Delivered Mostly Online
The Nursing Education PhD is a 66 credit hour post-master's program that can be completed
mostly online in as little as four years, though many students choose to spend additional
semesters on their dissertation.
- Program coursework is fully online.
- You will contribute work toward your dissertation during each semester in the program,
and in the fourth year all of your coursework will center on your dissertation.
Short Colorado Visits
- There is a required 5-day orientation in July the summer before you start the program.
You will spend two days in orientation on campus in Greeley and three days at the
Nurse Educator Conference in the Rocky Mountains.
- Some students choose to come to campus for their dissertation proposal hearing, dissertation
defense and oral comprehensive exams.
Coursework (66 Credit Hours)
For an example of upcoming courses, visit the Current Students page for this program.
For full program requirement details, see the official program listing in the UNC Graduate Catalog.
Nursing Education PhD students have the option to expand their elective coursework
via NEXus (The Nursing Education Xchange).
Admission Requirements
Possess a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in Nursing from accredited (NLN/ACEN
or CCNE) programs in nursing, with a cumulative master's GPA of 3.00 or better (4.00
scale).
If you are still completing your master's degree at the time you apply, admission
will be based on your current cumulative GPA, and you will need to re-submit your
official transcript (showing your conferred degree and final GPA) during your first
semester. If your final GPA fell below 3.00, you will be given additional academic
stipulations to remain enrolled at UNC.
Note: the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is NOT required for this program.
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Licensure as a registered nurse.
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One to two years of teaching experience recommended, but not required, prior to program
enrollment.
Eligibility by State
At this time, UNC can provide distance education to students from every state, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. UNC cannot provide
distance education in American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia,
and the Republic of Palau.
Certain distance education activities that occur outside of Colorado may have additional
state approval processes or requirements. This most commonly occurs for experiential
learning placement activities such as practica, internships, student teaching, and
healthcare clinicals. Please review the State Authorization (SARA) page for additional information on UNC’s ability to offer distance education across state
lines and a list of activities and states where approval may be required. For additional
information or questions, please contact jake.henderson@unco.edu.
International Student Eligibility
International students residing outside of the United States are eligible to apply
to our online programs. Applicants for online programs must demonstrate English proficiency,
or enroll in the UNC Intensive English Program, in order to be considered.
This program requires occasional visits to the United States. You will need to submit
financial documentation before you plan to arrive in the U.S. (and again each time
you travel to the U.S.). The financial documentation needs to demonstrate that you
can pay for the cost of tuition and living expenses for the days that you will be
in the U.S.
Please visit the International Students Admission Requirements page for details about English proficiency requirements, financial documentation and applying
as an international student.
Transferring Credit
UNC graduate school accepts applicable graduate credit with a grade of C or higher
from accredited institutions. Please note that if your chosen program has a higher
grade minimum for any program coursework, that minimum would apply to transfer requests
for those courses. Graduate program faculty are responsible for reviewing any proposed
transfer credit to ensure that course content and objectives match program content.
- Students must complete at least 50% of their graduate program credits at UNC, not
including research, capstone, seminar, internship/externship/practicum, thesis, dissertation
proposal, dissertation and any credits graded with S/U (P/F).
- Courses requested for transfer must not be more than eight years old for doctoral
degree credit; will not be used to meet any residency requirements; are not used in
calculation of the grade point average; and cannot have been used to fulfill requirements
for a previously awarded degree. See the full Graduate Transfer Credit Policy.
Tuition
This is an Extended Campus program, which means:
- We charge a flat per-credit tuition rate for all students (in-state or out-of-state).
- There are no added student fees or technology fees. However, certain courses may carry
specific course fees to support additional services and materials.
Program tuition for the 2024-25 academic year (which runs Fall, Spring, and Summer
terms) is $734 per credit hour. Tuition for the 2025-26 academic year will be determined
mid-June 2025.
Estimates of additional costs: For the purposes of determining financial aid, UNC
follows Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) and federal guidelines to develop
an estimated, average Cost of Attendance (budget) for different student classifications.
For your personal tuition estimates, we recommend using the program-specific tuition
information above. But UNC's official Cost of Attendance/Student Budgets page can help you identify other estimated expenses for which you may be responsible while
completing your program.
Financial Aid
Degree-seeking students who cannot pay for tuition alone are encouraged to apply for
federal financial aid. Students must first complete the Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA). The UNC FAFSA/financial aid page for graduate students has key dates and support, including the release date and deadline for each academic
year (a Fall-Spring-Summer cycle which begins each August).
Late submissions of the FAFSA are still accepted throughout the school year but you
may not be considered for the maximum amount of aid. If the priority deadline has
passed for the upcoming/current school year, we encourage you to apply for FAFSA consideration
as soon as you enroll for your first courses. Depending on the time of year, you may
be able to submit an application for the current academic year and an early/priority
application for the following academic year.
Doctoral degree students must be enrolled in a minimum of 5 credits per academic term for financial aid eligibility. Full time
enrollment is based on 9 credits per term.
To apply for federal financial aid assistance
Fill out the FAFSA form at https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
For more specific help, contact the Office of Financial Aid: ofa@unco.edu, 970-351-4862 or via the UNC Financial Aid website.
Students can also find helpful information such as the Guide to Federal Student Aid
at https://studentaid.gov/resources. Most of the resources are available in English, Spanish and Braille.
Student Health Insurance
The University of Northern Colorado offers a Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP)
to all degree-seeking students who enroll in courses on our main UNC Campus, an Extended
Campus Center, or Online.
Degree-seeking graduate students enrolled in 6 or more credit hours will automatically
receive this benefit each term. SHIP premiums will appear on your semester bill. If
you have comparable insurance coverage, and do not want to be charged for SHIP coverage,
you must opt out of this plan each Fall via an online waiver process.
Please visit the UNC Student Health Insurance pages for more information about the insurance plan.
