Frequently Asked Questions

Is a master’s degree in nursing required for admission?
No. Two major admission options are available - traditional post-master’s admission and the new post-baccalaureate admission. In the traditional route, successful applicants must have earned a master’s degree in nursing or a related discipline prior to entering the PhD Program. The alternative post-baccalaureate option allows applicants with a baccalaureate degree (major in nursing) to enroll in the PhD program while completing an individually designed program of pre-requisites.

How long does it take to complete the doctoral program?
The program takes 3 - 5 calendar years (including summers). The total length of the program depends on two major factors: 1) the length of time between completion of course work and completing the comprehensive examination and passing the dissertation proposal defense, and 2) the speed with which the student completes the dissertation research. The time spent on dissertation is influenced by many factors, including the design of the research, time to secure human-subjects (IRB) approval, ease in enrolling subjects, and of course the amount of time and intensity of activity that the student is able to dedicate to the study.

What types of financial assistance are available to doctoral students?
Financial assistance from Columbia University is more readily available for full-time rather than to part-time students.

In addition to the student financial aid provided by Columbia, a number of fellowships, awards, and scholarships are available to doctoral students from sources external to Columbia University. They include the highly competitive NIH-funded individual pre-doctoral National Research Service Awards (see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/index.cfm for information about individual NRSAs), and awards from professional organizations or private foundations and corporations to support dissertation research (eg, Oncology Nursing Society, American Heart Association). Awards require a match between the student’s area of specialization and research and the specialized focus and other criteria of the funding organization.