Department of Medical Sciences

 

Doctor of Medical Science in Healthcare Leadership

Program Overview

The DMSc degree is a part-time and online program designed to appeal to ANY individual in a healthcare field who shares an interest in healthcare leadership and administration, and wishes to expand their knowledge and skills in order to advance their career.

The program will comprise a series of core courses centered upon developing facility with healthcare systems and leadership. Once students have completed these initial core courses, they may progress into one of several concentrations, each designed to hone knowledge and skills specific to their individual interests and career goals.

Finally, each student will be required to complete 3 courses in research methods in preparation for a final problem-based thesis project that will address a healthcare issue and its relationship to their chosen area of concentration.

Program Overview

The DMSc degree is a part-time and online program designed to appeal to a variety of students with differing career goals but who share an interest in healthcare leadership and administration. Unlike similar DMSc programs that are tailored almost exclusively to Physician Assistants, our degree is available to ANY individual in a healthcare field who wishes to expand their knowledge and skills in order to advance their career.The program will comprise a series of core courses centered upon developing facility with healthcare systems and leadership. Once students have completed these initial core courses, they may progress into one of several concentrations, each designed to hone knowledge and skills specific to their individual interests and career goals. Finally, each student will be required to complete 3 courses in research methods in preparation for a final problem-based thesis project that will address a healthcare issue and its relationship to their chosen area of concentration.

Who is this degree for?

The Doctor of Medical Science in Healthcare Leadership is available to medical professionals of all types. Unlike similar DMSc programs that are tailored almost exclusively to Physician Assistants, this degree is available to any individual in a healthcare field who wishes to expand their knowledge and skills in order to advance their career.

  • Fully online, mostly asynchronous
  • The Doctor of Medical Science in Healthcare Leadership degree from Northeastern University is the first degree of this type to be offered by a R1 research institution
  • Allows medical professionals to advance their education and expand their career opportunities in the areas of healthcare leadership, medical education, and community engagement and advocacy
  • Facilitates entry of clinically trained and experienced individuals into the fields of healthcare administration and leadership that have traditionally been occupied by physicians and administrative executives

Trent Honda, PhD, MMS, PA-C
Program Director

202 Robinson Hall,
360 Huntington Avenue Boston, MA 02115

Office: 617-373-3195
Fax: 617-373-3338
[email protected]

Application Deadline:
December 15 — for Spring
August 1 — for Fall
Cost: $33K

Information Webinars

Join us to learn more about the program and get your questions answered. Dates and times of our DMSc info sessions can be found on our graduate admissions events page.

Learn more

Admission Requirement

  • Master’s degree from an accredited institution in a healthcare-related field.
  • OR applicants with a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited institution in a healthcare-related field plus at least 3 years of experience in a healthcare-related field and is in a leadership/management role with evidence (a supervisor letter) of duties that supports significant/progressive leadership and responsibilities will be considered.
  • Cumulative GPA of 3.0 in the accredited program

Other information

The DMSc is a fully online program*. Most core courses within the Program will be in an asynchronous format. However, some of the courses in the core and courses in some of the concentrations will not be held asynchronously and adhere to a semester and/or synchronous schedule. Please check the format for each course.

*Except for courses in the Health Informatics Research Concentration, which are, at present, offered only in-person at Northeastern’s Boston campus.

Program Requirements:

  • All DMSc candidates must earn at least 33 credits by completing core courses and research courses and by selecting a concentration. DMSc students may take additional electives and directed study courses, as needed, in consultation with their faculty advisors.
  • Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 overall GPA.
  • A grade of B- or higher is required in each course.
  • Not more than two courses or 6 semester hours of credit, whichever is greater, may be repeated to satisfy the requirements for the degree. The last grade earned in each of these repeated courses is counted in the calculation of the cumulative GPA. http://catalog.northeastern.edu/graduate/academic-policies-procedures/records-transcripts/

Sample Curriculum

Semester Year 1
Fall
  • MSCI 6003 Healthcare Leadership Seminar
  • MSCI 6900 Research Methods and Design
  • MSCI 6001 Principles of Healthcare Advocacy
Spring
  • HLTH 5410 Introduction to Statistics in Health and Behavioral Science
  • PHTH 6204 Society, Behavior, and Health
Summer
  • MSCI 6002 Workforce Metrics: Measuring, Comparing, and Privileging Your Interprofessional Healthcare Team
  • MSCI 7990 Thesis Seminar

Courses are determined by chosen concentration. Each concentration comprises 4 courses within each discipline.
Thesis will also be completed and presented by program completion.

Health Informatics Practice Concentration

12 Credits

Course No. Course Name Credits
HINF 6220 Database Design, Access, Modeling and Security 3
HINF 6400 Introduction to Health Data Analytics 3
HINF 5101 Introduction to Health Informatics Systems 3
AND ONE OF THE FOLLOWING
HINF 6205 Creation and Application of Medical Knowledge (selective) 3
HINF 5407 Business Application of Decision Support in Healthcare (selective) 3

Health Informatics Research Concentration

12 Credits
At present, courses offered in person on NU’s Boston campus only

Course No. Course Name Credits
HINF 6220 Database Design, Access, Modeling and Security 3
HINF 6400 Introduction to Health Data Analytics 3
HINF 5200 Theoretical Foundations in Personal Health Informatics 3
AND ONE OF THE FOLLOWING
HINF 5300 Personal Health Interface Design and Development 3
CS 6350 Empirical Research Methods 3

Health Law Concentration

12 Credits

Course No. Course Name Credits
LS 6102 Introduction to Legal Studies II 3
AND THREE OF THE FOLLOWING
LS 6180 Health Law Survey 3
LS 6181 Healthcare Regulation and Compliance 3
LS 6182 Patient Records, Privacy and Security 3
LS 6110 Law of Information & Records 3
HRM 6030 Employee Rights & Employer Obligations 3
LS 6150 Law & Organizational Management 3

Public Health Concentration

12 Credits

Course No. Course Name Credits
PHTH 6200 Principles and History of Urban Health 3
PHTH 6208 Urban Community Health Assessment 3
PHTH 5212 Public Health Administration and Policy 3
PHTH 5120 Race, Ethnicity, and Health in the US 3

Business Management Concentration

12-15 credits based on need for prerequisite

Course No. Course Name Credits
Please select any 4.
STRAT 6200 Strategic Decision Making in a Changing Environment 3
ENTR 6200 Enterprise Growth and Innovation 3
ENTR 6212 Business Planning for New Ventures 3
MGMT 6225 Sustainability and Leadership 3
MGMT 6226 Sustainability and the Business Environment 3

Patient Safety Concentration

12 credits

Course No. Course Name Credits
Concentration Required Courses
HLTH 5600 Introduction to Patient Safety 3
HLTH 5610 Patient Safety Science 3
HLTH 5620 Leadership, Patient Safety, and Clinical Wellness 3
HLTH 5630 Quality Improvement and Patient Safety 3

Integrative Concentration

12 credits

Student will select 4 courses from available concentrations to meet their professional goals.

Course selection will be done in consultation with their academic advisor and will prepare the student for their thesis project to address a current healthcare problem of practice.

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