Doctor of Healthcare Administration (DHA)

Although the MBA in Healthcare Management from MCPHS provides graduates with a foundation in business administration that can be applied to any industry, our graduates are agile leaders with the skillset to manage people, processes, and resources across healthcare. Graduates of our MBA in Healthcare Management program have climbed the corporate ladders at their current places of employment, have been promoted to management positions, opened healthcare clinics, attained competitive positions at lucrative healthcare consulting firms, and much more.

Yes. This program is designed for currently practicing healthcare professionals. Although healthcare leadership/management experience is preferred, it is not required.

Graduates from our DHA program have been successful in securing career advancement within their current healthcare organizations and are employed at hospitals, community health organizations, long-term care facilities, and other healthcare organizations.

Although a few of our students have expressed an interest in teaching, those students are most interested in adjunct teaching opportunities in their areas of expertise, not full-time university employment. Mentoring opportunities are available for students interested in pursuing adjunct work; however, the DHA program does not offer coursework specific to teaching and learning in the curriculum.

No. This program is not a PhD nor extensively research-based; however, this program utilizes evidence-based information in course work designed for knowledge translation from research to practice. At the conclusion of this program, DHA graduates will have a completed Applied Practice-Based Research project. While not dissertation-based, core research skills from identifying a practice-based problem through conducting action-based research, and developing a product for dissemination to a wider audience prepare students for their role as a scholar-practitioner. This translates to an individual who is able to critically evaluate current research and translate that into practical applications in the healthcare environment.

While not a dissertation, the Applied Practice Based Research Project emphasizes the practical nature of research through a doctoral research core. Students develop an action research project in a small setting. Core research skills (question development, literature searching, developing and defending a project proposal, human ethics training with an IRB application, implementing a project, collecting and evaluating data, project defense, and disseminating results) will be developed in this program.

• Reducing Blood Culture Contamination Rates in the Emergency Department
• Improving Integration Through the Medicaid HCBS Waiver for Individuals with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities

Asynchronous online education means that, for the most part, students are not required to “attend” live, virtual lectures. Students entering the DHA program and taking asynchronous courses should not expect lengthy recorded lectures from their faculty each week. Doctoral coursework is usually comprised of required weekly readings, discussions through an asynchronous discussion forum, graded assignments, academic or reflection papers, and individual or group projects. Students are expected to login and begin classes on schedule and actively engage in their coursework several times each week.

Course instructors post their meeting availability and contact information in the course syllabus. Although some faculty offer drop-in Zoom sessions, students most commonly schedule 1:1 virtual Zoom appointments or phone calls with their faculty member, as needed.

No. The Doctor in Healthcare Administration program at MCPHS was designed for healthcare professionals with full-time employment seeking a part-time, online option to earn a doctorate. Students are advised to take 6-7 credits/semester year-round. Advising plans are created based on current and future course offerings. For students who achieve academic excellence, the School may entertain requests from current students to increase their credit loads to 9 credits; however, these requests are granted on a course availability/space available basis and are not guaranteed.

Sometimes. Since the DHA program was designed to be completed at a pace of 6-7 credits/semester, year-round, many courses in this program are only offered once a year. Taking one class may not be an option every semester and will impact a student’s timeline to completion. Admitted students may contact healthcarebusiness@mcphs.edu to inquire what their course plan may look like if taking just one class per semester.

Students in the DHA program are registered for prescribed first-semester coursework. However, students are advised to self-register for future semesters following a prescribed plan that has been custom-designed for each student after meeting with the Program Director. In a 1:1 meeting with the Director at the start of the program, students will have the opportunity to select preferred courses in 4 of the 5 modules. All courses in the doctoral research core are required for graduation.

Since all courses in the DHA program are online, asynchronous, deviating from the prescribed course plan is not advised and doing so may impact graduation. Students should always discuss any desire to change their timelines/course plans with the Program Director before proceeding.

Yes. This program is designed for continuous, year-round enrollment, and summer enrollments are required to complete the DHA. The program follows the fall, spring, summer (12-week) semester schedules.

What GPA/minimum grade is required in the Doctor of Healthcare Administration program?

In order to achieve academic progression in this program, students are required to earn a B or better in each course and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Yes. Applicants who have interviewed and received an acceptance decision may request to have their transcripts reviewed by the Program Director. Transfer credits are evaluated on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the Program Director and Dean. For tentative transfer credit consideration, coursework must meet the following criteria:

• Course description and assignments must reflect the objectives and outcomes of a similar course in our Doctor of Healthcare Administration program
• The course must be at the doctoral level and completed with a B or higher from a regionally-accredited university within the last 5 years
• Courses applied toward another degree may not be considered for transfer

No more than 9 credits may be considered for transfer into the Doctor of Healthcare Administration program

After interviewing and receiving admission to the Doctor of Healthcare Administration program, qualified students may contact the School of Healthcare Business & Technology for transfer credit review at healthcarebusiness@mcphs.edu. Admitted students must provide the following for consideration:

• a detailed explanation of their transfer credit request
• an official copy of their official university transcript with final grades (if it was not provided in the application process)
• an official copy of the complete course syllabus with course description, detailed outcomes, and assessments of learning.

The School will respond with a tentative transfer credit decision within 10-14 days of receiving all required elements. All transfer credit is subject to final review and approval by the University’s Registrar’s Office and applied to the student’s transcript after the student has started the program.

Questions about tuition and financial aid can be directed to kristen.desrochers@mcphs.edu.

Questions about tuition reimbursement and tuition waivers can be directed to kristen.desrochers@mcphs.edu.