Doctor of Health Sciences Next Steps
Welcome
Congratulations on accepting your admission offer into our Doctor of Health Sciences online program at MCPHS.
We’re excited to provide you with a world-class online healthcare education experience. Before you begin your online program, review the information and resources below to prepare you as you begin your MCPHS online education. We will continue to post specific information on this page, so be sure to check back often.
Message from the Program Director
Read a welcome letter from Anthony Lacina, DHSc, MPH, MEd, CHES, Program Director. Learn more about the Doctor of Health Sciences online program and how Anthony, along with faculty and staff, support you during your time as an MCPHS student.
Doctoral Evidence-Based Healthcare Capstone Project
The Doctor of Health Sciences online program is an innovative 54-credit program created to meet the needs of current health professionals in today’s evolving and integrative healthcare field.
The program culminates with an Evidence-Based Healthcare Capstone Project, offering students the opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge to advocate for best practices and promote the translation of existing evidence in their practice.
The capstone project encompasses 12 credits of the 54-credit curriculum and consists of four courses taken consecutively that focus on research methodology and evidence-based practice theory. Students may choose to perform a needs assessment, draft a policy manual, write a research proposal, design a curriculum, and more.
Download our project guidelines PDF to learn more about the capstone project.
View successful examples of past capstone project presentations below:
- Patricia Murray: Can student-submitted video recordings of mock patient encounters provide faculty with the opportunity to authentically evaluate clinical skills in online Family Nurse Practitioner programs?
- Ahmad AL-Musa: In a primary care setting, does shifting the responsibilities of primary care screens from clinical to non-clinical (front-line) staff help enhance quality outcomes?
- Ethan Parten: To improve hand hygiene compliance, will the implementation of RFID hand hygiene compliance monitoring devices in a surgical ICU that captures 100% of hand hygiene opportunities identify the actual barriers to compliance and result in a reduction in hospital-acquired infection rates?
Technology Requirements
In an online environment, you will be learning with technology. Basic computer and technical skills are required to be successful.
- Students should have some general knowledge of the following: browsing, searching, and navigating a web page, file management skills including saving, opening, and placing files inside folders, attaching files, uploading and downloading files.
- Students should be able to run system updates, including antivirus software updates, on their personal device.
- Knowledge about internet bookmarks, or bookmarking a site on the internet browser, is not required but will be extremely helpful and allow one to quickly navigate to the frequently used websites and resources.
We highly encourage you to have your own laptop (PC-Windows or Apple-MacOS) to connect to Wi-Fi and MCPHS resources while you are on campus. If you are planning to purchase a new laptop, please spend time using it so that you are comfortable before you come to campus and start the semester. Please make sure you have administrator rights on your laptop in order to install and update software if needed. Business laptops do not always perform functions necessary to access MCPHS Wi-Fi or access online coursework. A web camera and microphone are required, and students should have access to a printer. We also recommend a cordless mouse if you are more familiar with using a mouse than the track pad on your laptop. You will find it very useful at orientation. Now is the perfect time to get familiar with the computer or laptop that you will be using the most over the next two years.
Software Requirement
Microsoft Office is required and provided to you while you are a student at MCPHS.
- Log into Microsoft 365 with your new MCPHS email and password.
- Download the latest version of Microsoft Word and other Office Apps if you do not already have it installed (Excel, PowerPoint, Skype for Business).
- In the top right corner (after login) there should be a link to download all Microsoft tools.
Browser Requirement
Both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox should be available on your computer.