3.1 Program of Study
The DHSc program is five semesters in length and is completed in two years. Electives are required (9 credits) with concentrations as an option. (see Appendix A).
The curriculum consists of a core set of courses taken by all students and separate electives aligned to a concentration. All students also complete a 5-credit, mentored capstone project in healthcare leadership, healthcare delivery, or health professions education that takes place over 5 semesters and is tailored to their area of specialization. Students who may require additional time for the project could extend their project experience over a sixth semester for an additional credit.
The Capstone Project will be developed under faculty mentorship in 5 phases: defining a problem or issue in the profession related to the student’s area of interest, designing a project to investigate the problem further and begin to identify solutions, building key ingredients of their project, advancing practice through a research or quality improvement approach related to the student’s workplace, and disseminating the results of the project to a larger audience in the form of peer-reviewed presentation, business plan, and/or publication.