If you’re a clinician with a master’s degree, or already hold a clinical doctorate, you may be asking a familiar question: What’s next?
For many health care professionals, the answer is no longer limited to more patient care. Increasingly, clinicians are moving into health care education, academic leadership and faculty roles. And across disciplines, these roles are beginning to require something more: an academic doctorate. As accreditation standards evolve and expectations rise, universities need faculty who are not only experienced clinicians, but also trained educators, researchers and academic leaders.
Accreditation standards are raising expectations for faculty credentials
Across health professions, accrediting bodies are signaling a clear shift: doctoral preparation matters more than ever for faculty and academic leadership roles.
In nutrition and dietetics, the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) has introduced Advanced Practice Doctoral (APD) accreditation standards. While some leadership roles currently allow master’s-level preparation, future-facing standards aligned with 2027 expectations require doctoral-level training for program directors and academic leaders.
This isn’t hypothetical. It’s a directional shift already underway.
Physical therapy shows the future of health care education
Some professions are further along in this transition. Physical therapy offers a clear example of where health care academia is headed.
The Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) already requires that at least 50% of core faculty in Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs hold academic doctoral degrees, such as a PhD, EdD or DHSC. Program directors and core faculty are expected to meet doctoral standards or formally document exemptions.
In other words: if you want to teach, lead or advance in physical therapy education, an academic doctorate is often no longer optional; it’s expected.
Why academic doctorates are different from clinical doctorates
Faculty with academic doctoral training bring a different skill set to health care education:
- Stronger research literacy and evidence-based decision making
- Better instructional design and assessment skills
- Experience with program evaluation and accreditation demands
- Active scholarship: publishing, presenting and shaping the field
For students, this means stronger programs and deeper academic preparation. For institutions, it means faculty who can lead, mentor and adapt as educational standards continue to rise.
More health professions are reaching the same conclusion
Nutrition and physical therapy aren’t outliers.
Other disciplines, including physician assistant education are actively debating whether master’s-level preparation will be sufficient for the future. These conversations echo earlier transitions in nursing, pharmacy and physical therapy, where doctoral expansion followed increased clinical complexity, accountability and educational expectations.
The pattern is consistent: as professional and accreditation standards rise, faculty preparation rises with them.
How Pacific prepares health care educators and academic leaders
At University of the Pacific, the Doctor of Health Science (DHSc) and Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc) programs are designed specifically for clinicians who want to teach, lead and shape the future of health care education.
These programs emphasize:
- Applied research
- Educational leadership
- Scholarly writing and dissemination
- Practical preparation to succeed as faculty and academic leaders
Eighty-four percent of graduates publish in a peer-reviewed journal within six months of finishing the program. That level of productivity reflects both academic rigor and hands-on mentorship, not just theory.
“The DHSc program gave me exactly what I needed to pursue a tenured faculty position,” said Pacific graduate Michael Robinson, PT, DPT, DHSc, faculty at Howard University. “The interdisciplinary approach and focus on scholarship elevated my ability to contribute meaningfully to my field.”
Health care education is changing. Accreditation expectations are rising. And institutions need faculty who can teach, research, lead and evolve with the field.
For clinicians considering their next step —or current master’s students thinking long-term—an academic doctorate isn’t just another credential. It’s a distinct career path into higher education, leadership and lasting professional impact.
Pacific’s Pacific’s Doctor of Health Science (DHSc) and Doctor of Medical Science (DMSC) programs are built to help you step into that role with confidence and credibility, ready for what’s next.