Students in the Ph.D. or D.N.P. programs in Nursing can apply to earn a Ph.D. in Nursing or a D.N.P. with a dual-title in Infant Mental Health (IMH). This dual-title degree is designed to prepare nurses to support early social and emotional development in a variety of contexts in which parents or children suffer from developmental disabilities, health problems, or mental health problems. The program prepares nurses to conduct research related to IMH or implement evidence based IMH interventions to improve infant mental health. Students take courses in infant development and assessment, and develop specific skills related to infant mental health assessment and treatment. The dual-title coursework follows competencies outlined by the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health that are required for endorsement as an infant mental health specialist or an infant mental health mentor. 

Admission Requirements

Students should contact the Director of Advanced Practice and Graduate Certificate Programs (ar2556@wayne.edu), the Director of the PhD Program (ag1605@wayne.edu),  or the Infant Mental Health program director, Ann Stacks (amstacks@wayne.edu) early in their doctoral program to enroll in the dual-title program. 

Program Requirements

In addition to D.N.P. or Ph.D. requirements, students are required to complete at least 12 credits of infant mental health coursework, 9 credits of which can count toward their nursing degree. Both D.N.P and Ph.D. students are required to take a 2-credit course in infant mental health (SW 7025), and select one (D.N.P.) or two (Ph.D.) IMH courses from a list of SW and PSY courses. Students must earn at least a 3.0  g.p.a. in their courses. All course work must be completed in accordance with the academic procedures of the College of Nursing and the Graduate School governing graduate scholarship and degrees. 

Requirements for the D.N.P. with an IMH Dual-Title

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
SW 7025	Infant Mental Health: Theory to Practice across Early Childhood Settings	2
SW 7880	Infant/Family Mental Health Assessment	2
or SW 8880	Infant Mental Health Practice
D.N.P. Courses that contain IMH Content – Select at least 8 Credits from the list below:		8
NUR 7030	Advanced Nursing Assessment
NUR 7035	Family Centered Health Promotion and Risk-reduction
NUR 8670	APN Specialty I: Foundations
NUR 8210	Determinants of Health and Health Disparities
NUR 8630	Conceptual Methodologies in Health Policy Leadership and Ethics
PSY 7425	Psychology of Infant Behavior and Development
Total Credits		12

D.N.P. students must also complete a D.N.P. Project related to infant mental health and have an infant mental health faculty member on their D.N.P. project committee.

Requirements for the Ph.D. with an IMH Dual-Title

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
SW 7025	Infant Mental Health: Theory to Practice across Early Childhood Settings	2
Select at least two of the following:		5-6
PSY 7425	Psychology of Infant Behavior and Development
SW 7880	Infant/Family Mental Health Assessment
SW 8880	Infant Mental Health Practice
Elective Courses for Ph.D. IMH Dual-Title Students – Select at least 4-5 Credits		4-5
NUR 8014	Health Interventions
NUR 8210	Determinants of Health and Health Disparities
PSY 7425	Psychology of Infant Behavior and Development (if not chosen above)
SW 7880	Infant/Family Mental Health Assessment (if not chosen above)
SW 8880	Infant Mental Health Practice (if not chosen above)
Total Credits		12

Ph.D. students must also complete a qualifying examination and a Doctoral Dissertation related to infant mental health. An IMH faculty member must be a member of the student's dissertation committee.