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Education & Leadership in Healthcare Online Doctorate (EdD)

Our Education & Leadership in Healthcare online doctorate (EdD) allows you to accelerate your career quickly while balancing your personal and professional life. 

The doctorate's focus on Education and Leadership in Healthcare allows you to develop expertise in transforming organizational culture through concepts such as relationship building, reflection, education, organizational awareness and accountability. 

No Dissertation Required - The arduous dissertation process has been streamlined into the widely accepted scholarly doctoral practice project, where the student demonstrates effective application of the program’s theories and concepts to address an education or practice issue through translational research.

Your educational coursework will help prepare you for your Doctoral Scholarly Project. The scholarly project experience allows you to develop a project that aligns with your career passions, and prepares you to be a leader and innovator in healthcare.

Salaries for healthcare education administrators vary widely in the U.S. and are based on many factors including geography, job description, specialty and experience. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for Postsecondary Education Administrators is $99,940 per year, with an average projected job growth of 4% through 2032.

Want to learn more? Watch our most recent Virtual Information Session.

Program Perks
  • No dissertation required. Gain real-world experience through our Doctoral practice project.
  • No Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) required.
  • Complete the program in 24 months with full-time participation, or 36 months with part-time study. 
  • Institutional focus provides expertise to work as leaders in academic and healthcare settings.
  • Rigorous coursework is interdisciplinary.
  • A dedicated writing coach to assist doctoral students in the design, structure, language, and flow of their writing needs.
  • An on-staff statistician is available to assist students in planning and evaluation of their scholarly doctoral project.
  • The Director of Student Counseling who engages our online graduate students with resources to promote health, work-life-school balance, and provides individualized support.
  • Flexible, online format allows you to balance work, school and life.
  • Students participate in two intensive learning sessions over two days on campus during program.
  • Download the Inquiry Packet for more details

Accreditation & Licensure

Nebraska Methodist College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (hlcommission.org), a regional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Admissions Information

Criteria

In order to be eligible for admission into our EdD program, you must meet all of the following criteria.

  • Master's degree required, preferably in a healthcare-related field, from a regionally accredited institution.
  • Master's degree GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
  • Admissions essay rubric score.
  • Interview rubric score.
  • Meet State Authorization requirements, if not a Nebraska resident.

Requirements

To be considered for admission, the following items must be submitted to the Admissions Office:

  • NMC online application form
  • Official college transcripts from graduating institutions and/or official transcripts containing completed doctoral or in-progress coursework
  • Résumé or curriculum vitae
  • Admissions essay
  • Select qualified applicants will be invited to participate in a phone interview with two NMC faculty members using a standardized interview process and scoring method

Deadlines

Application to the Doctor of Education program at Nebraska Methodist College is a competitive process.  In order to be considered, applicants must have all application materials submitted by the posted application deadline.

Starting Term - Fall 2024

Standard Deadline - 4/1/2024

Starting Term - Spring 2025

Priority Deadline - 9/4/2024

Costs & Financial Aid

NMC is committed to helping you find every avenue to finance your education. View the Tuition by Program & Degree page for a comprehensive list of all fees.

Cost Per Credit Hour

$850

Student Grants or Loans

Visit our Financial Aid page to learn more about what's available and how to apply.

Employee Education Benefits

Employees of Methodist Health System can find details on the MHS Intranet.

External Scholarships

Visit our Scholarships page to learn more.

Nurse Faculty Loan Program

Aimed at increasing the number of qualified nurse faculty, NFLP loans cover the cost of tuition, fees and books for part-time or full-time enrollment.

Following completion of the advanced education program, up to 85% of the loan may be cancelled if the borrower works as a full-time nurse faculty for a prescribed period of time.

Calculate Your Net Price

Nebraska Methodist College Net Price Calculator.

Curriculum

NMC’s doctorate in education online program provides students with access to faculty with years of teaching and clinical experience. Our institutional focus provides the expertise that allows graduates to work as leaders in both academic and healthcare settings. Online students will receive the same support and attention as students who attend courses on campus. 

All students are required to complete specific coursework. Please use this course list as a curriculum guide only. Course listings and required curriculum are subject to change.

Read our doctoral program transfer policy to learn more.

Program Specific

EDD 700
PROGRAM ORIENTATION
DETAILS
This course provides the doctoral program orientation for Nebraska Methodist College. Emphasis will be placed on program delivery modalities, resource utilization, and scholarly writing. Students must complete this course on campus.

Prerequisites: Admission to EdD Program.

Organizational Leadership

EDD 736
LEADERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONS
DETAILS
This course will focus on the leadership of complex organizations and the skills and qualities leaders need to change organizations. In order to be effective, leaders must understand themselves, the organizations they head, and the complex social and political environments that they are asked to navigate on a daily basis. Students will become acquainted with the principles, concepts, and major theories of leadership; reflect upon their own leadership styles and behavioral tendencies; and apply this new learning to a variety of situations and problems simulating real challenges in real-world organizational settings.

EDD 746
LEGAL & ETHICAL ISSUES IN ORGANIZATIONS
DETAILS
This course examines the role of organization related legal and ethical issues; specific to academic and healthcare organizations. Policy and processes for effective business operations will be explored. Accreditation requirements will be analyzed.

EDD 756
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE & ACCOUNTABILITY
DETAILS
This course introduces strategies for transforming organizational culture. Students will explore concepts including organizational awareness, relationship building, and issues around accountability in organizational settings. The course explores how to generate creative ideas using mindsets and practices exhibited by successful innovators. At the end of this course, students will have a good working knowledge of various models, frameworks, and theories that help explain how organizational change and reform occur.

EDD 786
ORGANIZATIONAL OUTCOMES & SUSTAINABILITY
DETAILS
This course equips students with concepts and strategies necessary to analyze system performance, healthcare outcomes, and evaluate impact. Students will learn to make evidence-based recommendations for interventions based on the data. Students will develop skills to design a comprehensive plan for quality improvement and sustainability.

Education

EDD 694
TEACHING, LEARNING, & INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS
DETAILS
This course provides the foundation in educational principles for the student. Learning theories and best practices provide the basis for analyzing the concept of learning in the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains. Teaching strategies to facilitate student learning in the classroom, clinical, practice, and online environment will be examined. Legal, ethical, and professional faculty responsibilities in higher education are explored.

EDD 698
CURRICULUM PLANNING & EVALUATION
DETAILS
This course focuses on curriculum planning, design, implementation, and evaluation. The concept of curriculum will be explored at the individual course level and at the program level. Best practices in education will be incorporated into curriculum design. The influence of regulatory and accrediting bodies on the curriculum will be examined 

EDD 812
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN HEALTHCARE & EDUCATION
DETAILS
This course provides students with a deep understanding of information technology in healthcare and education. Emerging technology related to health informatics, E-health, instructional technology, learning management systems, and E-learning will be explored. Students will learn to develop the skills to leverage information technology to transform organizational settings.

Healthcare Leadership

EDD 832
POPULATION HEALTH
DETAILS

This course provides the theoretical foundation for role development and skills required to identify health needs at a population level and strategies to improve population outcomes. The course focus is on translational research and the application of evidence-based concepts essential to the advancement of population based health. Analysis of the impact of social, cultural, and ecological systems across various populations will be emphasized throughout the course. A portion of this course requires on-campus completion.

Corequisite: EDD 880

IDS 750
HEALTHCARE FINANCE
DETAILS
This course provides the basics of economic theory, market drivers and restraints, healthcare finance and reimbursement, cost/benefit analysis, and healthcare innovation. The financial environment of healthcare and how it impacts healthcare providers and leaders is examined. The relationship between healthcare economic, health policy, program development, and clinical practice is explored.

IDS 754
HEALTHCARE POLICY
DETAILS
This course provides the foundation for analyzing the social and political forces that influence healthcare policy decisions. The relationship between health policy, social justice, and practice will be explored. Students will examine current healthcare policy and factors which influence policy development. The healthcare policy making process will be investigated

Research

EDD 880
Doctoral Scholarly Project I
DETAILS

This is the first of a four-course series that provides an opportunity for the doctoral student to participate in the completion of a scholarly project proposal.  The project will focus on a practice problem within a specific population and contribute to the advancement of practice.  Students examine the elements of a proposal and identify a practice problem of interest. Students will conduct a scholarly literature review related to a practice problem and critically appraise the evidence.  Students will apply a framework as a foundation for a doctoral scholarly project.

Prerequisites: SSC 730, SSC 734, IDS 742. Corequisite: EDD 880

EDD 882
Doctoral Scholarly Project II
DETAILS

This is the second of a four-course series that provides an opportunity for the student to participate in the completion of a scholarly project proposal.  In collaboration with a faculty mentor, the student will examine the essentials of scientific writing through completion of a Doctoral Scholarly Project proposal and program implementation planning.

Prerequisite: EDD 880

EDD 886
Doctoral Scholarly Project III
DETAILS

This is the third of a four-course series that provides an opportunity for the Doctoral student to participate in the completion of a scholarly project. In collaboration with a faculty mentor, the student will refine and implement the doctoral scholarly project.

Prerequisite: EDD 882

EDD 890
Doctoral Scholarly Project IV
DETAILS
This is the last of a four-course series that provides an opportunity for the doctoral student to participate in the completion of a scholarly project. This course will focus on translation and dissemination of scholarly project findings.

Prerequisite: EDD 886

IDS 742
RESEARCH
DETAILS
This course provides an in-depth study of the design and conduct of health care research with emphasis on identifying researchable clinical, educational, and health care delivery problems.   Analysis and interpretation of data from qualitative and quantitative research designs will be emphasized.  Students will begin to investigate and develop their doctoral scholarly project question and complete a systematic literature review to support the project.

Prerequisites: Graduate statistics course

SSC 730
BIOSTATISTICS
DETAILS
This course is designed to prepare the graduate student to understand and apply bio-statistical methods needed in the design and analysis of biomedical and public health investigations. The major topics to be covered include descriptive statistics, probability distributions, sampling distributions, inferences (point estimates and confidence intervals), hypotheses testing (one-sample tests, two-sample tests), Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), as well as simple linear regression and multiple regression analysis. The course emphasizes the application of statistical concepts to analyze research for best available evidence to support quality nursing practice. The course also provides students with hands-on experience in using statistical software (SPSS) to assist in making effective decisions.

Meet the Faculty

Our EdD faculty are highly experienced and credentialed in their own fields, giving you constant real-world insight you can use. While any instructor can recite from a textbook, ours go a step further and draw from vast personal and professional experiences. Instructors here care as deeply about their students as they do the subject matter and it shows.

Meet the Faculty

Additional Information

Program Outcomes

  1. Develop a competent practitioner with leadership skills as an effective communicator, collaborator, educator, and change agent.
  2. Develop a competent practitioner who is prepared to assess, implement, and evaluate systematic change and sustainability in health care and academic settings.
  3. Develop a competent practitioner who can navigate emerging information technology in health care and academic settings.
  4. Develop a competent practitioner who serves as an active and effective interdisciplinary team member in health care and academic settings.

Testimonials

"Nebraska Methodist College is one of the nation's best kept secrets. It is the place where you can breathe the rare air of academic excellence with the grace and compassion of the human heart. Since I have been a doctoral student at Nebraska Methodist College, I have endured five unexpected life crises. But the spirit of grace and compassion that I found here as a student has held me tight and kept me warm. This school has been a treasure to find, complete with a world-class faculty and staff that exhibits the consistent thread of grace and compassion with professionalism that I have come to appreciate. I am proud to be a graduate Nebraska Methodist College."

- Derrick T., 2021 NMC Graduate

"I don't even know where to begin - I feel so fortunate to have had so many wonderful staff and faculty members help me along my educational journey. From the incredibly helpful staff members in admissions that were there to assist me with registering for classes, to the incredible people in the IT department that got me connected when I was in Mexico because I had an assignment that had to be submitted or even helped me sign back in after I failed to change my password by the required time, to the wonderful lady at the front desk that answered my frantic call after my husband ended up in the hospital and I was going to be late for the required intensive weekend, to the absolutely incredible faculty member who virtually dried my tears when I wanted to give up (you know who you are Dr. Jeannie), to the extremely understanding and patient faculty member that did not give up on me when I just could not figure out my data analysis (that's you Dr. Kindschuh), and lastly to the incredible Dr. Wade whom I admit scared the daylights out of me when interviewing for the cohort (such that I threw up afterwards) - everyone has been amazing! I would be proud to call everyone at NMC a friend for life!"

- Kimberly S., 2021 NMC Graduate

Doctor of Education Written Statement

Please develop a thoughtful and organized response to the questions below. The admissions committee is looking for responses that are not only well supported but that also use appropriate style and grammar.

Each question response should be approximately 250-400 words using APA format and citations where applicable. Also know that instances of plagiarism within an applicant’s personal statement will disqualify them for acceptance to Nebraska Methodist College due to the College’s commitment to academic integrity and stringent plagiarism policies. Be sure to include your name and program on the document itself.

  1. Describe your role aspirations and what you expect to derive from your doctoral studies at Nebraska Methodist College.
  2. What impact should graduates of the EdD program have on the delivery and scope of healthcare in your community and in the United States?

Please submit your completed Admissions Essay to admissions@methodistcollege.edu.