BSN-PhD (Hillman Scholars)
**The Hillman Scholars Program in Nursing Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing is coming to an end and we are no longer accepting applications.**
The Hillman Scholars Program in Nursing Innovation is an accelerated integrated BSN-to-PhD program designed to produce the next generation of nurse innovators dedicated to making health care more effective, patient-centered, and equitable.
In 2010, Penn Nursing partnered with the Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation to develop a new opportunity for scholars. Today, the school is proud to be one of only two in the country offering this unique program.
The Hillman Experience
The Hillman Scholars In Nursing Innovation program is comprised of several distinctive components.
Together, they create a unique academic experience that launches purpose-driven research careers and fosters leaders committed to health care transformation.
Key Program Components
An Accelerated, Integrated BSN-to-PhD Curriculum |
| A Hillman Scholar is both a BSN and PhD student at the same time and therefore can take graduate courses while still completing a BSN. Scholars seamlessly continue into graduate coursework, enabling them to skip the Master’s degree and complete the PhD in three years. |
Undergraduate Research Immersion |
| Scholars link scientific inquiry with real-world innovation by joining research teams that are identifying solutions to challenges in clinical care. Through this experience, they learn how new models of care are tested and observe PhD-prepared nurse scientists in action. |
Structured Mentoring |
| Hillman Scholars beginning in their undergraduate programs and extending through the completion of the PhD are mentored by dedicated senior faculty from nursing and other disciplines who have successful and impactful programs of research, and records of leadership and innovations in care. These relationships provide a unique level of interdisciplinary support for scholars’ professional growth. |
Clinical Fellowship |
| The Hillman program offers an optional clinical immersion fellowship for scholars who want to advance their nursing practice expertise after they earn their nursing license. These unique six-month clinical immersions offer new nurses the opportunity to become members of the professional staff in top-ranked clinical institutions where they care for individual patients and learn first-hand about care delivery. The experience exposes Scholars to real-life health care delivery and shapes how they think about and develop new innovations in care. |
The Hillman Community |
| Hillman Scholars join a vibrant community of peers and faculty committed to their collective development. Scholars at different sites connect in-person at annual meetings (held in conjunction with AcademyHealth, the national interdisciplinary organization that promotes health care improvement) and virtually, through cross-site webinars and other digital platforms. Scholars can access research and travel funds to further their development as nurse innovators. An alumni network helps sustain these professional and personal connections, even after graduation. |
Bi-Weekly Scholars’ Seminars |
| These multi-disciplinary seminars focus on innovation and feature lively, Scholar-led discussions, visits from thought leaders and scientists, and ongoing engagement with peers and faculty. Seminars occur every other week. |
Hillman Scholars in Nursing Innovation Doctoral Student Handbook Addendum
Click here to read the Doctoral Student Handbook Addendum put together for the Hillman Scholars in Nursing Innovation Program. There is valuable information in this addendum. All Hillman Scholars are required to know and abide by the state policies in the University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing BSN Handbook, and PhD handbook.
Hillman Scholars News
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Nina Juntereal Chosen as a 2023 MCN the American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing Editorial Fellows
Congratulations to Nina Juntereal on being chosen as one of the MCN The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing editorial fellows for 2023!
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Stacey Bevan Accepted Into Predoctoral Training Program in Interdisciplinary Methods for Field-based Research in Education
Stacey Bevan will be one of four fellows starting in the Predoctoral Training Program in Interdisciplinary Methods for Field-based Research in Education this fall. In this program she will hone her skills in conducting research that will inform education policy.
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Read More About Lumify Care, a Tech Startup Co-founded by UPenn Hillman Scholar, Anthony Scarpone-Lambert
Lumify Care, supported by the 2021 President’s Innovation Prize and co-founded by May graduate Anthony Scarpone-Lambert and NICU nurse Jennifferre Mancillas, launched an app in January and expects version 2.0 of its uNight Light later in 2022.