Academic advisement is mandatory and essential to support and guide your tenure through FIU’s doctoral nursing program.
Your Academic Advisor
Every FIU doctoral nursing student is paired with a faculty member Academic Advisor to jointly develop the student’s Plan of Study upon acceptance to the program.
Your Academic Advisor will guide you in the initial stages of program development and monitor your progress through the plan. Together, you have the joint responsibility to ensure that each step for fulfilling degree requirements is completed and that an official record is kept.
Advisement assignments are intended to ensure advisor accessibility to the student. Advisement hours are posted outside each faculty member's office and appointments can be made directly with your Academic Advisor.
Student Expectations
FIU PhD Nursing students are responsible for:
- Meeting with their Academic Advisor prior to registering for courses
- Notifying their Academic Advisor if they find they are having personal or academic difficulties that could impede their progress toward graduation
Once in the program, it is not uncommon to discover that another faculty member may offer a better match for your research interests. It is entirely acceptable for you to change advisors. However, you must notify the PhD program office of the request, and the change must first be discussed with your current advisor, potential advisor and the PhD program director.
As you progress through required courses, you will also need to identify cognate courses outside of nursing that will complement your nursing preparation and projected area of research. This will be done in consultation with your Academic Advisor or PhD Committee Chair.
After establishing contact and having course experiences with a range of faculty, you will be ready to select a Dissertation Chairperson who will continue to monitor your Plan of Study and direct your Dissertation research. The Dissertation Chairperson may or may not have served as your Academic Advisor.