DNUR7002
20 credits
Level 7
DNurs Professional Doctorate in Nursing
Pursue independent research in professional doctorate in nursing, developing specialist expertise and contributing to knowledge in your field.
Key facts
- Duration
- Part time: 5 years, one Saturday a month during semester time.
- Starts
- September 2027
- Level
- PhDs and postgraduate research
- Funding status
- Self-funded
- Location
- Headington
- School
- Oxford School of Nursing and Midwifery
Overview
The Professional Doctorate in Nursing (DNurs) is a part-time doctoral programme aimed at nurses who wish to remain in clinical practice, education or management, and develop research skills and knowledge with a peer group and experience our world class research institute OxInAHR.
The DNurs will provide you with the opportunity to:
- study nursing theory and practice with a cohort of like-minded individuals
- develop research skills in order to carry out doctoral level research
- research specific issues of professional relevance and concern in depth
- develop a strong research-practitioner community
- study the methodologies of healthcare research.
Why Oxford Brookes University?
- we're home to the world class research institute OxInAHR.
- 125 years nursing education in Oxford
- we're part of the Oxford Academic Health Science Centre (OxAHSC) – one of only six such Centres designated by the Department of Health in England
- we have partnerships with local NHS Foundation Trusts (Oxford University Hospitals, Oxford Health and Great Western Hospitals)
- access to the teaching and research expertise of our sister DMid programme.
Additional Details
The aims of the DNurs are to:
- provide a deeper knowledge, understanding and awareness of nursing
- develop and produce independent, reflective and competent researchers
- promote critical self reflection and knowledge acquisition
- help professionals to manage their own learning in order to promote high levels of critical understanding and professional application.
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
| Qualification | Typical offer |
|---|---|
| IELTS | IELTS 7.0 overall with 7.0 in all skills. For more information, please see our English language requirements. |
- An Upper Second or First Class Honours Degree from a UK or overseas recognised institution and/or relevant Postgraduate study.
- Must be currently registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council in the UK or equivalent registration within their residing country.
- Must have a minimum of three years post-qualification / registration experience
- If English is not the first language, must have completed the British Council’s IELTS achieving an overall score of level 6.5/ 7 or above in line with the University PG regulations. The NMC requires an overall IELTS score of 7.
- APL will only be considered for students who have graduated previously with an MPhil or MRes degree with a relevant health care focus. The students will gain entry into the programme at the level 8 stage.
Screening
Students are required to evidence they have an up-to-date DBS check completed by their employer before applying to commence their studies at the university.
Fees and funding
Fees
The continuation fee, where it is payable, is compulsory.
All Professional Doctorate part-time students are required to pay the part-time fee for five complete academic years before they are eligible to pay the continuation fee.
| Fee types | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Home part-time | £4,550 |
| International part-time | £8,300 |
How and when to pay
Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.
- For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
- For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page.
Questions about fees?
Learning and assessment
The programme has been designed to support the development of an increasingly active and independent researcher and writer by providing a blend of learning approaches designed to promote intellectual autonomy. These include:
- face-to-face seminars and workshop activities
- guided online activities
- student-led seminars
- and individual tutorial and supervision sessions.
Teaching and learning strategies will encourage you to:
- engage and explore new areas of knowledge
- build on and deepen your existing knowledge, understanding and skills in nursing and research
- engage in critical analysis of texts, concepts, theories and practices and reflect on a range of professional issues, questions, concepts, theories, policies and practice encountered in your studies
- interrogate the assumptions underpinning theory and research in order to come to an understanding of the significance and limitations of theory and research
- develop appropriately informed research skills.
Assessment
The taught modules are progression to the research stage of the programme and will be assessed on a pass or fail basis only. Assessment will include:
- reflective essays
- critical analysis of evidence based practice
- presentations
- a ‘portfolio of learning’ based on the Vitae ‘Researcher Development Framework.’
For the research component, you will work with your supervisory team (a Director of Studies and up to 2 further supervisors). You will undertake research into your chosen area of professional practice. This will be presented as a 65,000 word thesis and submitted at the end of year 5 (September) and defended in a viva voce examination within 3 months of submission.
Award of the DNurs will be made when the external and internal examiners have examined the thesis and you have successfully defended your research in the viva examination. All recommendations for the award have to be approved by the Science and Technology Sub-Committee of the Research Degrees Committee.
Study Modules
All modules on the programme are compulsory and you have to achieve a pass mark on all modules to progress. If you wish to exit with the interim award, you need to have successfully completed all compulsory level 7 modules, and then undertake a single work-based learning project to gain 180 credits at level 7.
Year 1
Compulsory modules
PSIO7018
10 credits
Level 7
LOCAL-G21202
40 credits
Level 7
DNUR7001
20 credits
The aim of this module is to provide an opportunity to develop knowledge, intellectual abilities, techniques and professional standards to do research...
How to apply
Make a direct application to Oxford Brookes.
As part of the application you are required to submit a research proposal to hlsapplications@brookes.ac.uk.
The research proposal must be 2000 words and based on a research idea related to practice. The proposal needs to demonstrate why you have identified this problem, why it is an area that needs exploration with rationale and how you will research it. You may want to follow the structure below:
- Title
- Background information/brief summary of existing literature
- The Aim/question and the objectives
- Methodology
- How the research will be communicated to the wider community
- Ethical considerations
- Summary and conclusions
For more information please contact us at hlsapplications@brookes.ac.uk.
Our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, so module availability and course structures may vary from what is listed here. On rare occasions, we may also need to make updates to our course programmes after publication; for full details, please visit our changes to programmes page (opens in a new tab)
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