Ph.D. Program
Preparing Nurse Science Leaders
The Connell School Ph.D. program integrates science, theory, and research to educate the next generation of nurse scientists and leaders. Our students strive to advance nursing knowledge and translate research into practice that promotes the health and care of patients.
Students benefit from small class sizes and mentorship from faculty as they prepare for careers in academia, health care settings, and policy.
The Connell School fully funds every full-time Ph.D. student’s tuition, fees, and insurance for three years.
Get Started
Ready for a rewarding challenge that will change your life—and the lives of others?
Knowledge development in nursing
Students build on their foundation in nursing science. Includes courses in philosophy of science, epistemology of nursing, and strategies for developing nursing knowledge.
Substantive nursing content
Challenges students to take what is currently known in nursing science and expand on it to answer contemporary issues in health care. Includes courses in ethics, policy, and cognate courses in the student's area of focus.
Research methods
Prepares students to begin their program of research. Includes courses in qualitative and quantitative research methods, statistics, and research practica as well as dissertation advisement.
- Independent study
- Interdisciplinary colloquia
- Collaboration with a dissertation advisor
- Electives in research concentrations
- Clinical research in top-tier health centers in the Boston area
- Access to other graduate courses within Boston College
- Access to courses through a consortium with area research universities, including Tufts, Boston University, and Brandeis
A graduate of our program will be prepared to:
- Constructively critique and synthesize nursing and interdisciplinary knowledge within their area of inquiry relative to nursing science.
- Design, conduct, and disseminate innovative, rigorous, and ethically sound research that advances nursing science.
- Assume leadership roles and collaborate with other disciplines to address contemporary health care concerns.
- Use scholarly inquiry to generate and disseminate knowledge that facilitates humanization, advances the discipline, informs practice, and reshapes policy.
- Articulate the perspective of nursing in interdisciplinary dialogue for the common good of a diverse and global society.
Approved by Faculty Assembly, December 20, 2017
Contact us at:
csongrad@bc.edu
617-552-4928
Ph.D. Curriculum List
Meet Our Faculty
CSON’s faculty expertise covers a wide range of topics, from Health Equity for Women & Children to Person- & Family-Oriented Aging to Safety & Quality of Care. Renowned scholars, experienced clinicians, and dedicated mentors, our faculty are passionate about educating the next generation of nurse science leaders.
CSON Doctoral Student Research
Our Ph.D. students regularly disseminate research findings in respected forums and receive prestigious awards, including being inducted into the American Academy of Nursing and named Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence Scholars.
Connell School Ph.D. Student Voices
CSON's Ph.D. program attracts students from a variety of backgrounds and with an array of research interests.
“CSON provides an atmosphere of academic rigor. The faculty are incredibly supportive and have been wonderful mentors to me. It is inspiring to be surrounded by so many respected nurse scientists and educators.”
Recent Dissertation Topics
Tongue-Tie: Prevalence, Significance, and its Contribution to Maternal Feeding Challenges and Problematic Infant Feeding
The Role of the Social Determinants of Health in Rural Health Equity
Measuring Diabetes Distress in Emerging Adulthood
Mental Health and Mental Health Treatment Experiences of Transgender and Gender Diverse Persons
The Meaning of the Transition to Retirement at Midlife from Active Duty Military Service in the United States
Intensive Care Unit Nurses’ Experience of Watson’s Theory of Human Caring Caritas Process Three: Cultivation of One’s Own Spiritual Practice and Transpersonal Self, Going Beyond Ego-Self
Occupational Health Across Generationally-Defined Age Groups in a Cohort of Hospital Nurses
Critical Care Nurse Intentions to Report to Work During an Influenza Pandemic
Caregivers’ Perception of Nurse-Led Discharge Education Interventions: Knowledge Needed for Adequate Care of a Technology-Dependent Infant in the Home Setting
The Experience of Older Adult Couples Living with Chronic Illness at Home
Factors Associated with Refeeding Hypophosphatemia in Adolescents and Young Adults Hospitalized with Anorexia Nervosa
Identification of Optimal Stool Donor Health and Intestinal Microbiome Characteristics for Fecal Microbiota Transplantation
Level of Mindfulness in Persons with Anorexia Nervosa Entering Residential Treatment and the Relationship with Eating Disorder Symptomology and Clinical Indicators of Health
Understanding Patient Engagement in Breast Cancer Survivorship Care: A National Web-Based Survey
Nutrition Related Clinical Decision Making of Pediatric Oncology Nurses
The Experience of Young Women Living with Advanced Breast Cancer: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study
The Development and Psychometric Validation of the Ethical Awareness Scale
A Complementary Health Approach to Facilitate Healing and Integration among Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse: The Shamanic Practitioner’s Perspective
Attitudes and Practices of School Nurses and Pediatric Primary Care Providers toward Collaboration around Childhood Obesity
Research Nurse Coordinators’ Perception of Relationship with Patients Enrolled in a Clinical Research Study
Evaluation of the Effect of the Peer Review Impacts Safety and Medical-errors (PRISM) Program on Critical Care Nurses' Attitudes of Safety Culture and Awareness of Recovery of Medical Errors
Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Nurse's Perception of the Relationship Based Care Environment Scale