Doctor of Health Sciences program

The Doctor of Health Science (DHSc, also commonly abbreviated as DHS) is a post-professional doctorate ideal for scholarly professionals in healthcare leadership roles where advanced theoretical and analytical capabilities are necessary.

Individuals who are best fit for a health sciences doctorate are looking to develop a deeper understanding of how to adapt scientific knowledge to improve health systems and related processes. These individuals are in, or intend to pursue, an advanced professional practice career in a clinical setting, educational institution, administration, or research setting related to healthcare delivery systems.

ATSU’s online Doctor of Health Sciences program prepares students to better understand, effectively manage, evaluate, and implement solutions to the ongoing domestic and global challenges of healthcare access, cost, education, and quality. The 70 credit hour, fully online doctoral program provides health professionals with the skills and knowledge to excel in project management, decision-making, organizational leadership, establishing evidence-based standards, and applying research outcomes to professional practice.

The curriculum develops and enhances the professional competencies needed to provide proficient leadership in today’s challenging and ever-changing healthcare systems. Through the completion of an applied research project, the DHSc program helps students develop a cohesive and relevant research project that has the potential to be published, promoting the application of research to professional practice.

Customized to professional interests, students have the opportunity to focus their health sciences doctorate in one of four concentration areas:

DHSc career advancement

If you work in, or aspire to work in, any of the following settings/areas, then the online Doctor of Health Sciences program may be the right degree for you:

Doctor of Health Administration program

Doctor of Health Administration (DHA) program is a research-focused doctorate that helps healthcare professionals develop theoretical and conceptual knowledge in health administration to actively apply competencies and solutions to health systems and refine system-wide practices.

ATSU’s online Doctor of Health Administration program prepares health professionals to become problem solvers and innovative leaders within the healthcare industry. Blending theoretical and practical instruction, the DHA degree integrates advanced business education with the application of healthcare systems, providing working healthcare professionals with advanced business strategies and innovative healthcare leadership insight to improve and influence healthcare administration systems.

This 100% online health administration doctorate is a 61 credit hour program, consisting of core courses spanning healthcare law, healthcare economics, health information systems, and more, and an applied doctoral research project. The curriculum is grounded in extensive research and provides a full continuum of healthcare-specific knowledge and skills essential for effective industry leadership. Through partnership with the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), DHA students at ATSU engage with industry professionals and mentors to complete the dissertation.

DHA career advancement

If you work in, or aspire to work in, any of the following, then the online Doctor of Health Administration program may be the right degree for you:

Doctor of Education in Health Professions program

The Doctor of Education (EdD) is an advanced education degree for educators looking to attain leadership roles in higher education. Focused on education system operations, research methods, and current socioeconomic and political issues impacting education systems, to name a few, general EdD degrees provide educators with the skills and competencies needed to create strategies and implement solutions to provide better education.

What’s the difference between a Doctor of Education and Doctor of Education in Health Professions program?

Whereas most EdD programs are generic, the Doctor of Education in Health Professions program at A.T. Still University is specifically focused on curriculum and instruction in health professions education. Focusing on teaching health professionals how to educate others on their individual roles and responsibilities within healthcare delivery, graduates of the Doctor of Education in Health Professions program excel as leaders in the rapidly expanding field of health professions education.

While both types of EdD degrees are best suited for professionals who desire to transform education and lead and implement change, ATSU’s online EdD degree is designed for practicing clinicians, healthcare educators, healthcare leaders, and healthcare directors who desire to pursue their passion to teach others.

According to the NIH’s National Library of Medicine, graduate programs in health professions education (HPE) are considered a key contributing strategy to a health professional's transformation from competent clinician to academic leader. The “professionalization” of the HPE workforce is driven by numerous institutional and regulatory changes, including institutions creating career tracks for clinicians who’ve made education the focus of their professional roles and accreditation bodies requiring residency leaders to have the “requisite specialty expertise and documented educational and administrative experience.”

In addition, with the implementation of the Next Accreditation System and the Clinical Learning Environment Review program, program directors are expected to grow and develop educational expertise among faculty, thoroughly understand how to review curriculum, and create and maintain a comprehensive evaluation reporting system. When determining which EdD is right for you, focused graduate programs in health professions education are the best bet for healthcare professionals looking to teach and lead the next generation of healthcare providers.

Unique in its class, ATSU’s education in health professions doctorate involves practical experience-based teaching rather than research-based teaching. While most EdD programs are practice-based, those who pursue an education doctorate typically focus on exploratory qualitative research to influence organizational decision-making.

Dedicated to teaching health sciences curriculum and instruction, ATSU’s online EdD program specializes in developing healthcare provider educators to teach within their field of healthcare expertise, offering advantages over generic EdD programs.

The fully online EdD in Health Professions is a 55 credit hour degree program with no residency required. Through completing the comprehensive Doctoral Research Project, students develop a manuscript that can be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. The Doctoral Research Project gives students a critical edge in networking and the opportunity to be published.

EdD Career Advancement

If you work in, or aspire to work in, any of the following, then the online Doctor of Education in Health Professions program may be the right degree for you:

Doctor of Philosophy

Please note this is for comparison only and the a Doctor of Philosophy degree is not a program offered at ATSU.

A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree is the most common doctorate that can be attained in almost any academic area of study. This doctoral path typically prepares students for careers in research-oriented fields and higher education roles.

PhD program curriculum is more theoretical and study-based, with the end goal of mastering a specific field of study or adding research to a body of existing academic literature. While doctoral curriculum varies by university and field of study, it often includes teaching methods, educational research and evaluation, and dissertation topics. This doctorate typically encompasses 120 credit hours.

A PhD is the research degree, meaning, students are required to produce original research in new subject or knowledge area, typically in the form of a dissertation. The dissertation is then defended before a panel of experts in the related field of study.

According to the United States Department of Education, research doctorates, such as the Doctor of Education and Doctor of Health Administration, are equivalent to the PhD. The main difference is other doctoral degrees allow for various methods of research to be realized through applied approaches, whereas the PhD is strictly theoretical and requires a dissertation.