The Master of Health Administration or Master of Healthcare Administration is a
master's-level professional degree granted to students who complete a
course of study in the knowledge and competencies needed for careers in
health administration, involving the management of hospitals and other health
services organizations, as well as public health infrastructure and
consulting. Programs can differ according to setting; although
practitioner-teacher model programs are typically found in colleges of medicine,
health professions, or allied health, classroom-based programs can be found in
colleges of business or public health. Accredited programs of study typically
require students to complete applied experiences as well as course work in
areas such as population health, healthcare economics, health policy,
organizational behavior, management of healthcare organizations, healthcare
marketing and communications, human resource management, information systems
management and assessment, operations assessment and improvement, governance,
leadership, statistical analysis and application, financial analysis and
management, and strategy formulation and implementation. The degree program is
designed to give graduates of health disciplines greater understanding of
management issues and prepare them for senior management roles, and is awarded
by many American, European, Australian, Indian and Sri Lankan universities. The
degree traditionally focuses on health administration at the local, state, and
federal level as well as in the nonprofit sector. This contrasts with
the general Master of Business Administration or the Master of Public
Administration degrees. General
MHA programs are intended to provide students with the essential knowledge
required for senior managerial and planning work in the health services and
systems sectors. The objectives of the program are to develop graduates who
are: competent general and financial managers, competent planners,
knowledgeable about public health and the structure, organization and
financing of health care systems, knowledgeable about society, law and
ethics, and competent in quantitative skills. "Health care is a labor
intensive industry, no doubt about it and it’s not likely to change in the
near future. Leadership of this human capital is uniquely challenging because
of the diversity of both the workforce and the customer base and because of the
life and death nature of our work." -Dr. RuthAnn Althaus
In most countries, applicants are required to hold, at minimum, a four
year undergraduate degree and have a minimum period of professional
experience in the health system. The curriculum, however, varies between
universities. United States
Although many colleges of business, public health, and/or health sciences in
the United States have degrees with health administration content, only a
minority have been accredited through the Commission on the Accreditation of
Healthcare Management Education, which is the only accreditor recognized by the
United States Department of Education for these programs. In the same way the
AACSB evaluates accreditation for MBA programs; CAHME accreditation requires
programs to meet a set of standards related to areas such as program
resources, faculty preparation, curriculum content, and post-graduation
career success, and also helps to ensure that the programs are well integrated
with the practice communities their graduates will work within.
Applicants to accredited programs are required to hold a four-year
undergraduate degree prior to enrolling. Some universities offer dual MBA/MHA
degrees with AACSB accreditation, or MBA/HOM degree programs, which may be
completed concurrently or sequentially. Some MHA programs do not require
professional experience prior to enrollment; however, most programs
require work experience, such as internships or fellowships, as part of
their graduation requirements. Some MHA programs use a blended lecture and
online format, allowing people to continue working while they pursue the
MHA degree. There are also a few universities, including many for-profit
universities, that offer Master of Healthcare Administration programs
completely online; however, these programs are not currently eligible for
CAHME accreditation because of concerns about the effectiveness of online
programs as an analog for developing interpersonal and team-based skills
which are more typically face-to-face in their use in post-graduation
professional roles. Most Master of Healthcare
Administration-equivalent graduate programs in the United States are
offered by schools of public health, business, allied health, or, less
frequently, by schools of medicine. Programs in schools of public health or
business tend to have a more 'traditional' structure; courses are
typically taught by academicians and have a focus on theory as well as
analysis. Programs housed in schools of allied health or medicine tend to have a
more applied focus, with more courses taught by practitioners and may also
offer more opportunities for students to gain practical work experience while
completing their studies. In the United States, the official academic honor
society for Master of Healthcare Administration graduates is Upsilon Phi
Delta. Australia
In Australia the Master of Health Administration may be divided in two
parts; the first part awards a graduate diploma of Health Service Management,
and, depending on the outcome, diplomates may be permitted to continue
to the second part which culminates in the Master of Healthcare Administration
degree. Course structures, and may be either research or coursework based. The
Master of Health Administration is considered the benchmark qualification
by the Australian College of Health Service Executives [1]. Unlike
elsewhere, the Master of Healthcare Administration is not intended primarily
for medical practitioners but is open to graduates of any discipline wishing to
pursue a career in health administration. Owing to the wide
variety of course nomenclature in Australia, some universities offer the
course as a Master of Business(Health Administration), abbreviated to
MBus(Hlth). See also
Upsilon Phi Delta American College of Healthcare
Executives Master of Public Health
Master of Business Administration Master of Public Administration
Doctor of Health Administration References
External links Commission on Accreditation of
Healthcare Management Education. - The Commission on Accreditation of
Healthcare Management Education has been granted formal recognition by the U.S.
Department of Education. CAHME is the only organization recognized to grant
accreditation to individual academic programs offering a professional
master's degree in healthcare management education in the United States and
Canada. The list of CAHME accredited programs can be found here: Accredited
Programs : By Name. The Association of University Programs
in Health Administration. - The Association of University Programs in
Health Administration is a not-for-profit association of
university-based educational programs, faculty, practitioners, and provider
organizations. Its members are dedicated to continuously improving the field of
healthcare management and practice. AUPHA's membership consists of the 160
best programs in healthcare management. Membership in AUPHA is tied to the
pursuit of program accreditation at the graduate level and undergraduate
certification at the bachelor's degree level. Thus, AUPHA can ensure that its
members represent the premier programs in the world.
Upsilon Phi Delta. - The national academic honor society for students in
healthcare administration. It is administered by the Association of
University Programs in Health Administration in the United States.
- U.S. News & World Report Health Services Administration Rankings. -
Rankings of the Nation's Best Graduate Schools in the discipline of Health
Services Administration according to U.S. News & World Report.