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An alumnus: Pursue your Doctor of Strategic Leadership DSL degree at Regent University.

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL)

America’s First Online 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 can become grounded in theory and practical components essential to organizational success. Customize your program with DSL concentrations and be mentored by seasoned business professionals through the Executive Mentor Program. There are no GMAT/GRE requirements. Regent has been ranked among top national universities by the U.S. News & World Report, 2023, and has also been ranked as a Top 10 Military Friendly® School by Military Friendly®, 2023-24. Experience the difference.

Online w/ Residency
51
May 6, 2024

Careers | Concentrations | Courses | Admissions | Tuition

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.

BE MENTORED DURING THE DSL PROGRAM

Gain a mentor through the School of Business & Leadership Executive Mentor Program. Receive insights into your career’s growth trajectory, networking skills, and professional development.

JOIN REGENT’S DOCTOR OF STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP LEGACY

Regent launched the first online Doctor of Strategic Leadership, in 2001. Experience a transformative doctorate program. Our award-winning faculty can bring out your inner leader, from performing expert analyses to mentoring teams through change.

Explore Doctoral Projects Now

Please complete the Request Information form on this page to learn more about this program.

After completing our Doctor of Strategic Leadership Program, you can:

  • 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
$129Thousand
Approximate Mean Annual Wage for Top Executives, 2022 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Ecclesial Leadership

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.

Entrepreneurial Leaders

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.

Global Consulting

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.

Healthcare Leadership

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.

Human Resource Development

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.

Individualized

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.

Leadership Coaching

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.

Servant Leadership

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.

Strategic Foresight

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.

Strategic Leadership

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.

Provides the knowledge, resources, and essential skills needed for success at the graduate level. Topics include academic writing, online learning, information literacy, and advising and support services for Business/Leadership students.
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.
The role of organizational values and ethics and the impact of Judeo-Christian faith principles on leadership formation around the globe.
Reading and understanding the sacred texts of the Bible, foundational methodologies of applied biblical exegesis, and the use of simplified socio-rhetorical criticism.
Strategic leadership as it explores the insights and tools of followers in effective partnership with leaders. This course contains the first of two required residencies.
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. Perquisites: LDSL 710, 718, 720, 722, 728, and 732.
An overview of leadership and communication theory to enhance leadership and communication application and scholarship.
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 all DSL core courses.
DSL project work. Prerequisites: Successful completion of all DSL core courses.

2023-24 Semester Check-In Deadlines

All students are expected to check-in for the semester two weeks before 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.

SessionSemester Check-InSession Start Date
Session AFriday, August 11Monday, August 21
Session MFriday, September 8Monday, September 18
Session BFriday, October 13Monday, October 23
Session CThursday, January 4Monday, January 8
Session TFriday, January 26Monday, February 5
Session DFriday, March 1Monday, March 11
Session EFriday, April 26Monday, May 6
Session FFriday, June 7Monday, June 17

Admissions Requirements

Step 1: Apply to Regent University

Submit your application using the Regent University Online Application.

Note: If you are unable to complete our application due to a disability, please contact our Admissions Office at 757.352.4990 or admissions@regent.edu and an admissions representative will provide reasonable accommodations to assist you in completing the application.

Step 2: Submit Your Unofficial Transcripts

Submit your unofficial transcripts to regent.edu/items.

Upon submitting your application, you will receive an email requesting authorization for Regent University to obtain your official transcripts from your U.S. degree-granting institution. International transcripts must be evaluated by a NACES, AACRAO or NAFSA approved agency.

Step 3: Submit Your Government-Issued ID

To ensure academic integrity, Regent University requires a copy of a government-issued ID. Please submit a scanned copy or photograph of it to regent.edu/items.


Please feel free to contact the Office of Admissions at 757.352.4990 or admissions@regent.edu should you have any further questions about the application process.

Note: All items submitted as part of the application process become the property of Regent University and cannot be returned.

Part-Time Students

DegreeTuition Cost Per Credit HourAverage Credit Hours Per SemesterAverage Tuition Per Semester
Master of Arts (MA) / Master of Science (MS)$6956$4,170
Master of Business Administration (MBA)$6956$4,170
Doctor in Business Administration (DBA)$1,0203$3,060
Doctor of Philosophy in Business (PhD)$1,0203$3,060
Doctor of Philosophy in Organizational Leadership (PhD)$1,0203$3,060
Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL)$1,0203$3,060

Full-Time Students

DegreeTuition Cost Per Credit HourAverage Credit Hours Per SemesterAverage Tuition Per Semester
Master of Arts (MA) / Master of Science (MS)$6959$6,255
Master of Business Administration (MBA)$6959$6,255
Doctor in Business Administration (DBA)$1,0206$6,120
Doctor of Philosophy in Business (PhD)$1,0206$6,120
Doctor of Philosophy in Organizational Leadership (PhD)$1,0206$6,120
Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL)$1,0206$6,120

Student Fees Per Semester

University Services Fee (On-Campus Students)$850 (Fall & Spring)
$700 (Summer)
University Services Fee (Online Students)$700

Military Admissions & Aid » | Cost of Attendance »

PART-TIME STUDENTS

DegreeTuition Cost Per Credit HourAverage Credit Hours Per SemesterAverage Tuition Per Semester
Master of Arts (MA) / Master of Science (MS)$6956$4,170
Master of Business Administration (MBA)$6956$4,170
Doctor of Philosophy in Organizational Leadership (PhD)$1,0203$3,060
Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL)$1,0203$3,060

Full-Time Students

DegreeTuition Cost Per Credit HourAverage Credit Hours Per SemesterAverage Tuition Per Semester
Master of Arts (MA) / Master of Science (MS)$6959$6,255
Master of Business Administration (MBA)$6959$6,255
Doctor of Philosophy in Organizational Leadership (PhD)$1,0206$6,120
Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL)$1,0206$6,120

Student Fees Per Semester

University Services Fee (On-Campus Students)$800 (Fall & Spring)
$650 (Summer)
University Services Fee (Online Students)$650

Military Admissions & Aid » | Cost of Attendance »

*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 online residencies and a variety of interactive discussion modes that extend beyond topical course discourse.

The Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) program in the School of Business & Leadership includes two required residencies, held virtually. The first residency covers program orientation and guidelines, the library use course (UNIV LIB Information Research & Resources) as well as 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 the Final Project.

“A dean from another university knew the journey of my life was in the intersection between ministry and the marketplace. He said to me, ‘You need Regent University’s Doctor of Strategic Leadership program.’ And how right he was.”

Chris Holdorf, Doctor of Strategic Leadership, 2019 Executive Director, Global Water Center; Adjunct Professor, Charleston Southern University; Former CEO, National Christian Foundation

“To the Big Four firm who insisted I'd need to drop out of my Regent doctoral program: I decided not to drop out. I completed my program (4.0 GPA), started my own firm and added multimillion-dollar organizations to my portfolio.”

Marissa Layton, Doctor of Strategic Leadership, 2020 Business Coach

“Regent has equipped me to live out loud on a deeper level, including the solid biblical teaching in every class as preparation for how to apply God’s word to any circumstance or work situation.”

Keshia Brown, Doctor of Strategic Leadership, 2020 Physician Assistant, Jordon & Associates OB/GYN; Entrepreneur

“"Two common obstacles preventing people from reaching their dreams are fear and listening to naysayers. Regent helped me develop my calling and credentials so that I can help people move past both to achieve a positive life change."”

Janice Armstrong, Doctor of Strategic Leadership, 2012 CEO & Principal Leadership Trainer, LiHK Consulting

“I have had an extensive career of over 25 years in healthcare. This opportunity is a result of God’s favor and my recently obtained degree. I am very excited and grateful for the doors already opening as a result of my time at Regent.”

Lois Anderson, Doctor of Strategic Leadership, 2021 Organization Development Consultant, Capital Region Health, University of Maryland Medical System

“Four years, thousands of words read and written, two babies, one move, and countless moments in between ... and here I am, Dr. Alicia Granholm! I'm humbled and honored to wear this hood. And I can't think of a better time to be able to serve leaders well!”

Alicia Granholm, Doctor of Strategic Leadership, 2020 Founder & Consultant, Alicia Granholm Consulting