Ph.D. in Health Sciences

Program Mission

The mission of Faulkner University is to glorify God through education of the whole person, emphasizing integrity of character in a caring, Christian environment where every individual matters every day. The mission of Faulkner University’s College of Health Science is to train competent and compassionate healthcare professionals who use current knowledge and best practices to glorify God by being the hands and feet of Christ to the community.

Program Goals

The goals of the program are to prepare doctoral level health science professional to:

1. advance quality healthcare through novel research (SLOs 1, 2, and 4)
2. promote interprofessional evidence based practice (SLOs 4 and 5)
3. assume leadership roles in academic and clinical settings (SLOs 3 and 4)

Program Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the interdisciplinary PhD program in Health Sciences will be able to:

1. Identify, appraise, synthesize, and ethically apply existing high-quality literature
   1. HS 8301 , HS 8302 , HS 8304 , HS 8305 , HS 8306 , HS 8309 , HS 8311  
2. Design, conduct, and analyze an original and ethical research project
   1. HS 9301 , HS 9302 , HS 9303 , HS 9304 , HS 9305 ,
3. Articulate ethical decision-making, global thinking, and leadership skills in the roles of researcher, administrator, clinician, and/or educator
   1. HS 8302 , HS 8306 , HS 8307 , HS 8310  
4. Apply effective written and oral communication skills to function in academic and clinical environments
   1. HS 8301 , HS 8302 , HS 8305 , HS 8306 , HS 8307 , HS 8308 , HS 8310 , HS 8311  
5. Collaborate on multidisciplinary teams to engage in effective interprofessional education, research, and practice
   1. HS 8301 , HS 8302 , HS 8305 , HS 8306 , HS 8307 , HS 8309 , HS 8310 , HS 8311   

Program Description

The PhD in Health Sciences is an accelerated, fully online doctoral program designed to prepare healthcare practitioners for advanced roles in administrative, academic, and clinical environments. The program challenges the student to examine the current state of healthcare both locally and globally; apply sophisticated knowledge of research design, biostatistics, and epidemiology to the literature of their core discipline; develop ethical leadership skills for inter-professional environments; and design and conduct original research in healthcare.

This fully online graduate program consists of 10 didactic courses totaling 30 credit hours, followed by 5 dissertation courses totaling 15 credit hours. Students can complete the didactic phase in just 1 year, and the dissertation phase in as little as 6 months. Students may begin the program at 10 entry points during the year. The program is designed to allow working healthcare professionals to complete their degree while maintaining their full-time jobs.

Admission Requirements

Prospective students who wish to enroll in the Ph.D. in Health Sciences program at Faulkner University must meet the following admissions requirements:

1. Graduate degree from an accredited institution in health sciences or a related field with a minimum 3.0 GPA
2. Official, unopened transcripts from all prior higher education institutions
3. Full resume with relevant education and professional experience
4. A letter of intent summarizing career goals, reasons for pursuing a Ph.D. in health sciences from Faulkner University, and research interest areas
5. Three letters of recommendation from former professors and professional supervisors
6. Completed graduate application
7. If you are applying for the traditional program you must provide an acceptable documentation of English proficiency on a standardized test.
   • Students from countries where English is not the native language are required to submit an acceptable score on either the TOEFL , Academic IELTS (International English Language Testing System) examination, or Duolingo English Test.
   • Official TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo score reports are required for admission to the undergraduate and the graduate programs and may be ordered from Educational Testing Services (ETS), IELTS, or Duolingo. The TOEFL code number for Faulkner University is 1034.
   • The minimum requirements for admission on the TOEFL are 500 (on the paper test), 173 (on the computer-based test), 61 (on the internet-based test), IELTS: 5.5 or higher, or Duolingo English Test: 90 or higher.

Any exceptions to the admissions criteria above are considered by the PhD HS program and the administration of the College of Health Sciences.

*AI-generated application materials will not be considered for admission to the PhD or DHSc programs. The PhD and DHSc programs do not allow AI generated content in either the admissions process or within the program.

Graduation Requirements

To graduate from the PhD HS program, students must have successfully completed the program with:

1. A grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
2. No more than 3 “C” grades and no grade of “D” or “F” in the entire program of study. Unacceptable examples include, but are not limited to:
   1. If a student earns a fourth course grade of “C” or any grade of “D” or “F”, the student may have 1 opportunity to re-take the course and replace the grade. The student may not re-take a course a third time, or re-take 2 different classes to replace grades.
3. Earn a “pass” on the final dissertation (this includes the written document and the dissertation defense).
4. No holds on any financial accounts. All financial accounts must be cleared by the Student Accounts and/or Financial Aid offices prior to receiving a diploma.
5. Students must complete the process of applying for graduation in order to have their degree conferred and receive a diploma.

Degree Plan

Total Hours - 45