Best Online Doctorate in Healthcare Administration Of 2024

Located in Boston, Massachusetts, MCPHS University offers a part-time doctorate in healthcare administration. The private institution emphasizes interdisciplinary coursework, blending topics such as healthcare systems, data analytics, healthcare leadership and finance in its D.H.A. program.

Graduate students strengthen their professional practice and leadership skills while examining healthcare administration challenges. Applicants must hold a master’s or doctoral degree from a regionally accredited institution plus complete three to five years of healthcare-related experience. The program also requires a faculty interview during the admissions process.

• Our Flexibility Rating: Learn on your schedule
• School Type: Private
• Application Fee: Free
• Degree Credit Requirements: 54 credits
• Program Enrollment Options: Part-time
• Notable Major-Specific Courses: Strategic planning for health organizations, patient safety and risk management, ethics for healthcare leaders
• Concentrations Available: N/A
• In-Person Requirements: No

At Franklin University, Doctor of Healthcare Administration students complete two years of coursework and one year working on a dissertation. During the program, learners develop organizational strategies to improve healthcare outcomes.

Franklin offers optional eight-credit focus areas, including health informatics, public administration, finance and management. A focus area can prepare graduates for specific career paths after completing the doctoral program.

• Our Flexibility Rating: Learn on your schedule
• School Type: Private
• Application Fee: $50
• Degree Credit Requirements: 58 credits
• Program Enrollment Options: Part-time, full-time
• Notable Major-Specific Courses: Healthcare policy, regulations and reform; organizations, community and global health; healthcare quality, process and improvement
• Concentrations Available: Education, health informatics, human resource management, instructional design leadership, management, marketing, methodology, public administration, information technology, finance
• In-Person Requirements: No

Liberty University offers an online Doctor of Business Administration in healthcare management. Learners complete courses on an eight-week schedule, with the option to transfer up to half of the 60 credits required for the D.B.A. degree.

Graduate students strengthen their management, quality control, and human resource development abilities. The curriculum emphasizes streamlining business processes and practical knowledge. At the culmination of the program, doctoral students complete an applied research project that contributes to their specialization.

• Our Flexibility Rating: Learn on your schedule
• School Type: Private
• Application Fee: $50
• Degree Credit Requirements: 60 credits
• Program Enrollment Options: Part-time, full-time
• Notable Major-Specific Courses: Healthcare informatics, managing human capital in healthcare, legal and ethical issues for health professionals
• Concentrations Available: N/A
• In-Person Requirements: No

The fully online Doctor of Health Administration program at National University uses a practice-based curriculum. Graduate students examine legal and ethical issues in the healthcare industry while learning how policy impacts outcomes. The program prepares graduates for executive-level roles in healthcare.

Applicants should hold a master’s degree and complete at least three years of industry experience before enrolling in the D.H.A. program. NU also offers a dissertation completion pathway designed for doctoral students who have completed their coursework elsewhere but still need to finish their dissertation.

• Our Flexibility Rating: Learn around your 9-to-5
• School Type: Private
• Application Fee: Free
• Degree Credit Requirements: 60 credits
• Program Enrollment Options: Part-time, full-time
• Notable Major-Specific Courses: Healthcare quality management, health leadership and systems thinking
• Concentrations Available: N/A
• In-Person Requirements: No

The University of Oklahoma-Health Sciences Center offers one of the most affordable tuition rates for a healthcare administration doctorate. Oklahoma residents enrolled in the D.H.A. program pay just $234 per credit, while out-of-state online students pay $364.

During the program, learners explore clinical operations management while reviewing case studies on healthcare quality and process improvement. Incoming students with a master’s degree can apply up to 30 credits toward the 62-credit doctoral program requirements.

• Our Flexibility Rating: Learn on your schedule
• School Type: Public
• Application Fee: $50
• Degree Credit Requirements: 62 credits
• Program Enrollment Options: Part-time, full-time
• Notable Major-Specific Courses: Healthcare public policy, dynamics of healthcare markets, advanced healthcare law
• Concentrations Available: N/A
• In-Person Requirements: No

From its main campus in Marion, Indiana, Indiana Wesleyan University offers several online graduate programs. Degree-seekers can pursue a Doctor of Business Administration with a specialization in healthcare administration at the private institution.

Learners complete one class at a time, with no dissertation requirement to graduate. Instead, doctoral candidates complete a project that focuses on real-world problems. The program requires one weekend residency each year and takes approximately three years to complete.

• Our Flexibility Rating: Learn on your schedule
• School Type: Private
• Application Fee: Free
• Degree Credit Requirements: 60 credits
• Program Enrollment Options: Part-time, full-time
• Notable Major-Specific Courses: Organizational, community and global health administration; issues in strategic planning and organizational development for healthcare administrators; healthcare innovation, informatics and change management
• Concentrations Available: N/A
• In-Person Requirements: Yes, one weekend residency per year

The University of Colorado Denver uses a hybrid format in its Executive Doctorate in Health Administration program. Graduate students primarily complete coursework online, with two one-week sessions on the private university’s Denver campus each year.

As part of the Business School Alliance for Health Management, the program takes an interdisciplinary approach, with instructors who bring experience as healthcare practitioners, executives and educators. Students benefit from executive-focused career support and a mentoring program.

Applicants should hold a master’s degree and bring at least five years of professional experience in a health-related organization.

• Our Flexibility Rating: Learn around your 9-to-5
• School Type: Public
• Application Fee: Free
• Degree Credit Requirements: 60 credits
• Program Enrollment Options: Part-time, full-time
• Notable Major-Specific Courses: Healthcare leadership, global health systems, managing healthcare information
• Concentrations Available: N/A
• In-Person Requirements: Yes, two one-week sessions on campus per year

The Doctor of Healthcare Administration program at Virginia University of Lynchburg uses a self-paced, module-based curriculum. At the private Christian university, doctoral students in healthcare administration strengthen their leadership and business skills.

In the fully online 12-month program, learners complete three practicums in teaching, research and leadership to prepare for top-level healthcare roles. Applicants must hold a master’s degree, and the program requires at least 90 credit hours at the graduate level.

• Our Flexibility Rating: Learn on a set schedule
• School Type: Private
• Application Fee: $25
• Degree Credit Requirements: 36 credits
• Program Enrollment Options: Part-time, full-time
• Notable Major-Specific Courses: Global healthcare strategy, risk management, organizational communication
• Concentrations Available: N/A
• In-Person Requirements: No

A private Christian institution in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, William Carey University offers a Ph.D. in health administration and education designed for healthcare professionals with a master’s degree.

Coursework in role development, program evaluation and strategic management prepare graduates for careers in healthcare administration or education. The online program takes two to three years. It incorporates two in-person meetings and two synchronous online weekend meetings each year, allowing graduate students to work full time while pursuing a doctorate.

• Our Flexibility Rating: Learn on your schedule
• School Type: Private
• Application Fee: $40
• Degree Credit Requirements: 60 credits
• Program Enrollment Options: Part-time, full-time
• Notable Major-Specific Courses: Healthcare economics and finance, human resources in healthcare administration, strategic management and planning
• Concentrations Available: N/A
• In-Person Requirements: Yes, two in-person meetings per year

A.T. Still University specializes in graduate-level healthcare programs. Designed for current health professionals, the Doctor of Health Administration program emphasizes leadership and problem-solving in the healthcare industry. Students explore innovative approaches to health administration while learning advanced business strategies.

The program’s academic focus areas include healthcare law, the economics of medical care and organizational theory in the health industry. Applicants benefit from four start dates each year; the doctorate typically requires three to five years. Doctoral candidates write a theoretical or applied dissertation during their final 20 credits of coursework.

• Our Flexibility Rating: Learn on your schedule
• School Type: Private
• Application Fee: $75
• Degree Credit Requirements: 62 credits
• Program Enrollment Options: Part-time, full-time
• Notable Major-Specific Courses: Population health, healthcare economics and financial management, healthcare organization informatics
• Concentrations Available: N/A
• In-Person Requirements: No