HSCI Course Descriptions
IMPORTANT NOTE: Course offerings are subject to change based on enrollment and other factors. Refer to UIndy’s online course search to verify that a course is offered in a specific semester:
- Select the Term in the drop-down menu
- Type "HSCI " in the Subject field and select "Health Science"
- Click "Search"
Credit Hours: 3
Term Offered: Fall
Duration: 8 weeks / 2nd half of the semester
This course is designed to help students improve their academic writing skills to meet graduate-level writing expectations. With a focus on genre, style, mechanics, and the process of writing, students will advance beyond undergraduate-level writing to deepen their understanding of the purpose of scholarly writing. Of specific focus will be strengthening students’ critical writing and revision skills necessary to construct papers that meet the rigors of graduate-level writing in the health sciences.
Credit Hours: 3
Term Offered: Fall
Duration: 8 weeks / 2nd half of the semester
The processes involved in andragogy, the teaching or information sharing for adults, is considerably different than the processes involved in pedagogy, the teaching or information sharing for children. The reasons for learning, the concepts and principles of adult learning, and the processes for adult learning have a significant impact on effective teaching and leadership.
NOTE: This course is only for students who matriculate in the Fall 2025 cohort or after.
Credit Hours: 3
Term Offered: Fall
Duration: 8 weeks / 1st half of the semester
This course integrates contemporary leadership theory with practical skill development, emphasizing inclusive leadership approaches for today's diverse organizational environments. Students will examine foundational and emerging leadership frameworks while developing their own authentic leadership plan through reflection and practical application.
Credit Hours: 3
Term Offered: Summer
Duration: 14 weeks
This course provides students an array of skills and competencies needed to work effectively in health care or higher education settings and organizations that are committed to evidence-based decision-making. Focus is placed on the steps of evidence-based practice including investigating complex social or clinical issues, searching and appraising the evidence for potential solutions/innovations, planning and implementing changes, evaluating the outcomes, and identifying additional gaps in knowledge. Students will learn to interpret evidence provided through research studies including qualitative and quantitative paradigms.
NOTE: This course is only for students who matriculated in the Fall 2024 cohort or earlier.
Credit Hours: 3
Term Offered: Winter
Duration: 8 weeks / 1st half of the semester
This course addresses multiple determinants of health including social, cultural, economic, and physical environments as well as personal behaviors and characteristics. Students will be introduced to models and theories of health behavior change at intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, community, and policy levels and apply theories to create interventions for health behavior change
Credit Hours: variable 1-3
Term Offered: Based on faculty availability
Duration: 16 weeks
An independent study provides the opportunity for students to be involved in a supervised yet independent learning activity to achieve self-determined goals. The goals articulated in the independent study should fit with the student’s overall degree plan. Students will be responsible for completing and submitting a portfolio that documents the experience. An application and instructor permission is required.
Credit Hours: 3
Term Offered: Fall
Duration: 8 weeks / 1st half of the semester
The history of higher education in the United States is examined with particular emphasis on preparation of professionals. Relationships between profession and liberal education will be developed through examination of contrasting processes such as regional and programmatic accreditation.
NOTE: This course is only for students who matriculated in the Fall 2025 cohort or later.
Credit Hours: 3
Term Offered: Winter
Duration: 8 weeks / 1st half of the semester
This course provides an in-depth exploration of teaching and learning theories, learning styles, and their application to designing, implementing, and evaluating educational experiences. Emphasizing best practices in both face-to-face and online course design, students will develop the skills necessary to create courses aligned with clear, measurable learning objectives. Participants will engage in the development and application of instructional methodologies that foster active learner engagement in diverse educational settings. Topics include instructional strategies, innovative methodologies, multimedia tools, educational apps and programs, and effective assessment of student learning. By the end of the course, students will demonstrate the ability to design transformative learning experiences for students, colleagues, and the broader community.
Credit Hours: variable 1-3
Terms Offered: All
Duration: 16 weeks
A teaching practicum provides the opportunity for students to be involved in a supervised teaching experience. Under the supervision of an on-site mentor and/or faculty advisor, students will engage in the development, implementation, and evaluation of curriculum. Students will be responsible for completing and submitting a portfolio that documents the experience. An application and instructor permission is required.
Credit Hours: 3
Term Offered: Fall
Duration: 8 weeks / 2nd half of the semester
This course will introduce students to the principles of program development and evaluation and its applications in a health context. Students will collect needs assessment data, determine strengths and weaknesses of various programs and services, create a program development and evaluation plan on health-related topic and make recommendations regarding program development and improvement.
Credit Hours: 3
Term Offered: Summer
Duration: 8 weeks / 1st half of the semester
This course presents key management models and concepts within the context of complex health organizations and systems. Students will gain an understanding of management theory, organizational culture and change, human resources, budgeting, and legal and ethical issues.
NOTE: This course is only for students who matriculated in the Fall 2024 cohort or earlier.
Credit Hours: 3
Term Offered: Fall
Duration: 16 weeks
In this course, students will develop a new systemic vision for health professional leadership in the face of increasing diversity, change, and complexity in organizations and institutions. Students will learn scholarly theories and practical tools to implement institutional changes and they will explore and discuss how issues of diversity, inclusion, and exclusion are reflected in diverse settings. In addition, students will be introduced to the social context and psychological processes that result in implicit bias, discrimination, and marginalization and will become more self-aware and culturally proficient. They will learn to use their leadership to inspire and shape models for change that removes systemic obstacles and facilitates growth and achievement.
NOTE: This course is only offered in Winter semesters for students who matriculated in the Fall 2024 cohort or earlier. For students who matriculate in Fall 2025 or after, this course will be offered in the Summer term.
Credit Hours: 3
Term Offered: Summer
Duration: 14 weeks
Students will apply the fundamentals of qualitative research to effectively design and implement qualitative research. Emphasis will be on data collection and coding strategies for analysis, ensuring appropriate rigor and trustworthiness for a variety of qualitative methodologies including grounded theory, ethnography, and phenomenology. Students will be given opportunities to apply course material to the development of a research proposal. Prerequisite: HSCI 536
NOTE: This course is only offered in Fall semesters for students who matriculated in the Fall 2024 cohort or earlier. For students who matriculate in Fall 2025 or after, this course will be offered in the Winter semester.
Credit Hours: 3
Term Offered: Winter
Duration: 16 weeks
Prerequisite: HSCI 536 - Foundations of Applied Research
This course is unique because it provides a platform for research application within the healthcare context. Faculty and students learn to work collaboratively across areas of interest. Students interactively explore research areas of interest and analyze data. This design emphasizes student understanding and application of research that forwards the scientific progression of evidence-based clinical practice and scholarship.
NOTE: This course is only for students who matriculated in the Fall 2024 cohort or earlier.
Credit Hours: 3
Term Offered: Winter
Duration: 16 weeks
Principles of standardized assessment and survey development across health care professions will be explored in this course. Psychometric properties related to various approaches for reliability, responsiveness, and validity will be examined and applied to actual data. Students will critically appraise existing evidence to support best practice selection, application, and interpretation of assessments for integration into clinical/community practice and research. We will examine survey development processes and apply knowledge by identifying the constructs of pre-established surveys, creating an original survey, and applying statistics to surveys.
Credit Hours: 3
Term Offered: Fall
Duration: 16 weeks
Prerequisites: HSCI 536 - Foundations of Applied Research
HSCI 636 - Qualitative Research Methods & Analysis
HSCI 637 - Statistics for Health Sciences
The course builds on a basic understanding of the research process and focuses on applying research methodology learned in HSCI 536 Foundations of Applied Research. Synthesizing information to formulate a research proposal including an introduction, literature review, and method section relevant to an area of interest in the health sciences is emphasized. Creation of survey questions and data analysis will also be addressed.
Credit Hours: 3
Term Offered: Winter
Duration: 8 weeks / 2nd half of the semester
This course provides students with an in-depth understanding of interprofessionalism in education and practice. Students will gain an appreciation of working collaboratively with people from multiple professions/disciplines to optimize health for individuals and populations. Core competencies in interprofessional collaborative practice will be explored as students learn with, from, and about each other to improve collaboration and the quality of healthcare.
Credit Hours: 3
Terms Offered: Fall & Winter
Duration: 16 weeks
Prerequisite: HSCI 640 - Research Skills Development
Students identify a topic of interest for their dissertation in the Doctor of Health Science Program. This course requires students to critically appraise and synthesize research in an area of interest to support the development of a sound research design and methodology for their dissertation. Students must pass this course by satisfactorily developing a written research proposal, including an introduction, literature review, and method section and presenting the proposal to the instructor(s) and dissertation committee members.
Credit Hours: 6
Terms Offered: All
Duration: 14 weeks in Summer / 16 weeks in Fall and Winter
Prerequisites: HSCI 798 - Dissertation Proposal Development
Permission from the DHSc Program Director
Students complete a dissertation, an original culminating project that integrates an area of focus and concepts studied within their degree plan. "Original work" is defined broadly to include a variety of scholarly activities, including, but not limited to, descriptive, exploratory, and experimental study designs.
Revised 01-2025