The University of Central Oklahoma and Swansea University (Wales, UK), established in 1920, are expanding their successful Ph.D. partnership to include a doctorate program in Nursing. The degree, granted by Swansea, is a standard British Ph.D., requiring the completion and defense of a strong thesis (dissertation).
British Ph.D. degrees in general, and Swansea degrees in particular, are widely respected. In 2014 the World University Rankings included Swansea in its top 400 universities, along with the University of Oklahoma.
The students work independently to research and write their theses under two advisers, one from Swansea and one from UCO. Individual contact is frequent, but there are no classes and no added requirements for minor fields, statistics, languages, etc., unless these are needed to complete the thesis. A student’s time is completely flexible.
And, because of UCO’s willingness to assist with student advising, Oklahomans can do their degree work here with only an initial two-week trip to Wales and a two-day return at the end to defend their theses. The program pays for these trips.
Typically, students finish in three-four years. According to a just-released National Science Foundation survey, American doctorates with those requirements take from five to seven years after the master’s degree to complete.
The Swansea@UCO Ph.D. program began in 2011 and now has fourteen students in a variety of humanities, social science and selected health-related fields, which now includes Nursing. Specific information on Nursing is at: http://www.swansea.ac.uk/nursing/.
Students pay tuition in a lump sum to UCO at the start of each of six semesters (three-years). If a student needs a fourth year to complete her or his work, that year is free. No state funds are used in the program, but Sallie Mae loans are available to qualified students, as are certain income tax benefits.
Interested nurses can find details on the Swansea@UCO program at the UCO Graduate College website (http://www.uco.edu/graduate/index.asp) and from UCO Graduate Dean Dr. Richard Bernard (rbernard1@uco.edu).
Source: Dr. Richard M. Bernard, Dean, Jackson College of Graduate Studies, University of Central Oklahoma, (405) 974-3494 rbernard1@uco.edu
