Program Overview

Master of Health Services Administration Degree

The Master of Health Services Administration (MHSA) degree is a two-year, 60-credit hour residential program that focuses on the organization, financing, marketing, and management of health care systems. The program prepares students for leadership roles and careers in health care, including health systems, hospitals, clinics, emergency services, insurance, and consulting.

Program Curriculum

The curriculum is designed around a set of core competencies that define professional excellence in health management and policy. The competency base defines professional skills that students are expected to have when they leave the program. The competencies are found in the HMP Competency Model, which is updated periodically and is based on research, the knowledge base for these fields, and ongoing feedback from professionals in the field.

MHSA Coursework

HMP students receive competency-based training in health management and health policy. The degree options are similar in terms of their curricula and the knowledge, skills, and competencies that students master. The curriculum includes:

• Health Services Systems
• Policy frameworks
• Political institutions
• The policy-making process
• Policy analysis
• Key issues in public health and health care policy
• Healthcare Financial Accounting
• Economics of Healthcare
• Cost-Effectiveness/Cost Benefit Analysis
• Organizational Theory and Management
• Legal Aspects of Healthcare and Public Health
• Quantitative Methods
• Professional Development

Internships

All HMP masters students are required to do a 1012 week internship between the first and second years of study. Students obtain placements in organizations and institutions based on their career interests and are given assignments and projects of significant responsibility under the guidance and mentorship of a preceptor.

Admissions Information and Prerequisites

The department invites applications to the MHSA program from prospective students who hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university. The faculty selection committee places greater emphasis on overall sound scholarship and promise of development than on the precise focus of the baccalaureate degree.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is available to qualified students in a variety of forms from the university, the School of Public Health, and the Department of Health Management and Policy. HMP scholarships are awarded on the basis of outstanding academic merit.

Program Details

• The program is 2 years long and requires 60 credit hours.
• A 10-12 week internship is required between the first and second years of study.
• The program includes a culminating Integrated Learning Experience (ILE) where student teams tackle a real-life client consulting engagement.
• Financial aid is available, with over 40 percent of admitted students receiving a departmental scholarship.
• The program is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).