PhD in Nursing is a doctorate in Nursing programme offered by University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. The programme is delivered on campus. Tuition for international students is CAD 10,519 per year.
Also offered as: Bachelor's Degree
At a glance
Degree:Doctorate
Field:Nursing
Delivery: On Campus
International tuition: CAD 10,519 / year
Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
The Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing is designed to educate for excellence in the development and testing of nursing knowledge and in research-based nursing practice. The number and types of courses included in an individual student's program vary according to that student's needs, reflecting the degree's research-driven, individually supervised structure rather than a fixed course sequence. Admission normally requires a Master's degree in Nursing, along with graduate-level research methods and statistics coursework or their equivalent; applicants who do not already hold the equivalent preparation may be admitted with additional required coursework in nursing theory, practice, or research. A fast-track option allows outstanding Master of Nursing candidates who have completed their MN coursework to move into the PhD program without completing the MN degree, subject to additional research experience requirements. The program is delivered by the Faculty of Nursing and suits nurses with an existing Master's-level research background who want to pursue independent, supervised doctoral research into nursing knowledge and practice.
Requirements
Minimum GPA:3.50 / 4.0
Admission Requirements: Applicants need a master's degree in nursing, or its academic equivalent, with a minimum admission GPA of 3.5 on a 4-point scale, calculated on the last 60 units of graded coursework or the equivalent two years of full-time study; applicants without an equivalent master's may be admitted with additional required coursework. Program-specific coursework requires prior graduate qualitative and quantitative research training, or one graduate statistics course plus one research-methods course, each completed with a minimum grade of B. English language proficiency is waived for applicants currently licensed as a Registered Nurse with a Canadian nursing regulator; others must present TOEFL iBT 97 overall with no skill area below 21, IELTS Academic 7.0 overall with no band below 6.5, or Duolingo English Test 130 overall with no subscore below 120. Applicants must submit three reference letters, a CV and a sample of scholarly writing, complete an interview, and finish the Indigenous Canada MOOC before their first course.
Application Details
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants apply directly to the University of Alberta, not through a provincial service: for Fall 2027 entry the application window opens 1 October 2026 and the deadline for most programmes is 1 March 2027, though several limited-enrolment programmes close earlier (Juris Doctor, 1 December 2026; Dental Hygiene, 1 November 2026) or later (Bachelor of Design and BFA programmes, 1 May 2027); Spring and Summer 2027 admission also opens 1 October 2026, while Winter intake is limited to a few programmes. International applicants use the identical published dates and online application; the university states no separate international closing date. The 1 March deadline is firm and late applications are not accepted, but admission decisions are then issued on a rolling basis, and offers made before 1 April must be accepted by 1 May 2027. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
