AUSTIN, Texas—In response to shortages in nursing and nursing faculty, The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing has created a new Ph.D. option in its alternate-entry program.
The alternate entry option leading to a master’s degree is for people who hold bachelor’s or higher degrees in disciplines other than nursing. It is a fast-track, rigorous program designed to satisfy registered nurse licensure requirements and train students in advanced practice and specialty nursing roles.
“Our goal with the new Ph.D. option is to provide non-nurses with a more expeditious route in attaining the Ph.D. degree in nursing than is currently available—thereby helping alleviate shortages of nursing faculty with doctoral degrees,” said Dolores Sands, dean of the School of Nursing.
“The expansion of the existing alternate entry program to include a Ph.D. option is an important contribution to the need for new doctorally prepared faculty in Texas.”
Because most alternate entry students are in their 20s and 30s, the career life of the alternate entry Ph.D. graduates would be 10 to 20 years longer than that of a traditional Ph.D. student in nursing who graduates at the approximate age of 46, Sands said.
The first students in the new alternate entry Ph.D. program would begin in fall 2005.
As in the existing Ph.D. program, graduates would be expected to conduct research to advance the knowledge and practice of nursing and health care, in addition to teaching duties.
For more information contact: Nancy Neff, School of Nursing, 512-471-6504.
