeton, NJ  08541-6000. Telephone: (609)771-7670 (http://www.gre.org)
  
  
• Official TOEFL (http://www.toefl.org ) or MELAB (http://www.lsa.umich.edu/eli/melab.htm) score (international students only).
  
  
• One copy of a current curriculum vita or resume.
  
  
• At least two samples of scholarly work completed.  These may include publications, thesis or major papers.
  
  
• Letters of recommendation are completed electronically.  In your online application for admission, provide contact information for 3-4 individuals who can speak to your scholarly activities and research capabilities and potential for success in the doctoral program.  You will want to contact your references ahead of time, so that they can expect your request for a recommendation.  A recommendation request will be sent, by email, to each of your references.  The email will include your name and a link to the electronic recommendation form.  After you have submitted your application, you will be able to track the Graduate School’s receipt of the recommendations through the online status system.
  
  
• One copy of your statement describing your reasons for wanting to enter the PhD Program in Nursing, your research interests, and your professional experience.  Include any information about your background, training, and experience, which you believe is relevant to your qualifications for doctoral study.  In the statement applicants should indicate if there are particular School of Nursing faculty with whom they would like to work and identify the discipline(s) they are interested in exploring as the secondary area of concentration.

Application Deadline:

Priority deadline dates: January 15th for Fall and September 15th for Spring

(Go to the Graduate School Catalog for additional information on admission)

Submit the above materials to:

Gale Barber
Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs
University of Wisconsin-Madison
School of Nursing
600 Highland Avenue K6/134-CSC
Madison WI 53792-2455
Tel: (608) 263-5172
Fax: (608) 263-5296
Email: gradadmit@son.wisc.edu

 

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