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Pursue your Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) degree online at Regent University.

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL)

Promote Transformation Through Regent’s Doctor of Strategic Leadership Program

Become the servant leader you were called to be—elevating individuals, teams and systems to their God-given potential. Regent’s Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) degree emphasizes leadership, communication, structure, team building and cultural understanding from a Christian perspective. Through this terminal professional degree, you’ll become grounded in theory and practical components essential to organizational success.

Online w/ Residency
60
January 13, 2025

COVID-19 Update: Concerned about travel? Spring and Summer residencies will be held online for your well-being and convenience.

EXCEL IN ADMINISTRATION

Understand the intricacies of organizational assessment, organizational change and how to lead strategic initiatives.

BECOME A VISIONARY

Monitor and assess organizations’ skills to innovate learning environments that continually increase effectiveness and efficiency.

DEVELOP A SERVICE-FIRST APPROACH

Study the biblical foundations, perspectives, and examples of servant leadership with a focus on current application in a contemporary world.

Our award-winning faculty will bring out your inner leader, from performing expert analyses to mentoring teams through change.

EXPLORE DOCTORAL PROJECTS NOW

Regent University ranked #2 of Top 25 Accredited Online PhD & Doctoral Degree Programs | Learn.org, 2020

After completing our doctorate in leadership online, with a minimal on-campus residency in Virginia Beach, you will be able to:

  • Understand the intricacies of organizational assessment, organizational change and how to lead strategic initiatives.
  • Monitor and assess organizations’ skills to innovate learning environments that continually increase effectiveness and efficiency.
  • Understand how to move a product from idea through development to marketplace introduction and success.
  • Elevate individuals, teams and systems to their God-given potential.

Career Opportunities

  • Executive Leadership & Executive Coaching
  • University Faculty
  • Consulting
  • Nonprofits
  • Government Agencies
  • The Military
$127Thousand
Mean annual wage for top executives U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019

Explore the spiritual formation of the ecclesial leader and how you can develop as a leader in this important area of the Church through the Doctor of Strategic Leadership – Ecclesial Leadership program.

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Be equipped to transform systems and teams through the Doctor of Strategic Leadership – Entrepreneurial Leadership program. Learn to harness the power of innovation, market orientation, organizational culture and networking.

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Prepare to assist international organizations and build a successful consulting practice through the Doctor of Strategic Leadership – Global Consulting program. Develop key cross-cultural interpersonal consulting skills and competencies.

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Prepare to advance your career as an influencer of healthcare reform and accountability through the Doctor of Strategic Leadership – Healthcare Leadership program. Position your career for executive healthcare roles.

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Be equipped to meet today's organizational challenges and transform your workplace through the Doctor of Strategic Leadership – Human Resource Development program. Explore critical HR issues and trends, as well as models for developing your employees.

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Become the servant leader you were called to be—elevating individuals, teams and systems to their God-given potential. Choose courses that meet your unique professional goals through the Doctor of Strategic Leadership – Individualized program.

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Prepare for leading organizational coaching initiatives, developing leaders through executive-level coaching, and building your coaching practice through the Doctor of Strategic Leadership – Leadership Coaching program. Learn how to launch, market, and develop a coaching business.

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Examine the importance of a service-first approach in effective leadership and how to apply servant leadership skills authentically through the Doctor of Strategic Leadership - Servant Leadership program.

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Learn about the intricacies of organizational change and how to lead strategic initiatives through the Doctor of Strategic Leadership – Strategic Foresight program. Gain an insight into the practical components essential to organizational success.

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Be equipped to lead and transform organizations through the Doctor of Strategic Leadership – Strategic Leadership. This program emphasizes leadership, communication, structure, team building and cultural understanding from a Christian perspective.

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Relationships between organizational strategy and design/structure in contexts of culture, communication, technology, and leadership cultures.

Strategic leaders’ future orientation as they assess emerging changes in an organization’s external environment, market diversities, competitive complexities, resource changes, socio-political shifts, and across technological discontinuities.

Reading and understanding the sacred texts of the Bible, foundational methodologies of applied biblical exegesis, and the use of simplified socio-rhetorical criticism.

Leadership process and the communication involved, enhancing students’ skills and fostering more effective and authentic collaboration. Interweaves current scholarship and trends with historical perspectives on leadership.

Strategic leadership as it explores the insights and tools of followers in effective partnership with leaders.

The history of leadership theory and research to understand the pattern of exploration and the future path of the study of leadership.

The role of personal and organizational values on the development of ethics and codes of conduct in multiple cultures around the globe.

The intersection between faith and ethics, the formation of ethical frameworks, and how faith, informed by religious principles and teachings, instructs ethics.

Fundamental principles and practices of managing and developing human resources from a senior leadership perspective. Consideration from biblical and theological perspectives.

Understanding of global issues and the significance of global leadership competencies. Prerequisites: LDSL 720, 721, 722, 723, 724, and 725.

Effective decision-making, using data, analysis, and systematic reasoning to improve efficiency, risk-management, and profits.

Principles of consulting that undergird effective organizational change. Examines the knowledge base of the consulting profession focusing on the relationship between theory and practice.

The roles of creativity and innovation in organizations as components for building vibrant transformational entities.

Salient and essential aspects of leadership development emphasizing the importance of finding the balance between personal, professional, community, spiritual and family priorities.

DSL project work. Prerequisites: Successful completion of the integrative paper and formal approval of the DSL project topic.

DSL project work. Prerequisites: Successful completion of the integrative paper and formal approval of the DSL project topic.

2020-2021 Semester Check-In Deadlines:

All new students are expected to check-in for the semester 2 weeks prior to the session start date. Students should apply, be accepted, enroll in their first courses, and confirm a plan to pay for their courses prior to this date.

Session

Semester Check-In

Session Start Date

Session A

Friday, August 14

Monday, August 24

Session M

Friday, September 11

Monday, September 21

Session B

Friday, October 16

Monday, October 26

Session C

Tuesday, January 5

Monday, January 11

Session T

Friday, January 29

Monday, February 8

Session D

Friday, March 5

Monday, March 15

Session E

Friday, April 30

Monday, May 10

Session F

Friday, June 11

Monday, June 21

Doctoral Degree Requirements for Admission

When applying to the Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership or the Doctor of Strategic Leadership programs, the admissions committee, comprised of several faculty members, will use a rubric to independently evaluate and score each of the following criteria:

  • Academic achievement in bachelor’s and master’s programs
  • Writing quality
  • Alignment of personal goals to Ph.D. or DSL outcomes
  • Number of years in leadership positions
  • Leadership development and impact
  • Number of leadership positions held

Prerequisites:

Doctoral applicants must:

  • Hold a master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution or an equivalent degree from a foreign institution, as evaluated by a credential evaluating agency.
  • Submit all application materials such that they are received by the deadline for the semester to which they are applying. Once the application requirements have been fulfilled, an admissions interview may be requested. Interviews are by invitation only.

Admissions Process:

1. Complete Your Online Application

Submit your application using our Regent University Online Application.

Note: If you are unable to complete our application due to a disability, please contact our Admissions Office and an admissions representative will provide reasonable accommodations to assist you in completing the application.

2. Pay Your $50 Application Fee

Pay the $50 nonrefundable application fee by check or money order mailed to Regent University, Enrollment Support Services, 1000 Regent University Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23464.

3. Submit your Unofficial College Transcripts

We are able to examine and view your unofficial transcripts from U.S.-based schools, which indicate successful completion of bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, in order to review you for an admissions decision. Please submit your unofficial transcript to our Transcript Request team by email to apply@regent.edu using the subject line: SBL Doctoral Application Pieces.

Non-U.S. transcripts must be evaluated by an NACES-approved company. For further details, please review the International Admissions Checklist on the International Students Admissions page.

International Applicants: Please visit the International Students Admissions page for a more detailed explanation of the Regent University application information and to determine whether or not you qualify as an international student.

*Upon conditional acceptance to the program by review of unofficial transcripts, Regent University’s Admissions Office will attempt to obtain your official transcripts from your U.S. degree-granting institutions, which indicate successful completion of bachelor’s and master’s degree programs. We will notify you if your previous institutions will not release transcripts directly to us.

4. Complete Your Admissions Questionnaire

Please complete a brief admissions questionnaire based on your professional goals and interests. This should only take a few minutes to complete but please answer the questions completely and thoughtfully. This gives us a better opportunity to get to know you and align your objectives with our programs.

The admissions questionnaire can be found here. Once completed, our admission office will be able to upload this to your application file.

5. Government-Issued ID

To ensure academic integrity, Regent University requires a copy of a government-issued ID. Please email a scanned copy or photograph of it to apply@regent.edu with the subject line: Government ID.

2019-20 Tuition Rates

Degree Level / ProgramCost Per Credit Hour

Doctor of Strategic Leadership

$995 per credit (In-state & Out-of-state)


 

Student Fees Per Semester

Enrollment Deposit$250
University Services Fee (Online Students)$550
Residency

$375 per residency

Note: All students are responsible for their own lodging, travel arrangements and incidental expenses.

ENGL 500-01 Graduate Academic Writing Course$70
RU Library Course Fee$50 (one-time fee)

2020-21 Tuition Rates

Degree Level / ProgramCost Per Credit Hour

Doctor of Strategic Leadership

$995 per credit (In-state & Out-of-state)


 

Student Fees Per Semester

Enrollment Deposit$250
University Services Fee (Online Students)$600
Residency

$375 per residency

Note: All students are responsible for their own lodging, travel arrangements and incidental expenses.

ENGL 500-01 Graduate Academic Writing Course$70
RU Library Course Fee$50 (one-time fee)

*Rates are subject to change at any time.

TITLE IV LOANS:If students are receiving Title IV Federal Student Loans, they are permitted to enroll in the same course number a maximum of only two semesters. Therefore, doctoral students are encouraged to carefully plan the dissertation/final project stage of their program.

The School of Business & Leadership is committed to the historical foundations of the doctoral degree in which a community of scholars is created among faculty mentors and student scholars. Regent University mirrors this historical tradition by using student cohorts, intensive on-campus residencies and a variety of interactive discussion modes that extend beyond topical course discourse.

The Ph.D. and DSL programs in the School of Business & Leadership include two required residencies, each covering four days and held on the campus of Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The first residency covers program orientation and guidelines, the library use course (UNIV LIB Information Research & Resources) as well as in-class instruction for the first two courses of the core curriculum. The second residency focuses on class instruction for the courses to be taken in the semester as well as doctoral program requirements such as comprehensive exams, doctoral dissertation, DSL Integrative Paper and Final Project.

View upcoming residency dates, registration and lodging details.

“I am proud to further Regent University’s conviction of excellence in scholarship, passion for ministry, and devotion to the Word of God.”

Ben Gutierrez, Ph.D., 2004 Organizational Leadership

“My Regent education gave me a Christian perspective that helps me think outside the box and see how I can use my education to change the lives of many people.”

Roger Orozco, MBA, 2015 Strategic Business Analyst, Sumitomo Machinery Corporation of America

“I was particularly impressed with the highly organized online Ph.D. program. The faculty is second to none when it comes to their intelligence, teaching ability, compassion and their desire to work with students.”

Tom Norbutus, Ph.D., 2012 Human Resource Development

“The exposure and practical knowledge I developed from interacting daily with students and leaders from all over the world at Regent significantly enhanced my level of cultural intelligence and my ability to effectively navigate the global community.”

Sandra Upton, Doctor of Strategic Leadership, 2008

“It will be the principles of servant leadership that I largely learned at Regent that I'll carry with me. These principles defined me as a corporate leader, and I believe they will define my political leadership.”

Scott Rigell, MBA, 1990 Former U.S. Representative