School of Health Administration

Dalhousie University

Diploma in Health Services Administration

Undergrad Infographic

DIPLOMA IN HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (DHSA)
The DHSA program is designed to prepare students for a career in healthcare. The program is ideal for individuals wishing to pursue formal training in health administration and can be completed in 2 terms.

Undergraduate Handbook 2023-24

Kick off your career in the healthcare industry

Whether you are looking to get your foot in the door working in the healthcare industry and are looking to formalize your education, Dalhousie’s Diploma of Health Services Administration (DHSA) is a great way to get you to the next step in your career. You’ll get the skills you need to succeed or move up the ladder in your current career towards a managerial role.

What will I learn?

The Diploma in Health Services Administration (DHSA) is a one-year program and is completely delivered online. It will provide you with a deeper understanding of the increasingly complex managerial tasks performed in health institutions, agencies, and health-related government departments. You'll dive into tasks such as implementing quality improvement initiatives, designing efficient health services systems and you'll apply principles related to health care planning to those systems.

You’ll also receive a balance of political, social, economic, cultural, medical and ethical approaches to understanding the healthcare delivery system with those of the management sciences.

Required courses

The one-year program features both academic and results-oriented curriculum. Students accepted into the DHSA program take the following half credit classes:

Fall Semester - Required Courses
HESA 4000 - Canadian Healthcare Delivery System
HESA 4004 - Healthcare Planning
HESA 4005 - Healthcare Financial Management
HLTH 4040 - Health Law for Non-Lawyers
HESA 4400 - Introduction to Healthcare Economics

Winter Semester - Required Courses
HESA 4001 - Management Roles and Competencies
HESA 4002 - Health Human Resource Management
HESA 4003 - Quality Management
HESA 4200 - Epidemiology for Managers

One three credit hour elective, as approved by the School, is also required. The elective may be taken in the fall, winter, or summer term. Dalhousie offers several distance education courses that may be of interest to DHSA students:

Careers and future study

The DHSA program prepares students for a career in health care at the managerial level. It meets the needs of those currently employed in the health-care sector in a managerial capacity, particularly:

administrators in small facilities
middle managers in medium or large facilities
employees in community health, long term care and more

The program is a great stepping stone to the Master of Health Administration program, which prepares students with the administrative skills and academic knowledge to assume leadership roles in either the private or public health-care sectors.

Admissions

Applicants to the DHSA must meet Dalhousie University's undergraduate admisson requirements, and require university preparation (you may not apply from high school).

Academic Calendar 2023/2024

Application deadlines:

Application March 1^st for September admission
November 15 for January start

Application details

A complete application consists of the following documents:

A completed application form and fee
An official transcript of the record of academic work done
Mature students should include a letter indicating activities since leaving high school and reasons for expecting to successfully complete the DHSA if admitted
One letter of reference (academic or professional)
Resume/curriculum vitae
English Language Proficiency for International Students.