Health Administration, DHA

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Doctor of Health Administration

Description of Program

Under the framework of interprofessional education, the Doctor of Health Administration (DHA) program will provide a high quality educational experience that will prepare students for success in mid-career and senior level executive positions in the healthcare industry. The program will present essential competencies and learning experiences to enable and prepare graduates to lead and effect change in complex and diverse healthcare organizations.

**Note: Program availability may vary by state - please contact the Enrollment Office for more information**

Learning Outcomes

Assess community needs through research, collaboration, and relationship building
Recommend ethically sound policies that promote accountability and professionalism
Facilitate change by leveraging technology and human capital within the healthcare industry
Develop health related organizations by using data to inform strategy and address industry problems
Construct and cultivate financial structures to ensure organizational viability

Basis for Admission

In order to enter in the Doctor of Health Administration applicants must have a conferred master’s degree from a regionally or nationally accredited academic institution with minimum grade point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale. To be considered for admission to the DHA program, applications require:

Completion of the application for admission
Demonstration of at least 3 years of work related experience in mid-level or higher healthcare management or health-related positions
Statement of goals and career interests
Curriculum vitae or résumé

Degree Requirements

The DHA degree requires a minimum of 60 credit hours at the graduate level beyond the master’s degree.

The University may accept a maximum of 12 semester credit hours in transfer toward the doctoral degree for graduate coursework completed at an accredited college or university while enrolled in a doctoral program with a grade of “B” or better.

The DHA degree program have the following graduation requirements:

A minimum of 48 credit hours of graduate instruction must be completed through NCU
Grade Point Average of 3.0 (letter grade of “B”) or higher
University approval of dissertation project and successful completion of the dissertation defense
Submission of the approved project to the University Registrar, including the original unbound dissertation manuscript and an electronic copy
Official documents on file for basis of admission: a conferred master’s degree from an accredited academic institution
Official transcripts on file for all transfer credit hours accepted by the University
All financial obligations to the University paid in full

Time to Completion

NCU allows seven years to complete doctoral programs of 60 credits or less.

Normal time to completion for this program is 50 months.

Students who are unable to complete a degree program within the stated time limit are dismissed. Students who believe they have extenuating circumstances may document the circumstances in a request for special consideration to their respective School Dean or designee. Exceptions to this policy are determined on a case-by-case basis and are granted only once.

Time to completion varies depending upon the pace in which a student completes courses and the number of transfer credits accepted. As most NCU students are working adults balancing educational, professional, and personal commitments, our academic advisors will work with you to develop a program schedule that works best for your needs.

The normal time disclosed above reflects the experience of students who may have entered under different program requirements. In the quest for continuous improvement, academic leadership has revised the program to optimize curriculum and pace, facilitate student learning, and improve chances for success. Therefore, the program is now designed for students enrolling today to take advantage of these revised course structures, lengths, and schedules. New students following the preferred schedule designed by the Dean for this program, and applying no transfer credits, can expect to finish in as little as 44 months.

Applied Doctoral Experience Process

Faculty assists each NCU Doctoral student to reach this high goal through a systematic process leading to a high-quality completed applied project. This process requires care in choosing a project, documenting its importance, planning the methodology, and analyzing data. These activities lead smoothly into the writing and oral presentation of the project.

A doctoral candidate must be continuously enrolled throughout the series of dissertation courses. Project courses are automatically scheduled and accepted without a break in scheduling to ensure that students remain in continuous enrollment throughout the project course sequence. If additional time is required to complete any of the project courses, students must re-enroll and pay the tuition for that course. Continuous enrollment will only be permitted when students demonstrate progress toward completing dissertation requirements. The Project Committee determines progress.

Course Sequence

Recommended Elective Courses - 6 credit hours

The Doctor of Health Administration allows students to select courses from a broad range of electives to fit their personal and professional goals.

Students must complete a minimum of 6 credit hours (2 elective courses) for the program. Students may take any 7000 and 8000 level specialization course from other programs*.

*Note

Courses listed above are examples and upon acceptance to the program, the initial degree plan will include these courses. Students are encouraged to choose their specialization courses based on personal and professional goals and to work with the DHA program director and their Academic and Finance Advisor to revise their degree plan as desired.