Creating a virtual research community: the University of Arizona PhD program

To address the critical shortage of doctorally prepared nursing faculty and nurse scientists, The University of Arizona College of Nursing designed and implemented, as a virtual research community, an online doctor of philosophy (PhD) program. We are now completing our third year of the Online PhD Program and will admit our fourth cohort of students in August. In this article, we reflect on our progress to date and discuss what we have learned with nursing colleagues who may be considering this kind of change in their own programs. After describing the context for change, we discuss how the change was managed, including the planning and implementation of the program. We conclude with an evaluation of the process and early outcomes of the Online PhD Program from the authors' unique vantage points as program director, associate dean for academic affairs, and dean.