Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD)

Emory University’s School of Nursing PhD program is a full-time, intense learning experience designed to develop the next generation of researchers, a generation that will change the face of health care. Our program is built on the research strengths of our faculty in areas of the management of chronic illnesses, including Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias, cancer, renal and heart disease, mental health, palliative care and caregiver support. Our researchers work in the areas of strengthening health care systems, conducting computational and data science, and improving women’s health and the health of marginalized populations in the United States and globally. The program is interdisciplinary, drawing on the strengths of Emory University and its partners in areas as varied as the humanities, natural and social sciences, public health, engineering, law, and business. Learn more about us at various events during the year.

Virtual Open House Events

Click to watch recordings of our November virtual open house.

The deadline for applications to the PhD Program in Nursing is January 1, 2023 for Fall admission. Applications are submitted through Emory's Laney Graduate School (LGS). For more about LGS admissions, click here.

For admission to the Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing program, Emory University seeks highly qualified applicants with the discipline and motivation to excel in interdisciplinary research. To be considered for admission, you must submit the following items:

• Completed application
• Submission of a personal statement that describes the applicant's vision for what they want to study, who they want to study with, and why they want to study at Emory.
• Research interests that match faculty expertise
• Three (3) recommendations
• Satisfactory TOEFL scores (if applicable)
• World Education Services (WES) report (if applicable)
• Transcripts issued by the registrar’s office from each post-secondary institution attended
• Resume or curriculum vitae

Emory University considers applicants who hold a BSN or MSN from a CCNE or NLNAC accredited program in the US or an international equivalent (Applicants holding a degree in a non-nursing related discipline will be considered on an individual basis).

Students entering with a BSN and intending to pursue advanced practice certification must be eligible for licensure as RN in Georgia by the end of the first year of study.

The faculty, staff and students of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing are dedicated to the values of scholarship, leadership and social responsibility in shaping our current and future work as members of a leading private school of nursing. They are known for providing exceptional research support to doctoral candidates. To learn more about our nursing faculty, visit our Faculty and Research page. Current research studies conducted by our faculty include:

• Exploring the Microbiome-Gut-Brain Axis in Psychoneurological Symptoms for Children with Solid Tumors (Jinbing Bai)
• Biologic Mechanisms of Labor Dysfunction: A Systems Biology Approach (Nicole Carlson)
• In-the-KNOW (Novel approaches to Optimizing Women's Health): A
  mobile application to optimize HIV prevention and sexual/reproductive
  health communication among Black women in the Southern
  United States (Rasheeta Chandler)
• Nursing Resources and Health Care-Associated Infections: Measures of Hospital Performance (Cimiotti)
• Center for the Study of Symptom Science, Metabolomics and Multiple Chronic Conditions (Sandra Dunbar)
• Creating a Faith-Based Toolbox for African Americans Living with Moderate and Severe Dementia (Fayron Epps)
• Aerobic exercise to improve cognitive abilities among adults living with HIV/AIDS (Rebecca Gary/Drenna Waldrop)
• Savvy Caregiver Program for Caregivers of Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease (Kenneth Hepburn)
• Developing a Distance Education System to Train SAVVY Caregiver
  Program Interventionists: Extending Access and Capacity in
  Community-Based Delivery of Evidence-Based Interventions (Kenneth
  Hepburn)
• Roybal Translational Research Center to Promote Context-Specific
  Caregiving Mastery for Informal Caregivers of Community-Dwelling
  Persons Living with Alzheimer's Disease or Related Disorders (Kenneth
  Hepburn)
• Occupational Heat Exposure and Renal Dysfunction (Linda McCauley; Vicki Hertzberg)
• SCH INT Chart Assessment for Real-time Investigation of Nursing and
  Guidance (Vicki Hertzberg)
• Machine Learning for Atrial Fibrillation Ablation (Vicki Hertzberg)
• Sensor Hardware and Intelligent Tools for Assessing the Health Effects
  of Heat Exposure (Vicki Hertzberg)
• Integrate Dynamic System Model and Machine Learning for Calibration-
  Free Noninvasive ICP (Xiao Hu)
• Learning to Predict Delayed Cerebral Ischemia with Novel Continuous
  Cerebral Arterial State Index (Xiao Hu)
• To enhance breast cancer survivorship of Asian Americans (Eun-Ok Im)
• A Web-App Based Lifestyle Physical Activity Promotion Program to
  Improve Depressive Symptom Experience: Midlife Korean American
  Women (Eun-Ok Im)
• To reduce the burden of caregiving on health outcomes of midlife
  women: Asian American family caregivers of persons living with
  Alzheimer's disease (Eun-Ok Im)
• Cancer Pain Management: A Technology-Based Intervention for Asian
  American Breast Cancer Survivors (Eun-Ok Im)
• Home-Based Self-Management of Chronic Pain in Adults with Sickle
  Cell Disease: Applying a Biopsychosocial and Technological Approach
  (Nadine Matthie)
• Center for Symptom Science, Metabolomics, and the Microbiome
  (Linda McCauley)
• Center for Children’s Health Assessment, Research Translation, and Combating Environmental Racism (CHARTER) (McCauley)
• Jim Crow in the Asylum: Psychiatry and Civil Rights in the American South (Kylie Smith)
• An Effectiveness-Implementation Trial of SPIRIT in ESRD (Mi-Kyung Song)
• Preparation for End of Life Decision Making in Mild Alzheimer's
  Disease (Mi-Kyung Song)
• Training in Interventions to Improve Outcomes in Chronic Conditions
  (Mi-Kyung Song/Rebecca Gary)
• Combustion of plastic waste and human health effects in Guatemala (Thompson)
• Inflammation and Renin-Angiotensin System Dysfunction as risk factors for Alzheimer’s Disease (Whitney Wharton)
• Role of estradiol and related hormones on inflammation, sleep, and
  risks for Alzheimer's disease (Whitney Wharton)
• Building Community and Research Engagement among Sexual and
  Gender Minority Older Adults at Risk for Alzheimer's Disease and
  Related Dementias (Whitney Wharton)
• Cognitive Dysfunction in Atrial Fibrillation (Kathy Wood)
• Implementing an evidence-based, multilevel intervention to promote HPV vaccination among HIV positive adults (Wells)
• The Role of the Gut Microbiome and Short Chain Fatty Acids in the
  Regulation of Inflammation and Neuropsychological Symptoms in
  Patients with Head and Neck Cancer (Canhua Xiao)
• Oral microbiome and periodontal diseases in oral HPV infection among people living with HIV (Canhua Xiao)
• Oral Chemotherapy Adherence Trajectories in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (Kate Yeager)

Meet our current and past doctoral students and learn a little more about how they impact the world of nursing research.

Student graduate’s dissertations include:

• How Does Prescription Drug spending Affect Medication Adherence, Acute Care Use, and Health Care Costs in Heart Failure? (Blake McGee)
• Risk Factors of recurrent Hospital Admissions for Young Adults Presenting with Hyperglycemic emergencies at an Inner City Hospital (M.K. Findley)
• Determinants of Preterm Infants’ Language Environment in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (Lauren Zauche)
• Complement Activation and Perinatal Outcomes in African American Women (Alexi Dunn, NIH funded)
• Brain-Gut Axis and Its Influence on Gestational Weight Gain (Sara Edwards, NIH funded)
• Social Isolation and Retention in Care among Older Adults Living with HIV/AIDs (Moka Yoo-Jeong)
• PBDE Exposure, Thyroid Disruption, and Antenatal Depression in African American Women (Abby Mutic)
  

A full list of student accomplishments is updated regularly (PDF).

Full-Tuition Scholarships

All full-time admitted students are granted full tuition waiver and receive an annual stipend over 12 months in exchange for teaching and research services. The stipend is drawn from a combination of faculty advisor grant support, school support and student research grants received during the program. Stipends are renewed each year, contingent upon satisfactory academic and research performance, for a total of four years. Faculty and students work together to identify and apply for National Institutes for Health's National Research Service Award and other fellowships for stipend and research support funding during the doctoral program. Students also receive Professional Development Support Funds from Laney Graduate School to attend conferences and support research-related expenses.

T32 Predoctoral Fellowships through Spring 2023

The School of Nursing offers a research training program for selected predoctoral students to focus on developing and testing interventions to improve health outcomes of persons with or at risk for chronic conditions such as cardiovascular and neurological diseases, cancer, diabetes mellitus, HIV-AIDS, and asthma/COPD. Individuals selected as fellows in this training program receive a monthly stipend, benefit assistance, assistance for professional travel, and modest funds to support research related expenses. The Laney Graduate School also offers scholarships to PhD students.

Many of our students participated in the 11th Annual Georgia Nursing Leadership Coalition Doctoral Symposium, “Charting Innovative Paths for Nursing Research & Scholarship” at Emory Nursing Learning Center on 2/11/23.

Students gave the following presentations at the Event:

• Policing Mental Health: Race and Psychiatry in Atlanta
  Avi Wofsy – PhD Student, Emory University
• Childhood Trauma Exposure and Length of Labor: A Potential Oxytocin-Linked Contributor to Adverse Perinatal Outcomes in Black Birthing People
  Abby Britt – PhD Student, Emory University
• Personal Measures of Air Pollution During Pregnancy and Infant Head Circumference and Length at Birth
  Hina Raheel – PhD Student, Emory University
• Ways of Knowing: The Historical Intersections of Breastfeeding, Capitalism, and Whiteness
  Octavia Vogel – PhD Student, Emory University
• Bots and Fake Participants: Ensuring Valid and Reliable Data Collection Using Social Media Recruitment MethodsZ
  Roseline Jean Louis – PhD Student, Emory University