New PhD Programs on the Horizon

— by Elinor Greenberg, Ed.D, NEON Consultant

Two additional Western institutions plan to offer Nursing PhD programs in 2006: New Mexico State University (NMSU) and Washington State University (WSU).

New Mexico State University (NMSU) will partner with the University of New Mexico (UNM) to deliver a Distance Learning Nursing PhD program, to include courses delivered online and via interactive video, beginning in the Fall of 2006. NMSU's areas of emphasis will include: Border Health, Health Disparities, and Psychiatric Mental Health. The program will prepare Nurse Researchers and Nurse Educators, especially those interested in rural, Mexican-American and Native American populations. Currently, approximately 50% of NMSU's undergraduate students are Hispanic or Native American.

For further information, contact Dr. Mary Hoke, Nursing Department Head, at mhoke@nmsu.edu or (505) 646-3812.

Washington State University 's Intercollegiate College of Nursing (WSU) plans to complete approvals for its new Nursing PhD program in 2005. WSU will accept applications for its first class of doctoral students, who will start their programs in the Summer of 2006. The program will have a dual focus: to serve both Nurse Researchers and Nurse Educators. It will be “heavily online” to accommodate students beyond Spokane , Vancouver , and other State of Washington sites where the nursing faculty are now located.

For further information, contact Dr. Mel Haberman, Co-Chair, Doctoral Planning Committee and Associate Dean for Research, at haberman@wsu.edu or (509) 324-7358.

In addition, South Dakota State University (SDSU) is “in conversation” about establishing a new Nursing PhD program, according to Dr. Roberta Olson, Dean of the College of Nursing. Currently, SDSU offers an online Master of Science (MS) in Nursing for: Nurse Educators, Family Nurse Practitioners, Neonatal Nurse Practitioners (with the University of Missouri at Kansas City), Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners (with the University of Nebraska at Omaha) and Nurse Administrators.

For further information, call toll free at 1-888-216-9806.