Doctor of Science (DSc) in Healthcare Administration

( Note: Recognized professors (field specialists) are in the mid stages of programmatic and curriculum development. Upon completion, the program must be systematically reviewed and approved both by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council and by the Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission of the State of Georgia. Only subsequent to both reviews and approvals may the University initiate enrollments. We shall post all significant updates throughout the requisite processes. )

The new challenges created by healthcare reform to develop cost-effective, quality healthcare delivery systems and contribute to effective, responsive health policy initiatives require a substantial increase in new knowledge and leadership skill in today's healthcare executives. Successful long-term endeavors of healthcare organizations can be attributed in large part to highly skilled, strategic leadership. Leaders must begin to integrate this new knowledge in traditional subject areas with expanded knowledge and vision in community health and inter-organizational network relations. These challenges and the associated demand for advanced knowledge and leadership development clearly show the need for formal and relevant education beyond the master's degree level. The Doctor of Science in Healthcare Administration (DSc) is designed to facilitate the development of highly advanced health care leaders who can influence the shaping of policy and more effectively address the health delivery demands of their organizations and the citizens they serve. This program meets the intellectual and career development needs of senior healthcare and health policy executives who are actively engaged as leaders in health services organizations or who seek to assume positions of senior leadership in healthcare systems, healthcare facilities, hospitals, allied health organizations or as members of a university faculty or administration.

Program graduates will be positioned to:

• Apply the tools and techniques necessary to ensure organizational responsiveness and sustainability
• Develop new and enhance present leadership roles for the evolving healthcare industry
• Analyze and apply systematic problem-solving methods toward visible, lasting performance improvements
• Apply acquired skills that will enhance organizational systems with real-world strategies based in sound organizational theory
• Build long-term, mutually beneficial professional relationships with other healthcare leaders
  All professors and mentors associated with the program are nationally-recognized leaders in their areas of expertise, scholars and practitioners whose contributions have earned them due acclaim.

Professional Context
The new challenges created by healthcare reform to develop cost-effective, quality healthcare delivery systems and contribute to effective, responsive health policy initiatives require a substantial increase in new knowledge and leadership skill in today's healthcare executives.
Successful long-term endeavors of healthcare organizations can be attributed in large part to highly skilled, strategic leadership. Leaders must begin to integrate this new knowledge in traditional subject areas with expanded knowledge and vision in community health and inter-organizational network relations.

The curriculum will include, among other areas, Administration advanced studies in healthcare analysis, strategic planning, organizational change, ethics, law, and quality improvement, epidemiology, community and global health, healthcare information systems, health policy, quality improvement and applied research methods, theory and practice. Options to sub-specialize will be presented in various components of the program.

The Doctor of Science in Healthcare Administration is designed to facilitate the development of highly advanced health care leaders empowered to influence the shaping of policy and more effectively address the health delivery demands of their organizations and the citizens they serve.

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)

( Note: Recognized professors (field specialists) are in the mid stages of programmatic and curriculum development. Upon completion, the program must be systematically reviewed and approved both by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council and by the Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission of the State of Georgia. Only subsequent to both reviews and approvals may the University initiate enrollments. We shall post all significant updates throughout the requisite processes. )

The Doctor of Education program is designed for highly qualified educational professionals who seek to further their professional standing and formal training by embracing the challenges of innovative, cutting-edge theories, methodologies, research and applications.

The primary objective of the program is to produce graduates who can contribute to the advancement of their profession and to the expansion of knowledge and awareness of contemporary strategic issues and practices. Through the Ed.D. curriculum and its correlative components, participants will achieve this objective through the development of:

• A thorough and deep-rooted knowledge of scientific and scholarly research methods and their application in the educational setting for leaders, consultants, educational affiliates and university professors
• Advanced critical thinking as well as refined conceptual and analytical skills
• A mastery of both the seminal theories and the latest practices in educational management
• The tools to perform original applied research that advances knowledge within the educational arena
• An appreciation of cultural, ethical, and global issues and their impact on evolving theories and practices
• The skills necessary for sophisticated and effective decision-making in complex environments through the integration of theoretic insights, extensive practical knowledge and innovative concept development.

At the successful conclusion of all course and course-related work, each degree candidate will submit three original research papers (the qualifying examination), and will put forth a formal dissertation proposal to be approved by a Director and three other members of the doctoral faculty (the four constituting the official committee). The dissertation proposal, once approved, should focus on a topic of current import and personal interest. The dissertation should significantly impact and illuminate strategic professional matters.

Every faculty member teaching in the University of Atlanta's Ed.D. program must have a doctoral degree from a leading university, a record of successful graduate teaching, a distinguished scholarly profile and substantial practical experience. Each brings a theoretical grounding as well as real-world expertise to the program and a commitment to dynamic, progressive education.

The program encourages participants at every turn to accept the added responsibility of a shared commitment to the advancement of the profession and to the upholding of the highest ethical standards in the private and/or public educational sectors.

Juris Doctorate in Law (J.D.)

( Note: Recognized professors (field specialists) are in the early stages of programmatic and curriculum development. Upon completion, the program must be systematically reviewed and approved both by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council and by the Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission of the State of Georgia. Only subsequent to both reviews and approvals may the University initiate enrollments. We shall post all significant updates throughout the requisite processes. )

The University of Atlanta Juris Doctorate (J.D.) Degree program will be designed for those seeking to practice law and for others who seek to develop the greatest range of career opportunities, via the acquisition of intensive legal training, highest-level critical thinking, theory and application that such training embraces. The curriculum is designed to provide the intensive educational experience that will accommodate the individual needs and interests of a diverse student body. The curriculum is to be grounded in core bar courses, but will allow for some course specialization at the most advanced levels.

In the projected University of Atlanta J.D. program, students develop a wide range of skills, including the ability to:

• analyze a client's legal problems
• research applicable case, statutory, and regulatory laws
• develop an effective legal strategy
• represent a client fully
• understand and uphold their legal responsibilities
• contribute, via their background in the legal field, to a broad-winged array of professional arenas, thus providing credentials for a wide spectrum of professional opportunities beyond the traditional practice of law.

As the program takes shape, and requisite approvals are in place, significant additional details will be provided, well in advance of the program start.