Doctor of Nursing Science (DNS)
The School of Nursing at the Medical Sciences Campus of the University of Puerto Rico will admit its first class of DNS students in August 2012.
The application deadline is February 28, 2013
Program Objectives
The nurse candidate who completes this program will acquire substantive, meaningful knowledge and skills to:
- Evaluate theories in order to promote expansion of theoretical bases for nursing practice models.
- Conduct research studies that reflect a commitment to logical, ethical and epistemological dimensions and which contribute to the development of knowledge that advances nursing discipline and intervention models.
- Exercise leadership as researcher through generation and application of new knowledge to advance the profession and contribute to a nursing practice based on evidence.
- Work in collaboration with other health care professionals, as well as professionals from other disciplines, in culturally relevant research.
- Develop public policy projects that are geared to dealing with problems related to providing services in the work, government, professional and community settings, which are based on research findings
- Use scientific inquiry in the process of problem solving and decision making about issues related to the practice of the discipline.
Admission Process
The Doctor of Nursing Science, as a research-focused doctoral program prepares students to pursue intellectual inquiry and conduct independent research for the purpose of extending knowledge and improve practice. For this reason, the admission process is done on a competitive basis. The DNS program has its own admission formula base on: GPA from Master's degree in Nursing (20%), EXADEP or GRE (20%), essay on professional goals and research interest (30%), scholarly writing (20%), and an interview with Graduate Program Faculty (10%). Admission will be granted according to the highest rating, when applying this formula. Candidates with incomplete documents will not be considered.
Please complete all admission criteria and send documents to:
Central Admissions Office MSC
Doctor of Nursing Science Program
P O Box 365067
San Juan, PR 00936-5067
Admission Criteria to DNS Program
Fill the Medical Sciences Campus' Online Admissions Form
- Master degree in Nursing from an NLNAC or CCNE accredited program. (Send official BSN and MSN transcripts)
- A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.00, on a 4.0 scale.
- Evidence of current professional nursing license.
- Report of a Graduate Record Examination (GRE or EXADEP) taken within the last five (5) years. EXADEP minimum score required is 500 and the GRE minimum score is 550 in each part (verbal and quantitative).
- Evidence of approval of the following courses or their equivalent at the graduate level: a) Statistics (3 credits), b) Nursing Theory (3 credits), and c) Nursing Research (6 credits) to be seen in official transcripts.
- Current curriculum vitae and three letters of recommendation from academic, employer and professional sources.
- Essay addressing professional goals and area of research interest.
- A sample of a scholarly writing (i.e. published article, masters' thesis - a five (5) pages summary-, scholarly paper, etc.).
- The following checklist for admission will help you verify that all documents are completed and ready to send.
Additional Admission Requirements
- Interview with DNS Admissions Committee member.
- Computer literacy and own a personal computer.
- Proficiency in speaking and writing Spanish and in reading and writing English.
- Participation in a three days Doctoral in Nursing Science seminar during the summer.
Estimate Costs Per Year
| Tuition | $7,000.00 |
| Books and Supplies | $2,000.00 |
| UPR Fee | $800.00 |
| Basic Medical Insurance | $947.00 |
| Facilities Fee | $94.00 |
| Technology | $50.00 |
| Total | $10,891.00 |
Foreign Students
Contact Admissions Office to obtain information of all required documents of admission. Academic records must be submitted through World Educational Services for conversion to the American System. This requirement also applies to all applicants that have studied in international universities. Cost of studies varies according to country of origin. For further information please contact the Collections' Office at 787-758-2525, ext. 1207.
Program of Study
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| Inferential Statistics* | 4 | Construction Analysis and Evaluation of Theories for Nursing | 3 |
| Philosophy of Nursing Sciences | 3 | Quantitative Research Methods | 3 |
| Qualitative Research Methods | 3 | Advanced Methods in Biostatistics* | 3 |
| Summer I | Credits |
|---|---|
| Bioethics in Health Sciences | 2 |
| Guided Study (Development and Validation of Research Instruments) | 2 |
| Second Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| Guided Research I | 4 | Guided Research II | 4 |
| Seminar I (Research and Practice Models) | 3 | Seminar II (Nursing Science and Public Policy) | 2 |
| Elective | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| Summer II | Credits |
|---|---|
| Comprehensive Exam | -- |
| Third Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| Doctoral Dissertation I | 6 | Doctoral Dissertation II | 6 |
* To be given in the first and second trimester
Contact Us
|
Postal Address: |
|
|
Yamil Calderón López Raiza Hidalgo |
Yadira Regueira, RN, MSN, PhD Saraí Sánchez |
Edna Plaza | |