Indigenous enrollment in doctoral programs continues to lead the nation

With eight new students joining the University of Minnesota Doctoral Education Pathway for American Indian/Alaska Native Nurses, the school now has 22 students enrolled in doctoral programs. The school’s Indigenous doctoral enrollment leads the nation.

For the first time since the Pathway program launched in 2022, two of the students are enrolled in the PhD in Nursing program. Twenty students are enrolled in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program.

“The arrival of the University of Minnesota School of Nursing’s first two American Indian PhD students since Pathway began in 2022 is more than a milestone. We are investing in the future of Indigenous health and nursing leadership,” says Misty Wilkie, PhD, RN, FAAN, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa/Métis, who serves as director of the Doctoral Education Pathway for AI/AN Nurses. “We need more American Indian/Alaska Native nurse scientists to generate research grounded in the priorities and knowledge of our communities, impact change through policy development, and fill faculty positions that will educate the next generation of nurses.”

Nine Pathway students have graduated from the school since the program began.

In 2022, the School of Nursing was awarded a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Nursing Workforce Diversity (NWD) grant to support American Indian/Alaska Native doctoral nursing students. Students received financial support, mentoring from Indigenous faculty and peer support.

After the HRSA grant was cancelled in 2025, the School of Nursing reaffirmed that the school’s commitment to the program remained unchanged.

“The School of Nursing’s decision to sustain its commitment to American Indian/Alaska Native doctoral education, even following the cancellation of federal grant funding, demonstrates that this work is not dependent on a grant. Far too often, Indigenous communities see programming and initiatives disappear when grant funding ends,” says Wilkie. “Sustaining this work beyond external funding sends a powerful message. Investing in AI/AN doctoral students is not a temporary initiative, it is a long-term institutional commitment to building a strong Indigenous nursing workforce. Together with the largest cohort of AI/AN DNP students in the country, these PhD and DNP students represent a growing pathway of Indigenous nurse scientists, clinicians, educators, and leaders who will transform health care for our communities.”