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PhD in Nursing Admission Information

Admission criteria

Individuals seeking admission to the PhD in Nursing program must meet the general admission requirements and technical standards for admission for the School of Graduate Studies, as well as the following:

• A complete application;
• A minimum graduate GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, with strong performance in science courses;
• Transcripts from all previous colleges and universities;
• Eligibility for RN licensure in Mississippi;
• Three letters of reference;
• Personal statement;
• A personal interview with one or more faculty members;
• Curriculum vitae;
• Earned BSN, MSN or DNP degree. Current students in the last year of a nationally-accredited BSN program may also apply;
• If an applicant has been dismissed from any nursing program, one year must pass from date of dismissal to date of eligibility into any UMMC School of Nursing program.

Graduate Record Examination (GRE) minimum combined score (verbal and quantitative sections) of 300 and an analytical score of 3.5 is preferred.

Additional SGSHS academic policies and procedures (including those pertaining to admission compliance, registration and examinations)

Technical Standards for Admission, Progression and Graduation (Technical Standards) are an integral component of the School of Nursing (SON) at the University of Mississippi Medical Center academic requirements that identify core professional nursing competencies in eight specific domains - critical thinking/cognitive competencies, professional relationships, communication, mobility, motor skills, hearing and visual skills, observation and tactile senses. Nursing students must meet all the requirements of the Technical Standards, with or without reasonable accommodations, in order to successfully progress through and graduate from their respective curricula.

International applicants

Applicants, whose native language is not English and/or who have completed their tertiary education primarily outside of the USA, must submit official scores of the TOEFL, International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or Pearson Test of English-Academic (PTE-A) as evidence of English language proficiency.

However, this requirement may be waived for students who are currently enrolled at a college or university in the United States and/or who demonstrate a proficiency in written and spoken English following a personal interview. Admission of a student to a graduate program must be approved by the program director and by the dean of the School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences. No individual may enroll in graduate-level courses without proper approval and notification from the School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences.

International applicants must have transcripts evaluated in a course-by-course report from World Education Services (WES). Prerequisites are required by certain programs, and these may be determined by contacting the specific program to which the applicant desires admission.

GRE test scores

Applicants are preferred to have taken the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) within five years of the PhD admission application deadline. For more information about the GRE, visit the GRE website or call (609) 771-7670.

More information about the GRE can be found on the following websites:

• Kaplan
• The Princeton Review
• Crushing the GRE