The Medical University of South Carolina is expanding access to its Doctor of Health Administration (DHA) degree through a fully online option designed specifically for working healthcare leaders.
When it launched 30 years ago, the MUSC DHA program was the first of its kind in the country. Today it is nationally recognized for developing influential healthcare leaders.
That legacy was a key consideration for Eric Richardson, Ph.D., when he joined the College of Health Professions in early 2025 as the chair of the Department of Healthcare Leadership and Management. “Since we were innovative in creating the first DHA program, how do we continue that innovation into the next 30 years?”
One answer: by reaching more busy healthcare leaders. Not only can students in the online-only option do all of their executive-level coursework from home, but they will also have multiple start dates to choose from in the fall, spring or summer.
Richardson has seen the need. “So right now, the program is hybrid. Students come to campus once a semester. And other than that, the program is pretty much online. But we realized that there's another audience of students who are interested in an online-only program,” he said.
“They are really successful already in their careers and wanting to challenge themselves with another level of applied, top-tier education.”
Student perspectives
The online-only option builds on a three-decade-long legacy of helping leaders advance in their academic and professional careers. Students graduating from the current hybrid program say it’s been a great way to improve their knowledge and abilities.
Meeta Gandhi, chief operating officer of the Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital, described her experience in MUSC’s DHA program. “It's not just about getting a degree. There's so much application. It expands your mind beyond what you've experienced before,” she said.
She likes the fact that the three-year program has focused on real-world situations and concepts with practical applications, along with research and other areas such as behavioral theory. It has doctoral-level applied projects aimed at helping students facilitate changes in their areas of healthcare.
“It's really made me a lot wiser. It's provided me with so many different perspectives from not only the different classes, but my classmates, and the perspectives that they bring. And then it's just made me look at things from more of an objective perspective as a leader,” Gandhi said.
Her classmate Andrew Wade, chief executive officer of OrthoSC, offered his motivation for earning a DHA at MUSC. “I really wanted to increase my ability to deliver true problem-solving. How do we create real solutions that can get us to where we need to be in my local community and the component of healthcare delivery that I'm a part of? And then I wanted to be able to teach. I wanted to help train the next generation of leaders because I've had a lot of people that have opened doors for me and taken bets on me and given me shots and opportunities.”
Wade said part of the value of the program is getting to know peers and professors. “I have yet to walk into another room in my professional life where I have so much perspective from so many different approaches and angles.”
Evolving program
Richardson said the DHA program will continue to evolve as its leaders identify new needs. They already recognize and support the executive-level learners as they expand their management abilities, explore using systematic methods to solve problems, apply theory to real-life projects and build beneficial relationships as they earn their doctorates.
The new option builds on that with both careful planning and practicality. “The philosophy behind our expansion into the online-only space is grounded in meeting healthcare leaders where they are, whether they prefer hybrid engagement or fully online flexibility, while maintaining the same rigor and applied leadership focus,” Richardson said.
Fall 2026 applications for both DHA programs are open through Aug 1. To learn more and apply, visit chp.musc.edu/dha.
Helen Adams
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