Online Health Science PhD Programs: Explore Today’s Top Schools

Now more than ever, healthcare professionals are in high demand. In fact, opportunities are projected to grow by 13% over the next decade, resulting in two million new jobs. The thing is, they won’t all be the same job. Not only is there a growing need for physicians, but for physician’s assistants, healthcare administrators, researchers, educators, and a whole lot more.

Whether you have yet to join the workforce, or are currently employed in an allied healthcare field and want to skill up and earn more, these job opportunities are good news. With the right postgraduate training, you can prepare yourself to take advantage of these opportunities. Better still, that training doesn’t have to come in the form of medical school. After all, not every “doctor” working in an allied healthcare discipline is an M.D. In this article, we’ll explore the difference between online PhD and doctorate programs in health science, top schools that offer them, available specializations, and more.

Keep reading to discover how an online PhD in health science can open doors for you as you look to broaden your employment options.

Profiling Popular Online PhD Programs in Health Science

Whether you’re looking for detailed guidance on selecting the right online health science degree for you or you’re just here for some recommendations on schools that offer excellent post-graduate education, you’ve come to the right place. So, without further ado, here are three online PhD programs in health science that would serve you well.

Doctor vs. PhD in Health Science: Which is Right for You?

While the terms are often used interchangeably, a doctorate and a PhD aren’t necessarily the same thing. In healthcare especially, there is often a big difference between “doctor” and “professor.” While both cover similar subject matter, there are a few practical nuances that separate a Doctorate of Science and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Health Science.

Career Trajectory

One of the greatest distinctions between a PhD and DHSc (Doctor of Health Science) is that of career goals. Degree earners in both groups leave their university well-prepared to further promote positive health outcomes wherever they find employment. PhD graduates are typically focused on a more specialized area of expertise and typically pursue roles in research and management.

Meanwhile, DHSc candidates receive training that tends to be more broadly focused and practical in nature since programs are designed with both current and future clinicians in mind. Those who earn a doctorate are often already licensed to practice in their current capacity, or expect to earn a license following their graduation, further supporting clinical career outcomes.

Duration

Online programs tend to be a little less standardized in their estimated durations or completion times. Many students study part-time to accommodate their work schedules, while others leverage the online format to fast-track their education and reduce the time to graduation. As such, it’s important to treat these estimates as guidelines rather than absolutes. That being said, as a general rule, PhD programs are longer — in many cases by twice as much — as doctorates.

Some PhD programs can be completed relatively quickly (18 to 24 months), normally, though, these programs run anywhere from three to five years, due in large part to the dissertation component.

Doctorate programs, on the other hand, don’t usually take longer than 40 months to complete. One reason for the shorter duration is how licensing is handled — clinicians must be licensed locally, so most online programs expect you to do so separately.

Focus & Application

As mentioned above, PhD graduates lean toward non-clinical roles after graduation, while doctorate earners tend to pursue clinical ones. Despite this, students in both types of programs often begin their post-graduate programs with some measure of clinical experience under their belt, and graduates from either category can find their way into just about any particular profession with the right approach.

The bottom line is this: doctorate students pursue their programs asking questions like If you’re going into this decision asking yourself “How can I provide better healthcare to my patients?” a doctorate aligns better with your goals. Meanwhile, if you are wondering “How can I facilitate better healthcare?” a PhD is likely the right path for you. The former looks at the situation from the lens of a provider, while the latter considers it from the position of a given specialized member of support staff.

Graduation Requirements

A good deal of the coursework and graduation requirements for both online health science degree programs look identical at first glance. The primary differences you’ll encounter are in approaches to subject matter (required PhD courses typically involve more discussion of theory or management, while doctorate courses tend to focus on practice and implementation). Additional differences come down to the quantity and duration of work to be completed.

Lastly, beyond requiring more credit hours on average, PhD programs involve dissertation components, which often constitute an entire year of study on their own.

Online Health Science PhD & Doctorate Programs at a Glance

Now that we’ve addressed some of the functional differences between available programs, let’s take a deeper dive into what it takes to get into, pay for, and successfully complete the right online PhD in health sciences for. Let’s take a closer look and break down the details.

Health Science Specializations at the Professional Level

Let’s wrap things up with a closer look at some program specializations and the estimated earning potential for associated professions. Remember, there will be a lot of common ground between these specialties, so you’re bound to gain a broad understanding of a large swath of niche topics and how they relate to the subject you decide to pursue in-depth.

Clinical Research

Programs focused on clinical research teach students about laboratory science, diagnostic efficiency, and research leadership. Much of the coursework centers on leveraging laboratory services to support, enhance, and improve clinical outcomes for providers and patients. Graduates can use their degree to pursue roles in laboratory science, medical research, and leadership roles for non-clinical teams.

Epidemiology

In a post-COVID environment, few areas of specialty feel as critical as those that attempt to prevent further global pandemic events. That’s where epidemiology comes in. Students in these programs learn about how diseases spread through a population; how they can be researched and monitored; and how data and technology can provide the tools to more effectively steer the ship out of troubled waters.

Health Policy and Management

Programs in public health, health policy, and healthcare administration focus heavily on the monitoring, analysis, and prediction of — and response to — trends in a given demographic. Depending on the area of specialization, this may be as narrow a focus as a single clinic or facility, or as broad as an entire nation. Regardless of the scope, the goal is the same: use data to identify areas of potential risk and/or opportunity and leverage policy and organizational efforts to pursue more positive outcomes for the population(s) in question.

Nutrition Science

Nutrition programs instruct students on nutrition; dietary science; human metabolic processes; gastrointestinal functions and health concerns; the impact of exercise on nutritional outcomes; and more. After graduation, you’ll be prepared to pursue roles as a dietitian, public health dietitian, registered dietary nutritionist (RDN), and more.

Rehabilitation Sciences

Practitioners in the rehabilitation sciences help patients return to their normal lives and routines after receiving treatment for an illness or injury. From helping athletes recover full range of motion after a sports injury to facilitating prosthetic fittings for patients recovering from an amputation, this path will allow you to research, develop, and implement methods and treatments that lead to more positive patient outcomes. Depending on the specialization, graduates may either become clinicians (e.g. Doctor of Physical Therapy), or focus more heavily on research and management (e.g. PhD in Rehabilitation Science).

Career & Salary Outlook

Your career options as a graduate of a PhD program in health sciences are boundless, but for now, let’s take a closer look at your prospects if, like many of your peers, you pursue a career in epidemiology. Obviously, helping people live healthier lives is rewarding, but job satisfaction doesn’t pay the bills. Luckily, the salary of an epidemiologist does. In addition to seeing significant growth year over year, epidemiology offers a competitive salary, with median earners bringing home nearly $80,000 per year and top earners easily clearing six figures. So, consider the data below as you begin considering your academic and professional future.

Source: Projections Central

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics