Doctor of Health Administration, DHA

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 prepares 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.

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**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 Admissions

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
Curriculum vitae or résumé
Demonstration of at least 3 years of work-related experience in mid-level or higher healthcare management or health-related positions

EXCEPTION: Applicants without requisite healthcare experience/education may seek conditional admission from the School Dean.

Credit for Prior Learning

Credit will be awarded to eligible candidates who possess graduate and/or professional experience in the core business functions of healthcare (finance, human resources, strategic management, and marketing). Credit will be awarded to candidates/applicants meeting all of the following criteria:

1. Applicant meets all BFA requirements for acceptance into the DHA; AND one (1) of the following conditions.

a. Graduate Education Experience: Applicant has an awarded graduate degree from a regionally accredited institution in one of the following subject areas:

Masters in Business Administration (MBA); either general or specialized
Masters in Health (or Healthcare) Administration (MHA or MSHA)
Masters in Public Health (with Healthcare Management Track/Emphasis)

MBA, MHA, MSHA, and MPH. The MPH graduate must have specialized in health administration.

The APD will make the determination about what courses listed below can be satisfied with prior learning credit. Healthcare management professionals accepted and enrolled in the DHA may receive up to a maximum of 12 credit hours towards their program and would still complete the required doctoral research courses.

DHA-7001 - Healthcare Financial Management and Economics
DHA-7002 - Health Leadership and Systems Thinking
DHA-7003 - Human Resource Management for Healthcare Administrators
DHA-7004 - Communications, Marketing, and Public Relations for Healthcare Admin
DHA-7005 - Healthcare Quality Management

b. Demonstrated Professional Expertise: Applicant can provide documentation of achieving an advanced professional certification in one of the following healthcare management professional associations (See Table 1). These associations comprise the largest healthcare management associations that attract a broad membership and provide industry-recognized professional certifications.

Table 1. Professional Certifications Eligible for DHA credit for prior learning option.

Healthcare Management Professional Association	Certification Level	Credit for the following DHA courses
American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE)	Certified Healthcare Executive (CHE) or Fellow, ACHE	DHA 7002 DHA 7003 DHA 7004 DHA 7005
Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA)	Certified Healthcare Financial Professional (CHFP) or Fellow, HFMA	DHA 7001 DHA 7002 DHA 7004 DHA 7005
Medical Group Management Association (MGMA)	American College of Medical Practice Executives (ACMPE) Board Certification	DHA 7002 DHA 7003 DHA 7004 DHA 7005
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)	Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CPHIMS)	DHA 7002 DHA 7003 DHA 7004 DHA 7005

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 the University
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 must be met before the student will be issued their complimentary diploma
Students are required to own or otherwise have access to a computer/laptop equipped with a webcam, a microphone, and a high-speed Internet connection in order to complete course assignments throughout their program

Dissertation Completion Pathway

The University’s mission is dedicated to assisting students in achieving their academic aspirations and helping them become valuable contributors to their community and profession. To support our mission, the University now offers a dissertation completion pathway for students who have successfully completed their doctoral coursework and achieved doctoral candidacy at a previous institution but were unable to complete their dissertation. The University’s Dissertation Completion Pathway (DCP) offers a unique opportunity for students to complete their doctorate in one of the doctoral programs offered at the University (excluding the PhD-MFT and DNP). Students successfully meeting the entrance and application requirements will complete a minimum of 23 credit hours to earn their doctorate.

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Time to Completion

The University allows 7 years to complete all doctoral programs of 60 credits or less.

The median time to completion for this program is 49 months.

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

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.

Doctoral Student Experience (DSE): An Applied Dissertation Process

Faculty assists each Doctoral student to reach this high academic goal through a systematic process leading to a high-quality, completed applied project. The applied dissertation is a scholarly documentation of the completed project, which uses current knowledge to solve a real-world problem. This process requires care in choosing a project topic, documenting its importance, planning the methodology, and connecting the importance of the project to the field. These activities lead smoothly into writing the applied dissertation and presenting the defense of the project.

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

Course Sequence

This program can be completed with a minimum of 60 credit hours, but may require additional credit hours, depending on the time required to complete the applied doctoral project. If needed, additional courses will be added to the student degree program in alignment with the SAP and Academic Maximum Time to Completion policies. Students who do not complete their program in accordance with these policies may be dismissed.