Choosing which degree to enroll in when attending graduate school can be a personally difficult choice to make. Many candidates for graduate programs need to balance financial, personal, and professional responsibilities, all while finding a program that will accept them as students. This is especially true with nursing programs.
Nursing Graduate Programs
DNP Program
Many potential nursing students may wonder what is the different between these two degree programs. According to many graduate programs, a DNP is the highest degree one can attain in the practice of nursing. A DNP program combines clinical practice workshops along with research-intensive seminars. Courses are more focused on
PHD Program
The DNP program is in contrast with the Ph.D. program. A Ph.D. program is a very research-intensive curriculum where the student learns how to become a researcher and scientist in the nursing field. Instead of learning about subjects related to clinical practice, a Ph.D. program stresses learning how to research, publish, and defend work. Career-wise, Ph.D. programs prepare nursing students to become nursing professors or researchers in the nursing field for organizations, non-profits, or the government. Ph.D. students need to conduct research in the form of a dissertation that they defend to other faculty. Most, if not all, Ph.D. programs last six years and are typically full-time programs.
Making the Right Choice
Nursing graduate programs offer unique opportunities to become professionally enriched. However, depending on what one wants professionally and personally, a DNP or Ph.D. might make more sense. If the person wants to further work in nursing by offering the latest clinical research to patients while catering the program to their schedules, a DNP might be best. If the person wants to advance into a research-intensive field beyond the clinical environment, a Ph.D. might be best. Finding the best path is up to each student.