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Doctor of Nursing Programme

Doctor of Nursing Programme
Programme Overview
 
The Doctor of Nursing (DNurs) Programme is designed for nurses who aspire to provide leadership in advancing nursing practice, education and research.

DNurs Programme Leaflet 
 

Study mode and duration
 
Part-time (4 years) or
Full-time (3 years)
 

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.

The DNurs Programme consists of 4 Core courses, 3 Track courses, a Thesis, and 2 courses on Research Ethics as required by the Graduate School. Candidates select the Track courses from one of the two Leadership Tracks: Clinical Leadership or Educational Leadership.

Year of Study

Full-time Mode

Part-time Mode

1st and 2nd Year

  • Completion of all taught courses and assignments
    • 4 Core courses
    • 3 Track courses
    • 2 Research Ethics courses
  • Attendance and presentation at thesis seminars
  • Preparation of an up-to-standard research proposal plus initial work on thesis

3rd Year

  • Attendance and presentation at thesis seminars
  • Completion of a thesis of 50,000 to 60,000 words
  • Attendance and presentation at thesis seminars
  • Completion of a thesis of 50,000 to 60,000 words

4th Year

N/A

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

Educational Leadership Track

Clinical Leadership Track 

  • NURS6005 Introduction to Clinical and Classroom Teaching in Nursing
  • NURS6008 Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) Role Acquisition
  • NURS6006 Curriculum Planning and Development
  • NURS6009 Health Behavior and Health Promotion Research
  • NURS6007 Assessment and Evaluation
  • NURS6010 Concepts and Methods in Health Services Research

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 1st 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.

Registration  

A.  Application

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

B.  Application Submission Requirements

You are strongly advised to upload via the application system the following supporting documents right after submitting your application.  Late provision of supporting documents may cause delays in the processing of your application.

  1. A 2,000-word statement indicating your research interest 
  2. Complete/the latest official transcript(s)
  3. Graduation Certificate(s)
  4. Two academic / employment reference reports (via Application System or Download from here)
  5. Test Report of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) (non-home edition), or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) (if applicable)
  • Applicants who are seeking admission on the basis of a qualification from a university or comparable institution outside Hong Kong of which the language of teaching and/or examination is not English is required to obtain one of the above examination results.
  1. Certificate of Registration AND valid Practising Certificate issued by the Nursing Council of Hong Kong or the nursing authority in your own country 
  2. HKID copy (with watermark) for local applicants or passport copy for non-local applicants
  3. Other documents which you would like to bring the attention of the University

IMPORTANT
To facilitate your application, you may be required to provide the official copies of your academic qualifications through the specified formats as set out below.

  1. Complete/the latest official transcript(s)
  • To submit e-transcript(s) issued by the awarding institutions directly from their system to School of Nursing by email [dnurs@hku.hk]; OR
  • To submit e-transcript(s) directly from third-party agencies (e.g. Parchment, National Student Clearinghouse, etc) authorized by the awarding universities to School of Nursing by email [dnurs@hku.hk];

[Mainland applicants]

  1. Graduation Certificate(s)
  • To submit e-academic certificate(s) directly from recognised third-party agencies (e.g. Academic Certificate Verification Platform);
  • Applicants who are seeking admission on the basis of a qualification from a university or comparable institution in Mainland China are required to submit both Chinese and English version of the following reports, which validity period should be 6 months or the longest available:
  1. Online Verification Report of Higher Education Qualification Certificate (教育部學歷證書電子注冊備案表) issued by the China Higher Education Student Information (CHSI) 中國高等教育學生信息網;
  2. Degree Certificate/ Online Verification Report of Higher Education Degree Certificate (中國高等教育學位在線驗證報告) issued by China Higher Education Student Information (CHSI) 中國高等教育學生信息網.
  1. Test Report of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) (non-home edition), or International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
  • To submit valid official score report(s) directly from the examination authority to School of Nursing.
  1. Certificate of Registration AND valid Practising Certificate issued by the Nursing Council of Hong Kong or the nursing authority in your own country.  (certified true copies) (sample of declaration form in Hong Kong / sample of notary public in China)

REMARKS

  1. Applicants are strongly advised to submit their applications directly to the University and avoid the involvement of any intermediary agencies.  Any misrepresentation will disqualify application(s) to the University and the University has the right to make a report to the relevant law enforcement agencies which may result in criminal prosecution. 
  2. Notarized copies or certified true documents issued by the awarding universities will NOT be accepted.
  3. Transcripts, diplomas, certificates and other submitted documents which are not in English should be accompanied by a certified translation in English.
  4. 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.  Please click here for mainland students / here for foreign students for further details.
  5. Submitted documents are non-returnable and will be securely destroyed in the event of an unsuccessful application.
     

C.  Application deadline(s)

Priority Round: 12:00 noon (GMT +8), February 21, 2025

Application for admission fee (non-refundable): HK$300

Composition fee (subject to the University’s approval):
Part-time mode: HK$75,900 per year
Full-time mode: HK$101,220 per year

 
School of Nursing

5/F, Academic Building
3 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam
Hong Kong

 
 
Contact Information

Tel:        3910 2789
Fax:       2872 6079
Email:   dnurs@hku.hk