Following graduation from a baccalaureate program in nursing and licensure as an RN, many nurses choose to pursue graduate study. Graduate education, at the masters or doctoral level, builds on the competencies of baccalaureate education and focuses on advanced nursing roles in practice, education, research, and administration. Graduate Programs are available in Nursing at URI.

A nurse interested in teaching nursing students or doing research to improve patient care might choose to get a degree as a PhD nurse; one interested in being a nurse practitioner might choose a masters degree or DNP (Doctorate in Nursing Practice). If a nurse wants to have a private counseling practice for psychiatric patients, he or she would earn a master's degree in that clinical specialty.