Admission Requirements
There is a required Orientation Program for students accepted into the PhD program that occurs the Friday before classes begin in the summer term. Details for the Orientation Program are sent by e-mail two weeks in advance of the orientation day.
Interested applicants should possess the following qualities:
- The PhD program is a post-master's degree program. Applicants must have completed a master's degree program at time of admission.
- A Master of Science in Nursing from a program accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) or Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).
- A minimum grade-point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for the last 30 hours of graduate course work or the last 60 hours of undergraduate work.
- A graduate level statistics course is a co-requisite of the PhD courses. Applicants must enroll in graduate statistics with MCN the first summer of enrollment in the PhD program or have completed a graduate statistics course within one year of admission to the PhD program. If a student completed a graduate statistics course more than one year prior to admission to the PhD program, they have the option to take the statistics proficiency examination. If the student passes the exam, they have met the requirement, if they do not pass the exam, they will need to enroll in the graduate statistics course during the first summer semester of the PhD program.
- International applicants: It is important to understand the nature of conducting research internationally prior to application. Please review the Institutional Review Board site for details: https://research.illinoisstate.edu/ethics/human-subjects/international/
- Health compliance:
Prior to enrolling in Nursing courses, students must meet health compliance requirements. These requirements include background check, drug screen, physical examination, several immunizations with titers demonstrating immunity, other vaccinations, and signed documents. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in dismissal from the major/program.
For students preparing to apply to this program, we strongly encourage you to get the following titers drawn so in the case you do not demonstrate immunity, you can complete the required follow-up vaccination series to meet compliance requirements for your first clinical semester. Please pay special attention to the three immunizations noted below. If follow-up vaccinations are necessary due to lack of immunity, they can take several months to complete.
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- Hepatitis B- medical documentation showing evidence of a 3-dose Hepatitis B vaccination followed by a positive titer, indicating immunity. If follow-up vaccination series is required because you do not show immunity, plan to complete a 2-dose Heplisav-B series followed by a 2nd titer.
- Measles, Mumps, Rubella – medical documentation showing evidence of a 2-dose MMR vaccination followed by a positive titer for Rubella, indicating immunity.
- Varicella- medical documentation showing evidence of immunity to Varicella. If not immune, must complete a follow-up 2 dose vaccination.
Students not compliant with health requirements are not permitted to participate in clinical and therefore will not be able to begin the Nursing program.