Comparative Study of PhD Nursing Curriculum in Iran and Norway

Quality assurance in doctoral nursing curriculums will have a significant effect on advancing and improving the educational goals of nursing professionals. In this respect, various comparative studies are conducted throughout the world to determine the strengths and weaknesses of educational curriculums in different countries. This study aimed to compare the doctoral nursing curriculums in Iran and Norway.

This descriptive-comparative study was conducted to compare doctoral nursing curriculums in Iran and Norway in 2020. The required data were collected by searching the related keywords on the internet. Subsequently, the collected information underwent analysis using Bereday's four-step comparison model (description, interpretation, juxtaposition, and comparison) to evaluate and analyze the similarities and differences between the two curriculums.

It was revealed that there was a complete similarity in the graduates' roles in the PhD curriculum of the two countries and relative similarity in the curriculum content of the program in Iran and Norway. However, other issues, such as the length, majors, and goals of the program and the methods of student admission to this program were different in both countries.

Based on the results, among the strengths and weaknesses of the doctoral nursing curriculum in Iran were reported to having a clear perspective with precise goals and lacking sufficient attention to nursing practice, respectively. Therefore, it is necessary to compensate for the existing shortcomings by reviewing the current curriculum in Iran to witness the presence of capable PhD graduates in both research and clinical fields in the Iranian’s nursing education system.