PhD Degree in Nursing
Earn your PhD from one of the best nursing programs in the country – CU Anschutz Nursing
Did you know that fewer than 1% of nurses hold doctoral degrees? You can change that and be a leader in your field. Become a nurse scientist, faculty member, senior clinical member, or policy leader and help improve patient safety and outcomes. The birthplace of the nurse practitioner program, CU Anschutz Nursing boasts a reputation as a leader and pioneer in nursing education. You’ll learn with state-of-the-art technology and advanced learning methods developed at the world-class CU Anschutz Campus in Aurora, Colorado.
Now is the time to advance your career in nursing. Start today!
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Why CU Anschutz Nursing?
Work with nationally funded researchers, editors of major nursing journals, and faculty recognized for excellence in teaching and mentorship (16 AAN fellows)
Our hybrid format is composed of online, self-paced courses combined with periodic intensives on campus
Opportunity for in-state tuition through Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) program
Receives thousands of dollars in grant monies from Jonas Philanthropies, a leading national philanthropic funder of graduate nursing education, to assist our students
Two pathways to choose from
Areas of focus
- Biobehavioral Science
Research the prevention, progression, or management of a disease, symptom, or other health state across the lifespan. Study with faculty experts in your specific clinical area of interest (children and families, women’s health, maternal/newborn, or adult and senior health). - Health Care Systems
Examine interrelationships between organizations, populations, communities, and outcomes across care delivery and information systems with a goal of improving population health, safety, and quality systems. Study with faculty experts in health services research, population-based quality of life, informatics, and healthcare outcomes. - Caring Science
Research the intellectual, reflective, philosophical, and theoretical underpinnings of Caring Science, building on the work of CU Anschutz Nursing’s former Dean and world-renowned theorist Jean Watson, PhD, RM, FAAN. Study the relationships between nursing science caring theory, knowledge of humanities, and healthcare outcomes.
Want to Learn More?
Attend an upcoming information session. Faculty and staff will provide a program overview as well as present on admission, tuition and scholarship opportunities and include time for Q&A.
Apply by March 1 to start this August - DEADLINE Extension: June 30, 2026
| Admit Terms | Program Format | Application Open | Application Close | Classes Start |
| Fall (Regular Decision) | Hybrid (online with limited on-campus attendance)* | August 15 | January 15 | August |
*On-campus time is communicated well in advance and respects the demands of working nurses.
Because it’s one of 4 PhD programs in the US with a Health Care Systems research-focus, CU Anschutz Nursing topped my list.
– Anthony Velasco, PhD alumna, director (director-at-large) for the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care
College of Nursing
CU Anschutz
Education II North
13120 East 19th Avenue
3rd Floor - Room 3255
Aurora, CO 80045
303-724-1812