Location: Online
Start Term: Fall, Spring
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.
Prospective applicants should have healthcare or health professions experience, such as being a credentialed health professional, experienced educators, or researchers in a health-related field. Admission decisions are based on the following:
- An earned master's degree or equivalent from an accredited college or university
- Proof of credentials or experience as a health professional
- 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.
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:
- Advance professional practice through the critical evaluation and synthesis of evidence
- Evaluate and disseminate evidence-based recommendations solving practice-based problems
- Assess complex issues in health professions and health professions education leading to evidence-based solutions that include population health perspectives
- Demonstrate mastery of the design, development, and application of ethical research protocols to practice-based problems
- Practice interdisciplinary and interprofessional leadership in pursuit of sustainable change in educational and health services institutions
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 |