Healthcare administration degree programs prepare individuals to develop, plan, and manage health care operations and services within the healthcare industry.
A health administration graduate degree will provide students with the highest leadership skills and tools necessary to navigate within health care facilities and health care systems such as as hospitals, nursing homes, and physicians offices.
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Healthcare Administration Graduate Programs combine administration and management skills with healthcare patient services.
Health administration or healthcare administration is the field relating to the leadership, management, and administration of public health systems, hospitals, health care systems, medical practices and residential facilities. Essentially it is the intersection of business and healthcare.
Also known as healthcare management, it involves the planning and coordinating of medical and health services, as well as day to day administrative duties ranging from budgeting to HR management. Health administrators seek to balance the twin goals of providing high quality patient care while maximizing an organization's efficiency and effectiveness.
Graduate programs tend to really fine-tune your analytical skills and may play a role in helping you to potentially move into leadership roles or pursue a new career.
A graduate degree in healthcare administration could help students gain strategic and organizational skills which are often needed to make executive decisions to impact patient care or even public health care policy. Students will develop a deeper understanding of the many aspects of healthcare management through a combination of business and health specific courses.
Employment of medical and health services managers is projected to grow 20 percent from 2016 to 2026, much faster than the average for all occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Also those with a masters in health administration degree and knowledge of healthcare IT systems are likely to have improved prospects.
The median annual wage for medical and health services managers was $98,350 in May 2017 (According to BLS.gov).
Healthcare Administration Graduate Programs are available at all levels – Masters, Doctorate and Certificates. While all may touch on important topics in healthcare management, the depth of study and requirements may vary.
Follow up with programs directly or read below to learn more about each healthcare administration degree.
Program | Degree | Focus |
Master in Healthcare Administration | M.H.A. | Health care intensive, Management & Leadership |
Master in Health Services Administration | M.H.S.A | Strong business focus and health administration |
Master of Business Education in Healthcare Administrations | M.B.A. | Business functional, health administration |
Master of Public Health | M.P.H. | Population Health, health policy |
Master of Public Administration | M.P.A. | Public sector, nonprofit management |
There is a full menu of health administration masters degree programs to choose from, and reports by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics actually indicate that masters degrees are both common and sometimes preferred by today’s employers.
With so many options, one ought to weigh options with professional goals in mind. And, make sure to take note of a program’s ‘required core’ courses to see if they line up with the things you hope to learn about.
A Master of Public Administration (MPA) with an Emphasis in Health Care Management degree offers a way to gain key insights into how to implement effective health care public policy and improve access to quality care.
Importantly, an MPA degree core topics tend to revolve around organization theory and human behavior. Students might also study intergovernmental relations and the public policy process.
A course in public budgeting and financial administration and research methods in public administration might also be central. Treated as a concentration, health administration option courses could overlap some with the MHA degree. See below for some general examples.
A comprehensive exam and final project might also be required.
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Health Care Administration, functions as a concentration within the MBA Program.
MBA in Healthcare Administration Programs seek to impart knowledge of management theory and pivotal elements of the health care profession. This program usually helps students achieve strong leadership and executive skills in all the functional areas of business. Allowing the student to then apply these theories to healthcare settings.
In this type of program, you might study subjects such as:
Then you may go on to more health specific topics assigned to your track.
It may be great for those looking for a more well-rounded business background, in addition to healthcare specific knowledge.
Additionally, these programs often also include a hands-on component through required internships and may conclude with a capstone or thesis paper.
Master of Science in Healthcare Administration Programs tend to cater to individuals working in the health care sector. For this reason, schools may require a certain level of experience for admission.
Coursework may be more heavily focused on the field of health and cover subjects like health policy, international and local health, health care information systems management and applied research techniques.
In addition to the above examples, schools may also offer the MHA degree, Master of Business Administration –Concentration in Health Care and Master of Science in Health Care Ethics programs. Key topics could include the following:
Participants in a MSHA program usually follow some set course guidelines onto which they might stack an area of emphasis such as health informatics or organizational leadership. A course in research methods for health services could help with an integrated capstone.
Although a Master of Public Health (MPH) and a Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) are two degrees that appear to be similar, they actually have some key differences. Both degrees focus on healthcare and may overlap in some core courses, but the majority of the curriculum required for each is distinct.
The MPH curriculum is usually based on a combination of science, sociology and organizational topics. Public health courses could include core courses in epidemiology, behavioral science, biostatistics, environmental health, sociology, healthcare administration, and other topics related to health and society.
Compared to the MPH degree, the MHA usually puts less emphasis on disease and more on the delivery of healthcare services. In fact, an MHA degree might share some common features with the MBA in Healthcare Administration. For instance, it might offer extra insight in areas such as finance, accounting, management, and marketing.
Browse all Master in Healthcare Administration Degrees to learn more.
Per O’Net, 12 percent of Health Managers have a Masters degree.
Doctorate Healthcare Management programs expands upon a student's knowledge and skills in the administration of health care. Often these are research intensive and may focus on health policy and quality improvement.
These health care administration degrees cater to future leaders of health care organizations by providing them with an approach that bridges theory and application. They could be ideal for those interested in pursuing opportunities as academics, leadership positions or interested in addressing issues in healthcare systems.
Doctorate in Healthcare Administration programs may award several different degree types, including the DHA, DBA and PhD in Healthcare Administration. Some of the listings that might interest you include Doctorate in Healthcare Management (DHA) and Leadership, Doctor of Business Administration - Health Care Administration (DBA) and Phd in Healthcare Administration programs.
While a DHA degree usually focuses and applies business, management and leadership skills exclusively to the health care domain, a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) may hone overall executive skills. In core courses, DBA students study business strategy and how to apply managerial decision-making skills to things like healthcare policy, information technology, marketing and economics. More focused courses in healthcare management could provide more exposure to policy development and implementation along with the following.
Research methods and academic writing courses usually help students with the presentation side of data synthesis. Through them, participants might explore solutions for real-world management challenges that could affect health care delivery systems and the continuum of health services.
Browse all Doctorate in Healthcare Management Programs to learn more.
A Graduate Certificate in Health Administration is a non-degree award which enables students to build skills and refresh a resume, without the same commitment as for a full grad degree.
The Certificate may be good for students who are not ready for a full health care administration degree program but might be interested in a specific discipline, such as a Graduate Certificate in Elder Care Management. These programs are often shorter with more focused curriculum.
They may be taken as an add-on to a degree program, or as a stand-alone non-degree option. If you are seeking to explore a specific subject area in depth or boost your credentials, this may be a good choice.
Browse all Graduate Certificates in Healthcare Administration.
Due to the breadth of the health administration field, graduate health care administration program curricula may vary. Although many programs will focus on specific areas of study, such as leadership, health informatics, health policy, the effective delivery of patient care, leadership strategies, and health program planning. You might even concentrate on a specific type of patient, like the elderly.
Some programs may even allow you to select a focus area or examine health care administration in a specific setting. These include hospitals, nursing homes and mental health facilities, to name a few.
Other health administration graduate programs may seek to provide a broader overview by covering advanced management theory, as well as medical terminology and health service management. According to BLS, Generalized health care management topics could draw from courses listed below, but please refer to the individual grad schools and their syllabus.
These are just a sample of possible courses. Read program descriptions carefully and review curricula to find a perfect match for you.
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Accreditation may be an important factor when choosing between healthcare administration graduate programs. This is one way to help assess the quality of a given school, as well quality of the education you could receive while earning your healthcare administration degree.
In addition to regionally accredited schools, be sure to look for health care administration programs accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME). CAHME is the only organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) to accredit graduate healthcare administration programs in the US and Canada.
Pursuing a healthcare degree from a CAHME accredited program could help ensure you can transfer their credits to other schools and pursue professional licensure and other credentials. However, it's always best to follow up directly to ensure all requirements are met.
Healthcare administration graduate programs may be offered in more than one learning format. This is to cater to a range of student needs and learning styles.
Healthcare administration schools essentially offer face-to-face interactions and hands-on learning in a traditional campus environment. This may be especially useful for developing interpersonal skills considered important in healthcare management. Students may also gain access to campus facilities such as libraries, career services, tutoring and labs.
Browse all Healthcare Management On-Campus Programs to learn more.
Online healthcare administration programs often suit busy working students who cannot commit to attending class on-campus but still want to earn their degree. Class work may be available anytime and anywhere with an internet connection. Plus, you could still interact with peers and professors through email, discussion boards and online chat.
If undecided, sometimes it helps to initiate a search, see what is offered, and request more information from the university or college.
Browse all Online Programs in Healthcare Management to learn more.
Begin your search for a perfect healthcare administration graduate program! Browse the listings below or use the filter to customize your search. Contact schools directly with an easy on page form.
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