Taught Postgraduate

The DNurs Programme offers a part-time study mode and a full-time study mode, which extend over four academic years and three academic years respectively.

Students begin their studies in September each year. The Programme includes four core courses (26 contact hours per course totalling 104 contact hours), three track courses (26 contact hours per course totalling 78 contact hours), a course on Research Ethics (12 contact hours) and a thesis (104 contact hours).

Core Courses

• NURS6001 Scientific Progress in Nursing
• NURS6002 Advanced Quantitative Research Designs and Methods
• NURS6003 Naturalistic and Interpretive Approaches to Nursing Research
• NURS6004 Health Policy for Advocacy in Health Care

Track Courses

Research Ethics Course

GRSC6031 Research Ethics for Graduate Students.

Thesis

Students are required to complete a thesis of 50,000 to 60,000 words that represents an original scientific study grounded in practice and contains material worthy of publication; students are also required to participate in thesis seminars which will serve as forums for presenting their work in progress on a regular basis and hone their research skills.

Dr Serena Yang Scholarship for DNurs Programme

Two prizes shall be awarded to newly enrolled candidates who hold a bachelor's degree with 1^st class honors or equivalent outstanding academic achievement; and whose research proposal (2-3 pages) has demonstrated scientific rigor. The value of each of the prizes shall be HK$30,000.

Scholarship for Doctor of Nursing (Full-time)

Two scholarships, each of the value up to 50% of the tuition fee, shall be awarded each year to non-local students admitted to the Doctor of Nursing Programme on the basis of academic merit and financial need.  Students may be invited to a selection interview if necessary.

International Conference Participation Sponsorship

Opportunities are available for students to have educational exchange in renowned international universities, and financial support will be provided to encourage students to present at international conferences.

To be eligible for admission to the Programme leading to the degree of Doctor of Nursing, applicants must:

1. comply with the General Regulations;
2. hold a master’s degree in nursing or equivalent disciplines from this University, or a comparable university accepted for this purpose;
3. currently hold a Registered Nurse license;
4. have English proficiency as specified by the University’s admission requirements; and
5. satisfy the application evaluators with (i) a statement of overall career goals and specific research interests and (ii) an oral justification of their suitability for doctoral education.

For non-local candidates who have obtained a nurse license in their country will also be eligible for application of the Programme. Please refer to the “Admission & Enquiries” tab for requested supporting documents.

Individual consultation session will be arranged on request.

Application can be submitted online via https://admissions.hku.hk/tpg/programme/doctor-nursing.  

The following documents should be submitted to the HKU School of Nursing as soon as you have completed the online application either by post ⁱ or in person:

1. Originals or certified true copiesⁱⁱ of ALL academic transcripts and graduation certificates^{iii, iv}
   (sample of declaration form in Hong Kong / sample of notary public in China);
2. A 2,000-word statement indicating your research interest;
3. Certified true copiesⁱⁱ of HKID (for local applicants) / passport (for non-local applicants);
4. Certified true copiesⁱⁱ of Certificate of Registration AND valid practising certificate issued by the Nursing Council of Hong Kong or the nursing authority in your own country;
5. Two academic referee’s reports. (Download from here);
6. Originals or certified true copiesⁱⁱ of TOEFL^vi / IELTS^vi official score report (if applicable); and
7. Other documents which you would like to bring the attention of the University.

Remarks

ⁱ  Please quote your application number and full name in all correspondence and supporting documents and ensure your mail items bear sufficient postage with return address.  

ⁱⁱ Please note that the University will only ACCEPT originals or copies of the documents that have been duly declared as true copies before a notary public. Copies of documents may be certified by the appropriate officials of your home institute if you are an overseas applicant.

No photocopies will be accepted.  Transcripts, diplomas, certificates and other relevant documents which are NOT in English should be accompanied by a formally certified translation in English. Certified translation may be provided by your home institution.

ⁱⁱⁱ Bachelor degree should be conferred on or before August 31 (for local applicants) or March 31 (for non-local applicants) of the current admission year respectively.

^iv For qualifications obtained from universities in Mainland China: An Online Verification Report of Higher Education Qualification Certificate (教育部学历证书电子注册备案表) in both Chinese and English version issued by the CHSI (学信网) / CHESICC (全国高等学校学生信息咨询与就业指导中心) is required. Please set the validity period of the reports as at least 6 months.

^v Applicants can log into the TOLA applicant interface and view/edit invited referees. The applicant can review the invited referees by accessing the “Academic/professional referees” section.

^vi Only TOEFL / IELTS scores recorded in the two years before the date of application are considered.
TOEFL applicants should request the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to send an official score report to the University (TOEFL code 9671) direct.

^vii Please note that all non-local students are required by law to obtain a student visa to study in Hong Kong and the Immigration Department normally issues student visas to students enrolling in a FULL-TIME programme in the University only.

Please note that the processing time of student visa applications is approximately 10-12 weeks.  It is the responsibility of individual students to make appropriate visa arrangement before they come to Hong Kong.  For more details, please visit https://www.studentvisa.hku.hk/.