Doctoral Program Student Recruitment: Same Day Admission Innovation

In the context of declining doctoral admissions and scarce resources, a small, private university in southern California serving a diverse student population created an innovative Same Day Admission event for their doctoral nursing programs. In a collaborative effort between the university's doctoral programs and admissions leadership, the complex and lengthy admission process was reduced and the number of applicants increased. A "1-stop shop" concept improved the efficiency of the application and admission process to the Doctor of Nursing Practice and Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing programs. More than triple the number of applicants in one-fifth the amount of time were admitted for the spring and fall 2022 semesters using the Same Day Admission process compared with offering doctoral information sessions, passive inquiries, and a traditional admission process. The applicants praised the efficient, motivating, and energizing process. Feedback from the faculty and staff involved was extremely positive about the collaboration and was used for process improvement purposes. Additional innovations are planned for the future, including the use of applicant narratives for promotion, and current students sharing their lived doctoral program experiences during the Same Day Admission event.