Professional Doctorate in Nursing
DNurs
Key facts
Start dates
September 2025
Course length
Part time: Part-time: 5 years, one Saturday a month during semester time.
Department
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.
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.
Why Oxford Brookes University?
- we're home to the world class research institute OxINMAHR.
- 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.
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.
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.
Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from those shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.
Learning and teaching
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
Assessment methods used on this course
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.
Staff
All DNurs students undertaking the independent research and thesis element will be closely supported by a supervisory team. This is made up of staff from the programme, the Oxford School of Nursing and Midwifery, the wider Faculty as well as external supervisors where appropriate.
Professor Eila Watson
Professor in Supportive Cancer Care, and Deputy Director (interim) of OxINMAHR
Students
Meet students from our first ever cohort in 2017
Angela Bygrave Griffiths
Does a raised body mass index affect patient’s quality of life, symptoms and experiences following catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation?
Lucy Speakman
An exploration of the experiences of community respiratory nurses supporting patients who are breathless
Ms Maxmiller “Maxine” Buyanga
How do organisational and social contexts influence mealtimes on wards caring for the older person aged 65 years and above?
Ms Sally Bassett
How Chief Nurses and their colleagues perceive the success of the Chief Nurse leadership role
How to apply
Entry 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.
Application process
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.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees
Fees quoted are for the first year only. If you are studying a course that lasts longer than one year, your fees will increase each year.
For International fees the following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support.
Home fees are set by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and are released approximately five months before the start of each academic year.
If you have any questions about fees, get in touch with the Research Degrees Team at rdt-researchdegrees@brookes.ac.uk.
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
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.
Compulsory costs
| Additional costs | Amount (£) |
|---|---|
Continuation fee The continuation fee, where it is payable is compulsory, but not applicable to Masters by research or PhD by Published Work, detailed as follows:
|
£1455 |
Optional costs
| Additional costs | Amount (£) |
|---|---|
Bench fees for full-time study will be calculated on an individual basis and the amount will depend on the subject and project. In some cases no bench fee will be charged. |
£1000-6000 |
Bench fees for part-time study will be calculated on an individual basis and the amount will depend on the subject and project. In some cases no bench fee will be charged. |
£500-3000 |
It’s your responsibility to cover print / binding costs where coursework submission is required. Please note that a lot of the coursework is now submitted online. |
From £30 |
| You may choose to purchase books to support your studies. Many books on our reading lists are available via the Library, or can be purchased secondhand. | £20-60 per book |
Accommodation fees in Brookes Letting (most do not include bills) |
£94-265 per week |
Accommodation fees in university halls (bills included, excluding laundry costs) |
£122-180 per week |
Graduation costs include tickets, gowning and photography. Gowns are not compulsory but typically students do hire robes, starting at £41. |
Typically £0-200 |
Students are responsible for their own travel to and from university for classes. BrookesBus travel is subsidised for full-time undergraduate students that are on a course with a fee of £9,250 or more, or living in an Oxford Brookes hall of residence. There is an administration fee for the production of a BrookesKey. |
From £10 |
Resubmission fees If following viva, examiners recommend that a student is required to revise and resubmit their thesis for re-examination, they must pay the resubmission fee for the duration of that period. |
£1455 |
Funding your studies
Financial support and scholarships
Featured funding opportunities available for this course.