Taught Postgraduate

Source: https://nursing.hku.hk/education/doctor-of-nursing-programme Parent: https://nursing.hku.hk/education/bachelor-of-nursing-direct-admissions-scheme-for-senior-year-place-das

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)

Programme Curriculum

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.

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

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.

Scholarships and Sponsorship

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.

Admission Requirements

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.

Individual consultation session will be arranged on request.

Admission and Application

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 300-word statement indicating your personal career development intentions/research interests, along with a 2,000-word research proposal for a primary study, including a background with literature review, objectives, and research methodology
2. Complete/the latest official transcript(s)
3. Graduation Certificate(s)
4. Two academic / employment reference reports (via Application System or )
5. An applicant who is 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 examination results listed in https://portal.hku.hk/tpg-admissions/applying/admission-requirements.
6. Certificate of Registration AND valid Practising Certificate issued by the Nursing Council of Hong Kong or the nursing authority in your own country
7. HKID copy (with watermark) for local applicants or passport copy for non-local applicants
8. 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) & Graduation Certificate(s)

• Request your awarding institutions to directly send electronic transcript(s) & electronic academic certificate(s) to the School of Nursing (dnurs@hku.hk) via their own or a designated secure web platform (e.g. Academic Certificate Verification Platform, MyCreds.ca, My eQuals, Parchment, National Student Clearinghouse, etc.)

[Overseas Institutes (Chinese Mainland Applicants)]

• Overseas Credentials Evaluation Report (教育部國外學歷學位認證書) of your overseas qualifications issued by the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE) [中國留學網] [Chinese version only].
• Request your awarding institutions to directly send electronic transcript(s) & electronic academic certificate(s) to the School of Nursing (dnurs@hku.hk).

[Institutes in Chinese Mainland](validity period should be 6 months or the longest available)

• Online Verification Report of China Higher Education Student's Academic Transcript containing complete record of the years and examination results (中國高等學校學生成績驗証報告) (English & Chinese version).
• Online Verification Report of Higher Education Qualification Certificate (教育部學歷證書電子注冊備案表) (English & Chinese version) issued by the China Higher Education Student Information (CHSI)中國高等教育學生信息網.
• Online Verification Report of Higher Education Degree Certificate (中國高等教育學位在線驗證報告) (English & Chinese version) issued by China Higher Education Student Information (CHSI)中國高等教育學生信息網.

2.​English language results (https://portal.hku.hk/tpg-admissions/applying/admission-requirements)

• Request the examination authority to directly valid official score report(s) to the School of Nursing (dnurs@hku.hk).

​3. Certificate of Registration AND valid Practising Certificateissued by the Nursing Councilof 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.  Students are strongly advised to complete the online visa application with Admission Offer (Firm or Conditional) by mid-June 2026.  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 20, 2026

Main Round: 12:00 noon (GMT +8), April 24, 2026

Application for admission fee (non-refundable): HK$600

Composition fee (subject to the University’s approval):\ HK$334,800 for the entire programme for local students\ HK$349,560 for the entire programme for non-local students