Location: Online
Start Term: Fall, Spring, Summer
Format: Part time
You have the power to shape your career and make your mark on the future of healthcare and health professions education as a scholar-practitioner who addresses complex problems of practice.
This part-time program is offered entirely online and can be completed in nine semesters of part-time study.
As a student, you will experience a curriculum designed to prepare clinicians, educators, and leaders to meet the future challenges of health professions and education through evidence-based practice. Students take part in a multi-faceted and interprofessional curriculum that develops depth and context around practice-based problems and supports the student’s translation of evidence to current practice.
Thrive in a structured environment that empowers students to drive transformational changes with the support and guidance of experienced faculty members. The program prepares healthcare clinicians, educators, and leaders as scholar-practitioners through an interdisciplinary and interprofessional curriculum that incorporates evidence-based research and scholarship.
Students can further enhance their DHS degree by choosing to sub-specialize in one of the three core concentrations: Health Systems Administration, Educational Leadership, or Global Health. Students are also given the opportunity to develop a capstone project directly connected to their work.
Curriculum
This innovative 54-credit program was created to meet the needs of current health professionals with coursework that is progressive and contemporary, including modules addressing healthcare trends and challenges, population health, and quality improvement. The core curriculum prepares interdisciplinary health professionals to interpret and apply evidence in practice and to establish themselves as leaders in clinical settings, educational institutions, hospitals and healthcare organizations. Students also further specialize their educational experience and leadership abilities by selecting one of the three concentrations: Health Systems Administration, Educational Leadership, or Global Health.
Evidence-Based Capstone
The program culminates with an Evidence-Based Healthcare Project that is developed in a structured environment. The capstone project offers students the opportunity to acquire skills and knowledge to advocate for best practices and promote the translation and utilization of existing evidence in their practice.
Learn more about the Doctor of Health Sciences program.
- An earned Masters degree or equivalent from a regionally accredited college or university
- Credentials or experience as a health professional or health professions educator preferred
- A minimum TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 90 (Internet-based), 213 (computer-based) or 550 (written) for all candidates for whom English is not the primary language.
Transfer credits may be accepted on a limited basis, and only when all of the following criteria have been met: The coursework was completed at a regionally accredited institution at the doctoral level with a grade of B, or better. The syllabus demonstrates significant similarity to a required DHS course and has not been applied to any other credential. Any transfer credit request must be accompanied by an official transcript and will be reviewed by the program coordinator.
Doctor of Health Sciences Core Courses
Required Courses (45 semester hours in total)
COURSE
|
TITLE
|
S.H. |
Healthcare Trends and Challenges
|
HSC 821
|
Health and Wellness Across Lifespan
|
3
|
HSC 823
|
Cultural and Mental Health Issues
|
3
|
HSC 827
|
Workplace Ethics and Professionalism
|
3
|
HSC 828
|
IPE and Collaborative Practice
|
3
|
Population Health
|
HSC 831
|
Demographics and Population Health
|
3
|
HSC 833
|
Disease: Population Impacts and Influences |
3
|
HSC 837
|
Patient-centered Care and Healthcare Integration
|
3
|
Quality Improvement
|
HSC 841
|
Safety and Risk Management
|
3
|
HSC 843
|
Health Systems Monitoring and Evaluation
|
3
|
HSC 836 |
Innovative Healthcare Technology
|
3
|
Doctoral Core Courses
|
HSC 801
|
Introduction to Doctoral Studies
|
3
|
HSC 815
|
Healthcare Research Methods
|
3
|
HSC 852
|
Capstone I: Question Development & Search for Evidence |
3
|
HSC 854
|
Capstone II: Appraisal of the Evidence |
3
|
HSC 856
|
Capstone III: Dissemination of Findings |
3
|
Health Sciences Required Courses Total Credits
|
45
|
Doctor of Health Sciences Concentration Courses
Students select one concentration (9 semester hours in total)
COURSE |
TITLE |
S.H. |
Health Systems Administration
|
HSC 781
|
Transformative Leadership
|
3
|
HSC 785
|
Health Policy and Reform
|
3
|
HSC 787
|
Financial and Human Resource Management
|
3
|
Educational Leadership
|
HSC 782
|
Principles and Theories of Teaching and Learning
|
3
|
HSC 784
|
Designing Curriculum
|
3
|
HSC 786
|
Assessment & Evaluation
|
3
|
Global Health
|
HSC 771
|
Critical Global Health Issues
|
3
|
HSC 773
|
International Relations and Politics
|
3
|
HSC 777
|
Disaster Management
|
3
|
Health Sciences Concentration Total Credits
|
9 |
Total credits to complete degree requirements: 54 semester hours
Graduates of the program will be able to:
- Identify, critically evaluate, and disseminate evidence to innovatively address problems of practice and advance health professions.
- Collaboratively lead the pursuit of sustainable, ethical, and equitable healthcare across disciplines and professions.
- Apply quality improvement methodologies and systems thinking to enhance the delivery of healthcare and health education.
- Evaluate applications of technology in the innovation, delivery, and evaluation of best practices in healthcare, health promotion, and education
- Analyze national and global health issues by identifying and critically evaluating relevant data to make recommendations focused on health promotion and disease prevention.
- Apply value-based and patient-centered approaches to resolve complex challenges through population-based health approaches.
- Evaluate contemporary issues in community health, healthcare improvement, and professional practice identifying ethical and equitable challenges in making informed recommendations.
- Describe cultural issues in healthcare delivery and identify culturally sensitive approaches to promote solutions supported by current evidence.
- Demonstrate scholarly writing and professional presentation skills in the dissemination of evidence across professions supporting best practices in healthcare delivery, the promotion of health, and health education.
Our flexible course schedule allows students to go customize their curriculum plan to fit their needs. The following is a sample curriculum plan for the Doctor of Health Sciences program.
Year
|
Fall Term
|
Spring Term
|
Summer Term
|
Year I
|
HSC 801 - Introduction to Doctoral Studies
|
HSC 827 - Workplace Ethics & Professionalism
|
HSC 841 - Safety and Risk Management
|
HSC 821 - Health & Wellness Across the Lifespan
|
HSC 823 - Cultural and Mental Health Issues
|
HSC 843 - Health System Monitoring and Evaluation
|
Year 2
|
HSC 836 - Innovative Healthcare Technology
|
HSC 828 - IPE and Collaborative Practice
|
HSC 831 - Demographics & Population Health |
HSC 833 -Disease: Population Impacts and Influences |
HSC 837 - Patient-centered care & Healthcare Integration
|
HSC 815 - Healthcare Research Methods |
Year 3
|
Concentration Course |
Concentration Course |
Concentration Course |
HSC 852 - Question Development & Lit Search
|
HSC 854 - Literature Analysis
|
HSC 856 - Dissemination of Findings |