Doctor of Health Science

How to apply for the Doctor of Health Science

1. Candidates need to meet with the Programme Leader Felicity Bright about suitability of the programme.
2. Apply online to gain entry to the programme. Your application will be assessed to check your eligibility for entry to this doctoral programme.
   
   Within your application, we require the following information:
   • Faculty you're applying to: Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences
   • Curriculum vitae (CV): to show evidence of a minimum of five years’ professional experience in an area relevant to your research focus
   • Academic documents: to show evidence of meeting entry requirements, including academic transcripts, grading scale for postgraduate qualification and degree certificates (undergraduate and postgraduate)
   • Brief research description including proposed title and brief concept proposal to show area of focus for doctoral research
3. Once your eligibility has been confirmed, you will work with the Doctor of Health Science teaching team to develop a Doctor of Health Science proposal. We will support you in this through a series of workshops.
4. Once the Doctor of Health Science proposal has been approved by the faculty, this will be sent to the Graduate Research School for approval and to issue an Offer of Place.

Questions about the Doctor of Health Science or need help with your application? Email dhsc.faculty.administration@aut.ac.nz

The programme includes four taught courses, which you complete over four semesters (two years) part-time, followed by a research thesis focused on your professional practice.

Through the taught courses, you examine your practice and the wider health system, engage with diverse knowledges and develop the research design skills needed to support meaningful change.

You then undertake independent research – generating new knowledge and presenting it in ways that drive real-world impact, whether that's a new model of care, clinical guidelines or an educational resource. You need to achieve a B+ average across the four courses to progress to the research component.

Courses you need to complete*

• HEAL913 Examining Positionality and Context for Practice-Based Inquiry (30 points)
• HEAL914 Engaging with Diverse Knowledges for Practice-Based Inquiry (30 points)
• HEAL915 Research Philosophy and Design for Practice-Based Inquiry (30 points)
• HEAL916 Research Proposal Development for Practice-Based Inquiry (30 points)

_{*Courses subject to CUAP approval}

Then complete a research thesis

Once your research proposal has been accepted, you'll be enrolled in:

• HEALX99 Thesis in Health Science (240 points)

Your thesis will take two years full-time or four years part-time. Through your thesis you conduct your own independent research in your professional context, with the support of your supervisors.