Healthcare Leadership, DMSc (Online)

Northeastern University’s Doctor of Medical Science is an interdisciplinary degree designed for healthcare professionals to advance their education and expand their career opportunities through various healthcare concentration areas. Students from diverse healthcare backgrounds share the common goal of developing facility with healthcare systems and becoming leaders within the greater healthcare community.

In addition to taking core courses in healthcare leadership, advocacy, and research methods, students concentrate in one of several areas of specialization. These concentrations are designed to empower graduates from diverse backgrounds with the technical and analytical expertise that is relevant and in high demand in today’s healthcare environment. Students will have the opportunity to collaborate with faculty from the Department of Medical Sciences and world-renowned faculty from a variety of interdisciplinary fields within Northeastern and the greater Boston community. This collaboration allows students to access expertise and knowledge across disciplines that will culminate in the creation of an original thesis study. 

This degree will take between 16 and 20 months to complete and can be completed fully online.

Program Policies

Failure to Progress Policy 

Failure to progress refers to a student’s inability to meet the academic requirements necessary to advance in the program as scheduled. Students who fail to progress in the program may be referred to the Department of Medical Sciences Academic Standing Committee and/or dismissed from the program. 

Course Withdrawal 

• Only three course withdrawals will be permitted in the program (excluding leave of absence). More than three course withdrawals will lead to dismissal from the program. 
• Students who withdraw from the same course twice will be referred to the ASC.
• Students who withdraw from the same course three times will be dismissed from the program. 

Course Failure 

• Students will be permitted to repeat up to two failed courses (Bouvé College of Health Sciences Graduate Academic Probation Policy).
• Students who fail one course will be placed on academic probation. 
• Students who fail two courses will be placed on academic probation and referred to the ASC. 
• Students who fail three courses will be dismissed from the program.

Please visit Bouvé College Learning Outcomes for the specific student learning outcomes for this program.

Complete all courses and requirements listed below unless otherwise indicated.

Milestones

Thesis topic approval
Thesis committee
Thesis proposal
Thesis defense

Core Requirements

A grade of B– or higher is required in each course.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Healthcare Leadership
MSCI 6001	Principles of Healthcare Advocacy	3
MSCI 6002	Workforce Metrics: Measuring, Comparing, and Privileging the Interprofessional Healthcare Team 1	3-4
or HLTH 5800	AI Across the Health Sciences
MSCI 6003	Healthcare Leadership Seminar	3
PHTH 6204	Society, Behavior, and Health	3
Research
HLTH 5410	Introduction to Statistics in Health and Behavioral Science	3
MSCI 6900	Research Methods and Design	3
MSCI 6901	Doctoral Writing Seminar	3
MSCI 7990	Thesis	3
Registration in the following course is required if the thesis is not completed by the conclusion of the term of registration for MSCI 7990:
MSCI 7996	Thesis Continuation - Half-Time 2

Concentrations

Completing a concentration is required to complete this program. A minimum of 12 semester hours is required.

• AI Applications
• Business Management
• Health Informatics
• Health Law
• Interdisciplinary Healthcare Leadership
• Medical Affairs/Medical Science Liaison
• Patient Safety
• Public Health

Program Credit/GPA Requirements

Minimum of 36 total semester hours required

Minimum 3.000 GPA required

---

AI Applications Concentration

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete a minimum of 12 semester hours from the following:		12
AAI 5004	Applied AI for Professionals
ARTG 6460	Human-Centered AI
HLTH 5800	AI Across the Health Sciences 3
MISM 6450	Strategic AI for Business
PHIL 5110	Responsible AI

Business Management Concentration

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete a minimum of 12 semester hours from the following:		12
ACCT 6418	Analyzing Accounting Data for Strategic Decision Making
BUSN 6402	Stakeholder Values and Societal Challenges in Business
ENTR 6450	Lean Design and Development
FINA 6418	Financial Management
HINF 5105	The American Healthcare System
HRMG 6418	Managing the Organization
INNO 6418	Innovation-Driven Strategy
INNO 6425	Acquisitions, Alliances, and Growth
MISM 6401	Database Management for Business
MISM 6410	Information Visuals and Dashboards for Business
MISM 6412	Data Mining and Machine Learning for Business
MISM 6450	Strategic AI for Business
MKTG 6418	Customer Value and the Enterprise
SCHM 6418	Managing Operations and the Supply Chain
STRT 6418	Strategic Planning for the Future
STRT 6440	Strategic Management for Healthcare Organizations

Health Informatics Concentration

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete a minimum of 12 semester hours from the following:		12
HINF 5101	Introduction to Health Informatics and Health Information Systems
HINF 5105	The American Healthcare System
HINF 5407	Business Application of Decision Support in Healthcare
HINF 6201	Organizational Behavior, Work Flow Design, and Change Management
HINF 6205	Creation and Application of Medical Knowledge
HINF 6215	Project Management
HINF 6220	Database Design, Access, Modeling, and Security
HINF 6335	Management Issues in Healthcare Information Technology
HINF 6400	Introduction to Health Data Analytics
HINF 6405	Quantifying the Value of Informatics

Health Law Concentration

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
LS 6102	Introduction to Legal Studies 2	3
Selectives
LS 6102 is a prerequisite for the LS courses listed below. Complete 9 semester hours from the following:		9
LS 6110	Law of Information and Records
LS 6150	Law and Organizational Management
LS 6180	Health Law Survey
LS 6181	Healthcare Regulation and Compliance
LS 6182	Patient Records, Privacy, and Security
LS 6210	Special Topics in Employee Rights and Employer Obligations

Interdisciplinary Healthcare Leadership Concentration

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete a minimum of 12 semester hours from the following:		12
Artificial Intelligence
ARTG 6460	Human-Centered AI
CS 5047	Exploring AI Trends and Tools
HLTH 5800	AI Across the Health Sciences 4
MISM 6450	Strategic AI for Business
PHIL 5110	Responsible AI
Business Management
ACCT 6418	Analyzing Accounting Data for Strategic Decision Making
BUSN 6402	Stakeholder Values and Societal Challenges in Business
ENTR 6450	Lean Design and Development
FINA 6418	Financial Management
HINF 5105	The American Healthcare System
INNO 6418	Innovation-Driven Strategy
INNO 6425	Acquisitions, Alliances, and Growth
MISM 6401	Database Management for Business
MISM 6410	Information Visuals and Dashboards for Business
MISM 6412	Data Mining and Machine Learning for Business
MISM 6450	Strategic AI for Business
MKTG 6418	Customer Value and the Enterprise
SCHM 6418	Managing Operations and the Supply Chain
STRT 6418	Strategic Planning for the Future
Exercise Science 5
EXSC 5200	Cardiopulmonary Physiology
EXSC 5220	Advanced Exercise Physiology
EXSC 5230	Physical Activity and Exercise: Effects on Musculoskeletal Health and Disease
EXSC 6202	Electrocardiography, Clinical Assessment, and Prescription
Extreme Medicine
MSCI 5001	Human Factors and Situational Awareness
MSCI 5002	Crisis Resource Management and Case Studies
MSCI 5003	Humanitarian Aid Practice and Principles
MSCI 5004	Humanitarian and Disaster Response Ethics
MSCI 5005	Care During Conflict
Health Informatics
HINF 5101	Introduction to Health Informatics and Health Information Systems
HINF 5105	The American Healthcare System
HINF 5200	Theoretical Foundations in Personal Health Informatics
HINF 5300	Personal Health Interface Design and Development
HINF 5407	Business Application of Decision Support in Healthcare
HINF 6201	Organizational Behavior, Work Flow Design, and Change Management
HINF 6205	Creation and Application of Medical Knowledge
HINF 6215	Project Management
HINF 6220	Database Design, Access, Modeling, and Security
HINF 6335	Management Issues in Healthcare Information Technology
HINF 6400	Introduction to Health Data Analytics
HINF 6405	Quantifying the Value of Informatics
Health Law
LS 6102	Introduction to Legal Studies 2
LS 6102 is a prerequisite for the following:
LS 6110	Law of Information and Records
LS 6150	Law and Organizational Management
LS 6180	Health Law Survey
LS 6181	Healthcare Regulation and Compliance
LS 6182	Patient Records, Privacy, and Security
LS 6210	Special Topics in Employee Rights and Employer Obligations
Patient Safety
HLTH 5600	Introduction to Patient Safety
HLTH 5600 is a concurrent prerequisite for the following:
HLTH 5610	Patient Safety Science
HLTH 5620	Leadership, Patient Safety, and Clinician Wellness
HLTH 5630	Quality Improvement in Patient Safety
Pharmacy and Health Systems Science
PHMD 5575	Pharmaceutical Industry
Public Health
HLTH 5700	Social Determinants of Health
PHTH 5120	Race, Ethnicity, and Health in the United States
PHTH 5212	Public Health Administration and Policy
PHTH 5214	Environmental Health 6
PHTH 6200	Principles and History of Urban Health
PHTH 6208	Foundations of Community Health Assessment

Medical Affairs/Medical Science Liaison Concentration

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
HSCI 5130	Introduction to Real-World Evidence	2
MSCI 6100	Fundamentals of Medical Affairs and the Medical Science Liaison Profession	4
PHMD 5223	Evidence-Based Medicine	2
Selective
Complete 4 semester hours from the following:		4
HSCI 5140	Foundations of Data Models
HSCI 5160	Standardization of Real-World Data
PHMD 5560	Applied Drug Information

Patient Safety Concentration

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
HLTH 5600	Introduction to Patient Safety	3
HLTH 5610	Patient Safety Science	3
HLTH 5620	Leadership, Patient Safety, and Clinician Wellness	3
HLTH 5630	Quality Improvement in Patient Safety	3

Public Health Concentration

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete a minimum of 12 semester hours from the following:		12
PHTH 5120	Race, Ethnicity, and Health in the United States
PHTH 5212	Public Health Administration and Policy
PHTH 5214	Environmental Health 6
PHTH 6200	Principles and History of Urban Health
PHTH 6208	Foundations of Community Health Assessment

¹

Students who select AI Across the Health Sciences (HLTH 5800) (4 semester hours) vs. Workforce Metrics: Measuring, Comparing, and Privileging the Interprofessional Healthcare Team (MSCI 6002) (3 semester hours) will incur an additional 1-semester-hour cost beyond the total program credits.

²

Students who have not completed their thesis but have already registered for the required number of thesis hours, and have no remaining coursework to complete the degree, may register for Thesis Continuation—Half-Time (MSCI 7996) in their last semester (including summer term). There is a 1-semester-hour tuition charge for Thesis Continuation—Half-Time (MSCI 7996). Thesis Continuation may be taken only once. 

³

Students who have completed AI Across the Health Sciences (HLTH 5800) as a core requirement may not select this course as part of the AI applications concentration.

⁴

Students who have completed AI Across the Health Sciences (HLTH 5800) as a core requirement may not select this course as part of the interdisciplinary healthcare leadership concentration requirements.

⁵

Anatomy and Physiology I and II, or equivalent, and an exercise physiology or medical background are strongly recommended for the EXSC courses.

⁶

Environmental Health (PHTH 5214) may have limited availability.