Online Education (doctorate Degree In Health Administration)

By Author: John Srob
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Many colleges give you the chance to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy in Health Administration, a Doctor of Health Administration or a Doctor in Health Policy and Administration. Programs can last anywhere from 4-5 years, and it's common for students to concentrate on a specific field, whether it's aging and long-term care or social policy and health. As a doctoral student, you'll understand health policy theory and how to develop healthcare models within private companies, public hospitals or community care facilities.

Most Ph.D. programs focus on research and will require you to conduct research studies with faculty and complete a dissertation highlighting your findings on healthcare policy. In order to get into a doctoral degree program, you'll need to have an undergraduate degree and take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Some schools require applicants to have professional experience that relates to the healthcare industry before starting a doctoral program.

What Kind of Classes Can I Take?

Many colleges offer interdisciplinary classes that will show you the relationships between business, law, ...
... ethics and healthcare. Classes are designed to be small as a way to promote professor interaction and independent research. Through your degree program, you may take classes like these:

Health economics
Health politics and policy
Health insurance and managed care
Trends in health research

Can I Study Online?

There are a handful of colleges that give you the option of completing your Doctor of Health in Administration (DHA) online. For the most part, online doctoral degree programs are reserved for applicants who have already established professional careers in the healthcare industry and want to earn a degree to further their careers. Online programs give you the flexibility to balance a career and education by allowing you to stream lectures away from campus and complete assignments outside of the classroom. You may still be required to take part in research and a dissertation, so check with your desired school.

Earning a PhD in Health Administration or a Doctorate in Health Administration (DHA) can help you develop the leadership and problem-solving skills required to effectively manage the administrative systems within the continuously evolving health care industry. Through coursework that blends the theoretical with the practical, online PhD and DHA programs help students gain the knowledge necessary to transition into careers that can improve and influence not only the healthcare industry, but also pose political, economic and social implications as well. Online Health Administration PhD and DHA programs typically take three years or longer to complete.

Students are expected to enter the program with master’s degrees in related fields such as management, human resources, public administration, public health or business administration. Online doctoral programs in Health Administration which both offer the programs online and on campus. Popular online schools like Coursework in online doctoral programs in Health Administration provides instruction in finance, ethics, public policy and research methods to prepare doctoral candidates for the managerial responsibilities necessary for success in the field of health administration.
Online doctoral programs are usually more interactive than traditional courses.

Candidates are expected to participate in weekly discussion boards, group projects, study scholarly readings, and write lengthy papers. In addition to course work, PhD in Health Administration candidates must conduct in-depth research within their area of interest and write a dissertation reporting the findings and discussing future implications. Some online PhD programs in Health Administration, such as the one offered by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, offer cohort-based programs that allow online students to take the same courses with the same group of online classmates.

Leadership Foundations & Strategies for Healthcare. This basic course examines the relationship between situational leadership strategy, organizational culture, communication and performance.
Epistemology of Practice Knowledge. Available online Health Administration PhD program, this course encourages students to critically analyze and evaluate the methods used to develop social science theory as a precursor to examining and applying the scientific method, as well as study the ways scholar-practitioners apply the scientific method.
Organizational Theory and Behavior for Health Professions. Central online doctoral program in Health Administration, this course integrates theory and concepts from organizational theory and behavior literature.

You May Qualify For Financial Aid.