Master’s in Health Administration

GW's Master of Health Administration is for aspiring leaders with at least three years of clinical or administrative experience in the health care or health services industry. With the program's interactive design, students learn from each other's experience as much as they learn from faculty. The curriculum focuses on developing the leadership and ethical skills needed to create highly effective health care organizations, as well as core health care content areas such as quality improvement, decision science, quantitative methods and community health.

The MBA program in healthcare management combines business fundamentals with practical applications. Courses are held in the evenings to accommodate those with jobs and other obligations. Full-time students typically graduate in two years, including a summer session. Students who have completed relevant courses at other institutions may be able to waive some graduation requirements.

Union Graduate College's program consists of 17 courses, with core courses including health systems management and financial accounting. Advanced courses cover topics such as health informatics and legal issues, and electives include operations research and group practice administration. Many students complete internships, particularly those without professional experience.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham offers a master's in health administration with two options: a residential program for newly graduated students or career changers and an executive program for health care professionals with at least five years of working experience. The program employs the cohort model, so students progress through classes with the same small group of classmates, building a support network for school and after graduation. Students are also provided with summer internship opportunities and relevant part-time jobs.

At the end of their program, students will have the opportunity to enter a case study competition. Working in teams, participants will use what they've learned in a real-life case, and present their findings to a national panel of judges.

Through the School of Health Care Administration (HCA), students can earn their MS in healthcare administration with the option of specializing in healthcare leadership and entrepreneurship or in administration. The curriculum covers management concepts that prepares students for careers in higher executive leadership roles. No prior healthcare experience is required, as applicants can have an undergraduate degree in any discipline. Onsite courses are offered at OSU-Still water and OSU-Tulsa, as well as online and distance learning options. The degree requires 32-credit hours for completion and includes a creative thesis with six hours in general graduate level electives.

This nationally-ranked program is offered through the Hauptmann School of Public Affairs to prepare students to become leaders in the health care settings. Also offered online, this curriculum incorporates legal, financial, political and managerial aspects for fine-tuning advanced-level skills. The program is an associate member of Association of University Programs in Health Administration and is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Management Education. Courses are predominantly offered online, as well as on campus at the downtown Kansas City campus. There are 36 total credits required for degree completion.

In as little as 18 months, graduate students can earn their degree for master of healthcare administration to prepare them for roles in the ever-evolving and rapidly changing healthcare industry. With an emphasis on technology, management, finance, economics and policy, this curriculum requires 52 total credit hours and has flexible start dates. Courses include Organizational Development for Healthcare, Leadership in Health Care, Financial Management, Health Law, Health Policy, Human Resources for Health Care Managers and many more that will prepare them to excel in both the private and public sectors.

This master's degree program has a commitment to diversity and inclusion, and the curriculum includes training on inclusion in health care management and research. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill encourages team learning through collaboration on projects. The program uses a nontraditional grading format, with scores of "H" for High Pass, "P" for Pass and so on. As a result, students do not earn a traditional grade point average. The graduate healthcare administration program can be completed in as little as two years. Applicants can request transfer credit from another institution for up to 20 percent of program credits.

The MBA program with an emphasis on healthcare administration can potentially be completed in as little as one year, or in two years with a part-time schedule. Classes are held once per week, and are taught by professors who have experience in related fields. Students have the opportunity to gain hands-on business and entrepreneurial experience to provide both learning and networking opportunities.

Applicants with a major outside of business for their bachelor's degree may need additional accounting and finance courses. Students who earned a GPA of 3.25 or higher in their undergraduate studies do not have to take the GMAT to apply.

Students can earn the graduate Master of Healthcare Administration professional degree at the Los Angeles campus or online with an aim to gain employment in both public and private sectors within the healthcare industry. This degree program covers a diverse range of topics, including economics, law, medicine, statistics and public health as they relate to health services. The curriculum focuses on providing students with conceptual and analytics skills, as well as innovative solutions for real-world problems. The program includes an internship and capstone experience. The MHA degree consists of 72 quarter units, or 16 courses, for completion, including HS Healthcare System, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Public Health Research Methods and Quality Appraisal and Education.

Prospective leaders in health administration can explore various options from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. A 1-year executive program targets numerous aspects of leadership, including strategic planning, customer focus, measurement and analysis and operations. This condensed program includes on-campus residencies with an immersion session in the nation's capital analyzing how health policy is made.

Related studies include a master's degree in public health with a concentration in health policy and management. Courses expose students to challenges in managing and coordinating resources, access to care, cost containment, quality assurance and more. This program assists students in securing internships that are relevant to their chosen career paths.

For students interested in advancing their careers to hold senior management positions in the healthcare field, they can earn their MHA degree, with convenient online options of course completion. The engaging curriculum cover all legal, ethical, information system technology and business management skills needed to excel in the improvement and implementation of quality delivery of services. The degree requires 36 total hours for completion with 8-week long classes and weekly start dates. Students can work at their own pace. Courses include Health Services Management, Modern Organizations and Health Care, Marketing Management, Human Resources Strategies, Accounting and Managerial Economics.

Through the Management and Marketing Department, graduate students can earn their MS Health Services Administration degree to receive a quality theory and practice education for effective healthcare business management. The degree allows professionals to hold leadership roles in their industry by offering foundational emphasis in marketing, law, finance and technology topics. The degree requires 37 credits for completion and includes courses such as Issues in Leadership Studies, Healthcare Decision Making, Managerial Research and Design and High Performance Health Service Delivery. Graduates of this program will be prepared to deal with public health and patient care issues for both public and non-for-profit organizations.

The MHA in Health Systems Management prepares students for roles as consultants, analysts and other leadership roles for delivering and managing health services in both public and private sectors. The 46-credit-hour program incorporates a dynamic curriculum that covers IT management, economics, philosophy, management and business areas of study. Courses are offered primarily in the evening, with some weekend offerings and each student can complete the required coursework at their own pace. The curriculum included a Capstone Practicum at the end of the program for students to explore theoretical concepts and apply their management and administrative skills through this non-thesis project.

The master's program in health administration at the University of South Carolina at Columbia trains students to work in a variety of healthcare setting in the public and private sectors. Curriculum is focused heavily on management topics and also addresses accounting and finance, quantitative method, managerial epidemiology and health planning. Students choose several electives and complete a management residency as well.

Many students are connected with graduate assistantship positions while they attend the program. These positions involve 10-20 hours per week of work with a local healthcare organization and provide students with hands-on learning, networking opportunities and relevant work experience for their resumes.

While earning this degree, graduate students should learn how to effectively implement the most modern healthcare administration strategies to improve the overall quality of health services in a wide variety of settings. This degree is designed for professionals interested in advancing their careers to become chief officers, managers or directors.

Students can earn a general degree or specialize in an MHA specializations: General Health Administration, Health Care Informatics, Health Care Leadership, Health Care Operations.

The Fox School of Business has a master's degree program in health administration for working professionals. Applicants are expected to have at least seven years of relevant work and supervisory experience. Students in the program include mid-level health sector managers, physicians, nurse managers, consultants and other health care professionals.

Temple University's program consists of 33 credits that can be completed in 27 months with a part-time schedule, depending on a student's other obligations. Courses are designed to meet employers' needs, addressing business competencies such as implementation management and financial analysis, and organizational competencies such as team leadership and effective communication.

Candidates with or without healthcare or business experience can earn a specialized MBA from Saint Xavier University. The program covers both the theory and practical applications of health administration. The curriculum combines business studies with courses on the healthcare industry, for example, healthcare system organization, financing and managed care and legal and regulatory issues. Students also learn about accounting, economics, marketing, statistics, finance and operations and technology management. Those with an undergraduate degree in business may be able to skip the foundational coursework in some of these core subjects.

Through the Department of Health Services, students can earn their MS in Health Administration. This degree program focuses on population and status assessment, management and administrative techniques, information systems, policy, organizational development, legal principles and more that make them prime candidates for employment in various healthcare settings. The curriculum is designed for working professionals, with part-time study consisting of two courses, or six credits, per term, or full-time study consisting of three courses, or nine credits, per term. Students have the option of choosing a concentration of healthcare ethics, general, health informatics and organization development and leadership.

Two master's degree programs in healthcare administration are available from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Many courses are offered on Saturdays or in the evenings, to allow students to continue working as they earn their degree. The master's program was developed for professionals in health services who wish to follow a management path. In addition to learning core concepts of population health, human resources, finance and management, students also participate in field work experiences with hospitals, long-term care organizations and medical or ambulatory care centers. Students can opt for the generalist track or specialize with a concentration in public health informatics or health services and policy research.

The master's program in healthcare administration at Worcester State University accepts students throughout the year with rolling admissions. Students complete nine required core courses in topics such as organizational behavior, statistical methods and quality management. Two elective courses are also required. Students can choose from human resources management, economics of healthcare, epidemiology, politics and policies in healthcare and a seminar on current issues facing the field.

In their last semester, students take a 3-credit capstone class: either an internship in healthcare or a relevant research project. The program typically takes two years to complete, including two summer sessions.