Online Doctoral Degrees in Healthcare

Answer the Call for Skilled Leaders in Healthcare

The healthcare industry requires skilled leaders who navigate complex challenges and drive significant initiatives. GCU's healthcare doctorate degrees are for professionals seeking to enhance their expertise. These programs emphasize leadership, research and practical application, equipping graduates with the knowledge to improve patient care, optimize healthcare systems and influence the industry's future. Whether your goal is to lead organizations, educate future healthcare professionals or enhance clinical practices, earning a doctorate can help position yourself as a leading authority.

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Enhance Your Professional Growth With GCU

Earning an online1 doctoral healthcare degree from GCU offers more than academic achievement. It provides an opportunity to strengthen your professional skills and potentially open doors to new career possibilities. As you specialize in your chosen subfield, you’ll have the chance to connect with peers and experienced instructors, explore modern research, and build the expertise to position yourself to potentially lead in healthcare.

Beyond technical knowledge, these programs can help you develop essential interpersonal skills, such as communicating goals, identifying individual strengths and fostering team effectiveness. Through independent research and academic development, you can gain the confidence to influence and improve healthcare systems. By applying advanced research methods, you can learn how to create practical solutions to industry challenges, positioning yourself as a forward-thinking professional ready to contribute meaningfully to your field.

As a private Christian university, GCU promotes ethical leadership and social responsibility. We encourage you to lead with integrity and a commitment to serving others. By combining academic rigor with a Biblically-rooted college education, our doctoral healthcare programs support your growth within the healthcare industry.

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“Getting my degree at Grand Canyon University has been extremely impactful in my life. I believe that the program is rigorous, so I felt good about getting a doctorate degree from Grand Canyon University and I’m really excited to see where my education is going to lead me.”

Dr. Monica Aquino Doctoral Graduate

GCU’s online1 doctoral programs are structured to accommodate the demanding schedules of busy professionals while providing a challenging academic experience. With specialized coursework, you can engage with material through our user-friendly Learning Management System. This flexibility allows you to balance your education with work and personal commitments.

While most of your coursework is completed online,1 you will also participate in two required in-person residencies on or near the GCU campus. These residencies provide invaluable opportunities to collaborate with faculty, connect with peers, and engage in hands-on learning experiences that can enhance academic and professional growth. For the Doctor of Nursing Practice programs, instead of residencies you will be required to complete a minimum number of hours at a healthcare facility near you to put what you have been taught into practice.

Explore Healthcare Doctorate Programs

Grand Canyon University’s healthcare doctoral programs can prepare you for leadership, research and advanced practice roles across various healthcare fields. These programs offer the opportunity to develop specialized expertise in your chosen specialization.

These programs provide the knowledge and skills to lead organizations, influence policy and enhance patient care by focusing on evidence-based strategies, critical thinking and innovative problem-solving. GCU’s doctoral programs offer a pathway to help you reach your professional goals.

Prepare for a Future in Healthcare Administration

Study behavioral health to explore clinical supervision and intervention strategies that guide teams in healthcare settings. Alternatively, focus on healthcare administration, developing leadership expertise to navigate regulatory challenges and improve operations.

Study Advanced Administration Concepts for Healthcare

You will discover advanced healthcare management, policy and organizational efficiency concepts. To optimize healthcare, you will also study strategic planning, compliance regulations and leadership principles.

Take Your Nursing Qualifications to New Heights

These programs focus on advanced nursing practice, leadership and evidence-based care to improve patient and organizational outcomes. You will study healthcare policy, patient advocacy and educational leadership strategies to help shape the future of nursing.

Craft Your Practice and Advance Your Psychology Skills

Apply research on emotion, cognition and motivation to gain peak performance. Explore psychomotor skills, behavior modification, leadership principles and the psychological theories that influence human performance to improve outcomes.

Earn Your Healthcare Doctorate From an Accredited University

Grand Canyon University has maintained institutional accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission since 1968. This accreditation ensures that the healthcare doctoral programs you pursue at GCU meet rigorous academic standards and provide a learning experience that can help you position yourself for possible leadership roles in the healthcare field. At GCU, we uphold these standards, offer robust student support and foster academic excellence within the College of Doctoral Studies.

Doctoral Healthcare Courses and Curriculum

GCU’s online1 doctoral healthcare programs offer specialized coursework that can strengthen your ability to lead diverse teams, implement best practices and apply systems thinking to foster collaborative workplace environments.

GCU’s curriculum integrates research-based strategies with practical leadership development. The dissertation process begins in your first course, allowing you to gradually build your research skills and contribute meaningful insights to the field. Each program has its unique curriculum, all of them emphasizing areas such as:

  • Professional ethics
  • Strategic leadership
  • Organizational structures
  • Healthcare regulations
  • Advanced management frameworks

Admission Requirements

GCU's doctoral programs have specific admission criteria to ensure that students are prepared for the rigors of advanced academic study. To apply, you must hold a degree from an accredited institution and meet certain academic standards, which can vary by program. Some programs may have additional prerequisites, such as GPA requirements or prior relevant coursework.

We encourage you to review GCU's doctoral admission requirements to determine your eligibility and understand the expectations for your chosen program. Familiarizing yourself with these guidelines will help you take the next step toward earning your doctorate.

“The most amazing thing to me about the program was the support of the community of faculty, the community of staff. And this went from the initial class all the way through the dissertation process with my chairman, an awesome person who supported me and encouraged me throughout the entire thing.”

Dr. Joe Balskus Doctoral Graduate

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have questions about our online doctoral healthcare degrees? The answers here will help you make an informed decision.

Yes, online1 doctoral degrees in healthcare are respectable, provided they are from an accredited institution. These degrees carry the same credibility as traditional on-campus programs. Our online1 degrees uphold rigorous academic standards, offering a comprehensive curriculum and quality education equivalent to our in-person offerings.

If you're passionate about shaping the future of healthcare, earning a doctorate can be a worthwhile investment. This advanced degree can equip you with the knowledge and leadership skills to navigate challenges, from regulatory policies to improving patient outcomes. If you seek to position yourself for possible career advancement and want to make a difference, a doctorate in healthcare can empower you to lead with integrity, inspire your team and drive positive change in the industry.

 

Doctoral student smiles for portrait

 

Career Paths Following Your Doctoral Healthcare Degree

With advanced education in administration, leadership and healthcare systems, you can work toward guiding organizations, improving operations and shaping the future of healthcare.

Whether you aspire to manage healthcare facilities, influence policy or enhance patient care, this degree can prepare you to pursue opportunities in:

  • State, local, and private hospitals
  • Outpatient care centers
  • Nursing and residential care facilities
  • Government agencies

$110,680

Median Annual wage for medical and health services managers in May 20232

29%

Estimated growth for medical and health services managers expected from 2023 to 20333

Resources for Doctoral Healthcare Students

GCU is committed to supporting doctoral students with valuable resources that can enhance their academic experience. Our online1 healthcare doctorate programs provide access to financial aid opportunities, competitive tuition rates, and a robust learning platform that delivers the same level of academic excellence as in-person programs. You can engage in scholarly research, collaborate with faculty and access tools designed to help you throughout your studies.

1 Program has residencies that take place on or near GCU’s campus.

2 The earnings referenced were reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”), Medical and Health Services Managers as of May 2023, retrieved Feb. 20, 2025. Due to COVID-19, data from 2020 to 2023 may be atypical compared to prior years. BLS calculates the median using salaries of workers nationwide with varying levels of education and experience. It does not reflect the earnings of GCU graduates as medical and health services managers, nor does it reflect earnings of workers in one city or region of the country or a typical entry-level salary. Median income is the statistical midpoint for the range of salaries in a specific occupation. It represents what you would earn if you were paid more money than half the workers in an occupation, and less than half the workers in an occupation. It may give you a basis to estimate what you might earn at some point if you enter this career. Grand Canyon University can make no guarantees on individual graduates’ salaries. Your employability will be determined by numerous factors over which GCU has no control, such as the employer the graduate chooses to apply to, the graduate’s experience level, individual characteristics, skills, etc., against a pool of candidates.

3 COVID-19 has adversely affected the global economy and data from 2020 to 2023 may be atypical compared to prior years. Accordingly, data shown is effective September 2024, which can be found here: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Medical and Health Services Managers, retrieved Feb. 20, 2025. 

Take your first step in earning your doctorate in healthcare at GCU.