Requirements
Program Overview
The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Health Administration and Education is a terminal degree designed to prepare the healthcare professionals as educators, administrators, and healthcare researchers. Graduates will demonstrate the ability to utilize sound educational concepts, principles, and knowledge in order to develop undergraduate and graduate health profession students who will be able to contribute to the health and well-being of diverse populations across the lifespan.
Graduate Outcomes
The graduate will:
- Utilize concepts, knowledge, and skills to create an environment that facilitates classroom and clinical learning in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains.
- Facilitate students’ development as professional healthcare providers.
- Utilize sound principles to develop strategies to assess academic achievement in the classroom, online, and clinical settings and in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains.
- Design, implement, evaluate, and revise health education curricula and program outcomes that reflect the academic institution’s mission and goals, reflect current trends and evidence-based practice, and prepare graduates to function as professional health educators.
- Develop and articulate a vision for the professional practice within the healthcare delivery system.
- Employ sound management, decision-making, problem-solving, and communication skills to establish collaborative partnerships, resolve conflict, and effectively utilize resources.
- Utilize information and communication technology effective in the global environment of healthcare.
- Function as a change agent in order to function as a healthcare professional.
- Demonstrate proficiency in scholarly writing.
- Utilize Christian principles as an academic educator and healthcare administrator.
Admission Requirements
To be admitted as a regular student, the applicant will have to:
• Submit a completed application to William Carey University and the graduate school.
• Pay application fee.
• Submit official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended.
• Submit a scholarly narrative of 1-2 pages specifying personal philosophy of education and goals.
• Submit three letters of references: two from individuals who can attest to research and scholarship and one personal reference.
• Have earned an M.S. degree in a healthcare related field from an accredited school.
• Have earned a GPA of >3.0 on masters-level courses.
• Have an unencumbered license with no pending legal or state board action if employed in a healthcare field requiring licensure
• Be eligible to re-enter any previously attended institution in good standing.
• Demonstrate computer literacy involving proficiency in word processing, email correspondence, and the internet.
• Submit current curriculum vita.
Progression
Successful progression through the program requires the following:
- Demonstrate competency in scholarly writing by submission of GRE Analytical Writing score of 3.5 or better within the last five years OR passing the HAE 799 Academic Writing for Doctoral Students with a grade of B or better.
- Demonstrate basic competence in statistics as evidenced by successful completion, with a grade of B or better, in an undergraduate or graduate level statistics course within the past ten years or substantial experience in healthcare research projects prior to taking HAE 752.
- Complete all assignments with a passing grade. All courses must be completed with no grade below a B. The student is allowed to repeat two courses with a C to improve the grade to a B.
- See Graduate Catalog-Academic Regulations-Academic Standing for grades below a B.
- Any student who makes an “F “in a Ph.D. course will be dismissed from the program and be ineligible to readmit.
- Student grades will be reviewed at the end of each term by the administrator of the graduate program and other WCU HAE administration to determine status in achieving the GPA necessary to graduate.
- The student must successfully complete HAE 801 , 802 , 803 , and 804 in sequence.
- The student will be admitted to doctoral candidacy upon successful completion of 37 credit hours of required course work and HAE 802 Research Process II .
- Successfully complete comprehensive examination to indicate mastery of program content. The student will have to have completed all but six hours of the curriculum and other degree requirements. This excludes dissertation hours.
- Successful completion of a dissertation.
Graduation
The student will have to have successfully completed all degree requirements with a GPA of 3.5 and be nominated by the Dean. Participation in graduation will be mandatory.
Curriculum of the Ph.D. in Health Administration and Education
The Ph.D. in Health Administration and Education program is designed to be completed in two or three years, including summer terms. Students are allowed to attend on a part-time basis with the degree being completed within six years.
The total credit hours required for the degree will be 60 hours. A maximum of eight hours may be transferred from a master’s program and no more than six semester hours may be transferred from a doctoral program. The program will be in the same hybrid (web-enhanced) format used in the PhD in Nursing Education and Administration program, which has been very successful. Students will meet face-to-face two times a term, with the rest of the content and student activities conducted via Canvas learning management system. Students will travel to campus four weekends (Friday and Saturday) a year for face to face classes.
Each student must complete a dissertation. The dissertation process will proceed over the six terms beginning with the Advanced Research Methodology course. The research courses help the student understand the research process and to design the essential components of a dissertation. Each student will have a committee of three Ph.D. program faculty members. There will be a written comprehensive examination during the second year to determine mastery of the Ph.D. content.
Credit for Students with a Practice Doctorate (DPT, etc.)
Students with a practice doctorate will be awarded 20 credit hours based on the doctoral degree and are able to complete the program in two years on a part-time basis only.
Core Courses
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