Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Health Science

The Ph.D. Office of Admissions will admit students for the fall and winter semesters. All final documentation must be received at least 30 days prior to tentative enrollment.

Term Application Deadline Dates:

• Fall - April 20 - July 20
• Winter - July 21 - November 24

To be reviewed for admission, you must first submit the following:

1. A completed application form along with a $50 nonrefundable application fee.
2. Official GRE scores sent directly from the Educational Testing Service (ETS).

3. Official transcripts sent directly from all previously attended professional and graduate institutions

   Send the official GRE scores and official transcripts to:

   Nova Southeastern University
   Enrollment Processing Services
   3301 College Avenue, P.O. Box 299000
   Fort Lauderdale, FL 33329-9905

4. An evaluation for U.S. institutional equivalence for all coursework from international institution(s), if you attended or graduated from any international institution(s)

   Coursework taken at a foreign institution must be evaluated for U.S. institution equivalence by an approved National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) organization, such as one of the services listed below.

   Josef Silny & Associates, Inc.
   International Education Consultants
   7101 SW 102nd Avenue
   Miami, FL 33173
   Phone: (305) 273-1616
   Fax: (305) 273-1338
   https://www.jsilny.org/

   Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.
   P.O. Box 415070
   Milwaukee, WI 53203
   (414) 289-3400
   www.ece.org

   World Education Services, Inc.
   P.O. Box 745
   Old Chelsea Station
   New York, NY 10113-0745
   (212) 966-6311
   www.wes.org

   It is the applicant's responsibility to have this coursework evaluated. An official course-by-course evaluation with a cumulative grade point average must be sent directly from the evaluation service to Nova Southeastern University, Enrollment Processing Services, College of Health Care Sciences, Department of Health Science Admissions, 3301 College Avenue, P.O. Box 299000, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 33329-9905.

5. A complete resume or CV
6. Copies of state, national, and professional certifications or licenses recognized by certifying bodies.
7. Two letters of recommendation supporting that the applicant possesses the aptitude and determination to complete this course of study. The letters should originate from professional colleagues/supervisors or from course instructors at the last school attended.
8. One writing sample that reflects masters or doctoral level original work.
9. A written statement describing the applicant's interest in: pursuing a Ph.D. in Health Science, past research experiences, dissertation research interests, and career goals.
10. Personal interview with Ph.D. Committee on Admissions (telephonic or Skype interview is accepted based on the applicant's needs).

Non-clinical applicants (health administrators) must also include a letter of recommendation from a supervisor describing their position in the organization and the scope and duration of their responsibility, a personal statement describing their career goals, and an organizational chart. (This is not required for clinically licensed, registered, or certified applicants or for public health practitioners with an MPH). Clinically-qualified applicants should include a copy of their registration, certification and/ or licensure.

Important Note: You must be accepted to the program no later than 21 days prior to the start of a semester in order to register for classes in that particular semester. If not, you will be placed on the accepted student list, but will not be able to start courses in that particular semester. In any case, you must register for your course no later than 14 days prior to the start of the course in any semester.

The Ph.D. Committee on Admission will not consider an application until all required fees, credentials, exam scores, transcripts, and documents are received by the Committee on Admissions.

Transfer Credits

Students matriculated in the Ph.D. program may petition for transfer of credits to the program. Up to and not to exceed eight credit hours may be considered for transfer from a regionally accredited doctoral program of study and only if the transferred courses meet the goals and objectives of the course in question.

The Ph.D. Program will admit health care professionals with diverse graduate education, professional level health care work history, and life experiences, who have demonstrated capacity to pursue a rigorous course of graduate study and increasingly responsible positions in health care.

Beginning Fall 2015, applicants interested in the Ph.D. in Health Science program will apply directly to the program. Prospective students will be selected by the Committee on Admissions that will consider the following qualities of the applicants and their suitability for this course of study:

1. All applicants must hold a master's degree or a professional doctorate (AuD, DPT, OTD) from a regionally accredited college or university, prior to matriculation into the program.
2. Applicants must have a minimum cumulative masters or professional doctorate GPA of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale.
3. Recommended official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores of 150 - Verbal, 149 - Quantitative and 4 Analytical Writing. GRE scores must be five years old or less at the time of matriculation into the Ph.D. program.
4. Prior health care or health research experience is required and is strongly considered in the admissions process. Applicants must submit a copy of your current state license and/or professional certification or verifiable documentation regarding this experience to the Office of Admissions. The Ph.D. is a post-professional degree designed for health practitioners, public health professionals, and health care administrators from a wide variety of disciplines. Our students demonstrate expert practice of a recognized health occupation at a professional level, or five years of administrative experience in a health care organization with progressively increasing responsibilities during that time. The successful applicant's health profession may emphasize delivery of services to individual clients (e.g., AuD, PA, PT, OT, RN, LCSW, etc.) or be population-based (MPH, MHA). An appropriate level of professional practice is generally recognized by health professions licensure (e.g., AuD, RN, PT, OT, RDH), a national certification or registration (e.g., PA-C, RVT, RRT, CRNA, FACHE), a recognized health professions academic credential (e.g., M.P.H., M.S.N., M.S.W., M.H.A., M.B.A., M.A. or M.S. in Audiology, DPT,OTD), or a combination of the above. The successful administrative applicant will demonstrate at least five years of professional experience with increasing levels of responsibility in a health care setting. Professional experience will be documented by an organizational chart demonstrating the applicant's position within the organization and a letter of recommendation from a supervisor attesting to the applicant's level of responsibility within the organization. Health care administrators will also need to submit a statement concerning their career and professional goals within the health care environment. Fellowship or certification with a recognized health certifying body (FACHE, etc.) is desirable.
   
   All questions regarding the appropriateness of an applicant's qualifications for admission can be discussed with the department chair or program director on an informal basis, but the official recommendations are made by the Committee on Admissions to the Dean of the College of Health Care Sciences, who makes the final determination.
5. Two letters of recommendation supporting that the applicant possesses the aptitude and determination to complete this course of study. The letters should originate from professional colleagues/supervisors or from course instructors at the last school attended.
6. One writing sample that reflects masters or doctoral level original work
7. A written statement describing the applicant's interest in; pursuing a Ph.D. in Health Science, past research experiences, dissertation research interests, and career goals.
8. Personal interview with Ph.D. Committee on Admissions (telephonic or Skype interview is accepted based on the applicant's needs).
9. Resume or Curriculum Vitae
10. Completion of the application for admission along with official transcripts from all graduate study; undergraduate transcripts are not required for review, but are required for a complete application file of accepted applicants.
11. All applicants must show evidence of computer skills through coursework or self-study prior to the end of the first semester. Students may obtain instruction through the NSU Student Microcomputer Laboratory, the Health Science online Orientation, or other training facilities.

20 semester credit hours shared between Doctor of Health Science (D.H.Sc) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Health Science are required.

DHS Core Courses

All of the following general core courses and the two summer institute courses are required.

HPD Research Core Courses

18 semester credit hours are required.

Health Science Research Core Courses