UH offers first nursing doctoral degree program to address primary care provider shortage UofH offers first doctoral degree program in nursing The University of Houston is now offering the first doctoral degree program in nursing to address the shortage of primary care providers. HOUSTON - "Nurses are the number one trusted profession in the United States according to the Gallup Polls," said Dr. Kathryn Tart founding Dean and professor at the University of Houston’s nursing program. America’s love of nurses has grown even deeper with the pandemic. These brave men and women put their own health on the line daily and are seeing patients die more frequently.