(NEWARK, N.J., Nov. 11, 2008) – The F.M. Kirby Foundation of Morristown, N.J., awarded a $750,000 grant to the College of Nursing at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, to support the education of 10 doctoral fellows who are New Jersey residents.
The grant will also fund the work of a faculty member who is committed to teaching, research and service in the best academic tradition, said Interim Dean Lucille Joel. "It is our expectation that these doctoral fellows and their faculty mentors will contribute notably to the expansion of nursing knowledge and ultimately improve the human conditions of New Jersey residents and beyond," Joel said.
The F.M. Kirby Foundation is a family foundation. Its grantees are largely in geographic areas of particular interest to five generations of Kirby family members and, in many cases, are organizations with which family members have been associated.
Rutgers College of Nursing was the first to introduce a doctoral program in nursing in New Jersey. In the fall of 2006, the first online and blended PhD program was introduced at Rutgers University to meet the needs of nurses interested in a PhD program who cannot attend a traditional setting because of family and work demands.
Rutgers College of Nursing also introduced the doctor of nursing practice program in the Spring 2007 semester. The DNP program differs from a nursing PhD program in that it will focus on the practice of nursing and the application of research, rather than the development and testing of original research.
The coursework is delivered in an online and blended format similar to the doctoral program and includes a residency period in which students will gather on campus for instruction.
From its headquarters in Newark, Rutgers College of Nursing offers a broad range of academic programs on all three Rutgers campuses. The college offers a master's program with unique practitioner specialties, a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree, and was the first to offer a Ph.D. nursing degree in New Jersey.