Academics

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Schedule

Students can pursue their MHA full-time or part-time.

Our full-time MHA has slightly more class time and class options and can be completed in two years. The full-time program is only available when there is enough student interest. Please reach out to an admissions specialist for more information.

Our part-time MHA programs are designed to be flexible and career-friendly. All required classes are offered in the evening and online so students can maintain full-time jobs. Most students graduate in two to three years.

Our yearly cohorts start in the fall (August).

Program Formats

Classes are offered in person and online. Our MHA program is cohort-based so students can create strong relationships with their classmates.

Students must select a program format for their studies:

Full-Time MHA

  • 48 credits
  • Day & evening class schedule
  • Classes offered primarily in-person
  • Only available with sufficient student interest. Please reach out to an admissions specialist for more information.

Professional MHA

  • 43.5 credits
  • Evening class schedule
  • Classes offered in-person, online, or both

MHA Online

  • 43.5 credits
  • Classes offered online
  • Only available through UOnline.

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Curriculum

We work closely with our accrediting body, local healthcare leaders, and alumni to review our curriculum regularly to identify holes, adapt to new trends and needs, and ensure our students are graduating with the knowledge and skills employers are looking for.

Most MHA programs are housed within the Colleges of Health and Public Policy. Being housed in the Business School means our coursework is geared towards management and practical skills, setting our students up for success.

Core Courses

Course Number: MGT 6540
Credits: 1.5

The purpose of this course is to help students understand the ethical problems that confront managers and to approach their role as leaders with a sense of purpose and vision. The course explores students’ own ethical orientations, the values of practicing managers, and alternative approaches to ethical problems. Representative topics include making choices about influencing and obeying the law, profits versus other values, the relationship between the interests of individuals and groups, how corporate policies affect the ethical choices of individuals, and criteria for making ethical decisions. The course follows a practical and effective model for analyzing ethical dilemmas in the work place in order to reach optimal decisions.

Course Number: MHA 6900
Credits: 3

As a group, students will work with a local health care organization to solve a real-world health care problem using the knowledge they have gained during their time in the program. Under supervision, students will independently survey a management problem, propose a solution, and help implement improvements.

Course Number: MHA 6540
Credits: 3

This course is designed to expose students to the field of managerial finance and accounting in healthcare organizations. It is intended to demonstrate the essential integration of accounting and finance by teaching the fundamentals of both accounting and financial management principles with emphasis on the current financial environment in which healthcare providers operate. The course covers the purpose and methods of financial environment in which healthcare providers operate. the course covers the purpose and methods of financial accounting (including for-profit, not-for-profit and governmental), and special industry characteristics affecting financial management (third-party payers, price or rate-setting, cost shifting, taxation, incentives, contractual adjustments). This course lays the foundation in financial knowledge necessary for more advanced courses in Healthcare Financial Management.

Course Number: MHA 6530
Credits: 3

The objective of this course is to present management theory and demonstrate its applicability to a wide variety of Healthcare Organizations. Management functions, concepts, and principles are examined, along with a foundation of managerial roles, skills, and competencies required for this new era of healthcare. Topics include: Practical methods for managing effectively in the today’s healthcare environment including decision making, strategic planning, competitive positioning, quality and productivity goals, controlling/allocating resources, managing human resources, and change. Focus is on managing the complex relationships that exist both within the healthcare organization, and between the healthcare organization and the external environment.

Course Number: MHA 6190
Credits: 3

This course introduces MHA students to healthcare economics and health policy in the United States. The course introduces basic healthcare economic principles and utilizes these perspectives to understand current and proposed healthcare policy. Students will learn the economic perspectives to the debates in the finance and delivery of medical care in the U.S., along with the potential impact of national reform of the health care system.

Course Number: MHA 6802
Credits: 3

This survey course is an application of financial management techniques to decision making in healthcare organizations. Students are exposed to the financial structure of healthcare organizations and the evolving environment within which they operate. Topics include financial accounting and reporting requirements, cost and managerial accounting, private and public their-party payment, accounts receivable management, revenue cycle management, capital and operational budgeting, and resource allocation. Financial Management techniques used by healthcare organizations in budget preparation, investment alternatives, financial forecasting, and capital structures are presented.

Course Number: ​MHA 6850
Credits: 1.5

In depth exploration of current topics of special interest in healthcare administration. Topics may vary each semester.

Course Number: MHA 6803
Credits: 3

This course focuses on strategic management and leadership issues encountered at various levels within healthcare organizations. An important objective of this course is to help students reinforce and gain further competence in the areas of problem solving and strategic thinking, leadership, relationship management, and communications. Critically, this course will also deeply explore ethical bases for this decision-making. These competencies will be engaged through interactive in-class discussion, analyses of cases, review of current literature, and preparation and presentation of an in-depth end-of-semester paper based on research and personal reflection.

Course Number: OSC 6060
Credits: 1.5

Operations Management involves designing, operating, and improving the processes whereby any firm (such as a hospital) transforms raw materials (e.g., sick patients) into finished goods (e.g., cured patients). A key role of Operations is to manage the flow of work through these process steps, with the goal of closely matching supply with demand while enhancing quality and minimizing cost; Thus we develop a framework for analyzing business process flows.

Course Number: ​MHA 6610
Credits: 1.5

Quality improvement efforts in healthcare must always focus on patient safety. This course introduces students to the infrastructure that underlies successful improvement efforts, such as culture change, data systems, payment methods, and management roles.

Course Number: MHA 6850
Credits: 1.5

In depth exploration of current topics of special interest in population health. Topics may vary each semester.

Course Number: MHA 6804
Credits: 1.5

The concept for this course is to give students the opportunity to delve into some of the most vexing aspects of leadership. The objective of the course is to help students understand the importance of critical thinking, communication skills, and decision-making skills required of successful leaders in healthcare. Real-life management situations and leadership development skills shared by resident faculty will facilitate learning around prominent healthcare management topics. The course begins with problem solving and ends with healthcare reform and future trends. A set of sessions on transformational leadership: principles and practice, gives students a glimpse at some leadership challenges they may face in their careers. Positioned in the last year of the MHA program the course gives students an opportunity to start to transition from student to professional. This semester uses cases based on actual problems and issues and gives students the chance to explore possible solutions while still in the “safety” of the classroom. The goals of this course is to both add to students’ fund of knowledge about healthcare administration and to engage students in critical thinking about issues facing healthcare administrators. Students should be in the spring semester of their last year of the MHA program.

Course Number: ​MHA 6600
Credits: 3

Quality improvement is the science of process management. The concept of processes provides a compelling overarching structure for any human activity that creates or adds value. The first person to describe a process management system in a systematic way was Dr. W. Edwards Deming. He initially introduced his ideas and methods in manufacturing. They transformed manufacturing worldwide, generating the maxim “Do Deming or die” across many different industries. They also underlie all current approaches to quality in health care delivery (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma, ISO-9000, Baldridge) and form the foundation of a new clinical discipline called Care Delivery Science.

Full-Time MHA Additional Core Courses

Course Number: ​MHA 6001
Credits: 1

Apply and refine the concepts introduced in MHA 6000 through class sessions, workshops, industry panels and speaker events. Career workshops will cover advanced internship search strategies and techniques, power of presence and effective body language, personal branding, professional etiquette, networking and salary negotiations. Presentations and interactive discussions will include current events in health administration, so as to prepare students for interview, internship and fellowship interaction. Students will participate in the MHA Career Seminar Series, which includes presentations and interactive Q&A sessions with professionals representing a spectrum of health administration industry trends.

Course Number: ​MHA 6000
Credits: 1

This course is designed to provide career management information, tools and techniques specifically focused on healthcare administration, to prepare you for successful career management during and after your MHA program. Through the activities and assignments in this course, you will sharpen your career strategy as well as continue to expand your professional network to result in an effective and successful job search. An important objective of this course is to help students reinforce and gain further competencies in the areas of leadership, relationship management and communications. These competencies will be the areas of leadership, relationship management and communications. The competencies will be engaged through interactive in class-discussions with guest speakers and panels; required interaction with external mentors, and informational interviews; review of current industry related articles and publication.

Course Number: MHA 6805
Credits: 1.5

This course provides an opportunity to review and integrate major components of the MHA program. The specific format may vary between sections; however, the typical format is a field study in which a team of MHA students consults with the local healthcare organization on a significant issue facing that organization.

Course Number: MHA 6800
Credits: 1

This course is a cohort course for students in the MHA program. It is intended to add to students’ understanding of healthcare administration by engaging students in critical thinking about issues facing healthcare administrators. The course begins with an overview of the historical development of medicine and the hospital industry. It then focuses on practical management strategies for working with healthcare professionals, including span of control, hospital governance, leadership and emotional intelligence, dealing with licensure and disciplinary issues, and implementing and sustaining team care. Emphasis is on delivering high quality healthcare efficiently. The course is team taught and practicing healthcare administrators are included as visiting faculty.

Professional MHA Additional Core Course

Course Number: ​MHA 6210
Credits: 1.5

This course is part of the core curriculum for the MHA Program. It is intended to provide a specific level of learning with regard to a subset of the MHA Program Competencies and how they may be related to those in the healthcare environment. Students will learn the basics of Human Resource Management and reinforce fundamental principles of management and problem-solving. Strategic and analytical thinking and leadership are emphasized throughout the course. In addition, assignments require students to demonstrate both written and oral communication skills.

Professional MHA Foundational Courses

Foundational courses are required, but may be substituted with demonstrated competency.

Course Number: ​OIS 6040
Credits: 1.5

This course will develop decision making abilities with data-analysis and decision models. Applications will be in the business functional areas. Students will use computers to solve business problems. Course topics will include advanced statistical analysis, regression models, decision analysis basics, and portfolio management.

Course Number: ​ACCTG 6000
Credits: 3

Provides an introductory understanding of the basic concepts of financial accounting, including the format and content of the primary financial statements included in corporate annual reports. The course will cover the fundamental accounting procedures used to record, analyze, summarize, and report economic transactions involving major categories of assets, liabilities, equity, revenues and expenses. The overarching course objective is to create educated users of financial accounting information.
Semester Credit Hours

MHA Online Additional Core Courses

Course Number: ​OIS 6040
Credits: 1.5

This course will develop decision making abilities with data-analysis and decision models. Applications will be in the business functional areas. Students will use computers to solve business problems. Course topics will include advanced statistical analysis, regression models, decision analysis basics, and portfolio management.

Course Number: ​MHA 6560
Credits: 1.5

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the legal issues they are likely to face in managing a healthcare organization. With the increasing intersection between health care delivery and law, health care executives will encounter a wide range of legal and regulatory issues, including patients’ rights, antitrust, institutional liability, and employee relations. This course is designed to provide students with the practical knowledge to identify legal issues and to understand the legal and ethical ramification of strategic decisions. The course covers key areas of law relevant to healthcare including contract law, tort law, constitutional law, administrative law, and human resources law and regulation of health professionals. Course content includes the litigation system and alternatives to litigation for resolving disputes.

Course Number: ​MHA 6850
Credits: 1.5

In depth exploration of current topics of special interest in healthcare analytics. Topics may vary each semester.

Course Number: ​MHA 6210
Credits: 1.5

This course is part of the core curriculum for the MHA Program. It is intended to provide a specific level of learning with regard to a subset of the MHA Program Competencies and how they may be related to those in the healthcare environment. Students will learn the basics of Human Resource Management and reinforce fundamental principles of management and problem-solving. Strategic and analytical thinking and leadership are emphasized throughout the course. In addition, assignments require students to demonstrate both written and oral communication skills.

Course Number: ​MHA 6550
Credits: 1.5

Designed to introduce students to the unique nature of marketing in the healthcare sector. Marketing theory and methods are applied to health services, programs and medical practice. Special needs and difficult challenges in healthcare marketing are discussed and the needs and perspectives of the multiple stakeholders involved in healthcare are considered. Issues relevant to effective program design, distribution, pricing and promotion are studied with emphasis on marketing research and its role in improving these activities. Considers emerging trends in healthcare. Uses case studies and group projects.

Credits: 1.5

Course Number: ​MHA 6800
Credits: 1.5

This course is a cohort course for students in the MHA program. It is intended to add to students’ understanding of healthcare administration by engaging students in critical thinking about issues facing healthcare administrators. The course begins with an overview of the historical development of medicine and the hospital industry. It then focuses on practical management strategies for working with healthcare professionals, including span of control, hospital governance, leadership and emotional intelligence, dealing with licensure and disciplinary issues, and implementing and sustaining team care. Emphasis is on delivering high quality healthcare efficiently. The course is team taught and practicing healthcare administrators are included as visiting faculty.

Course Number: ​MHA 6050
Credits: 1.5

In creating the patient value equation, it is essential for health services providers, policymakers, and administrators to understand regulatory and legal aspects, as well as potential technical and cultural barriers that might emerge when providing telehealth services. To face current and future challenges, it is essential for health professionals to learn from successful –and not so much- implementation of telehealth programs and services in the real world. The MHA program has put together a multi-professional team to provide a comprehensive approach in telehealth education that includes a wide perspective that covers legal, ethical, service delivery, and financial aspects of telehealth services.

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Specialization Opportunities

Specialization opportunities can help students advance their career with niche knowledge and skills.

Areas of Emphasis

Students can specialize their education by selecting elective credits within an area of emphasis. This tailored approach has proven to be a valuable asset for many graduates seeking to set themselves apart and specialize in a specific area of health care.

Advance in healthcare analytics with a quantitative-focused emphasis, best suited for students with a background in statistics and data analysis.

Required Courses:

  • Foundations of Healthcare Informatics (1.5)
  • Healthcare Analytics (1.5)
  • Healthcare Business Intelligence I (1.5)
  • Healthcare Business Intelligence II (1.5)
  • Approved Eccles School Electives (10.5)

Elective Courses:

  • Telehealth Modalities (1.5)
  • Data Visualization (1.5)
  • Analytical Decision Models (1.5)
  • Project Management (3)

Gain practical experience required for leadership. Ideal for students new to healthcare, earning a promotion, or pursuing post-graduate fellowship.

Required Courses:

  • Healthcare Law I (1.5)
  • Collaborative Alliances (1.5)
  • Human Resources for Healthcare (1.5)
  • Marketing for Health Professionals (3)
  • Approved Eccles School Electives (9)

Elective Courses:

  • Managerial Negotiation (3)
  • Non-Profit Consulting (3)
  • Project Management (3)

Develop long-term healthcare management in this collaboration between the MHA and the Gerontology Program from the College of Nursing.

Required Courses:

  • Introduction to Aging (3)
  • Service Agencies and Programs for Older Adults (3)
  • Foundations of Careers in Long Term Care (3)
  • Physiology and Psychology of Aging (3)
  • Gerontology Practicum (3)
  • Approved Eccles School Electives (1.5)

Dual Degrees

A dual degree offers a unique, integrated curriculum that combines two degrees into a single academic pathway. This is one of the most efficient ways to significantly specialize your education and improve your career prospects.

This full-time option prepares students for administrative positions in hospitals, large clinics, extended care facilities, and clinical and reference laboratories, as well as for positions in healthcare consulting and with vendors, such as those providing information technology to healthcare organizations.

  • 84.5-86 credits
  • Full-time
  • Daytime class availability

Schedule:

Students begin the 3-year long program in Fall Semester and begin by taking the MBA core curriculum along with other first-year MBA students. During Spring Semester, students take the remainder of the MBA core courses as well as electives, which may include classes that satisfy MHA requirements. During the remaining semesters, students can take a mix of MBA and MHA courses according to their preference.

This option prepares early- and mid-careerists for positions as program managers and health-services researchers in state and local health departments, public health advocacy groups, and healthcare delivery organizations, such as the Veterans’ Administration Healthcare System and military healthcare facilities.

  • 66.5-68 credits
  • Full-time or part-time
  • Daytime class availability

Schedule: 

Students wishing to pursue this dual degree may begin the MPH or MHA programs in either the fall or spring. Many students apply for the MHA program after one semester in the MPH program. With the flexibility to attend full- or part-time, students can take 3-6 years to complete both degrees.

Designed to accommodate the schedules of working professionals, this part-time option prepares mid-careerists for administrative positions in hospitals, large clinics, extended-care facilities, clinical and reference laboratories, as well as for positions in healthcare consulting.

  • 78-81 credits
  • Part-time
  • Evening (PMBA) / Day or evening (MHA) class availability

Schedule:

Students typically begin with the Fall PMBA cohort and are expected to take courses during Summer Semesters. Current students may apply to the MHA after completing one semester in the PMBA program. Students complete a full year of the PMBA program before taking MHA courses in their second year. This program can be completed in 3-4 years

Concurrent Degree

An MHA can be completed concurrently with another graduate degree for a robust, multifaceted education.

The Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) and Master of Science in Finance (MSF) concurrent degree program prepares healthcare administrative careerists for positions in the healthcare industry’s finance sector. Program graduates work in various positions, including but not limited to financial management, revenue cycle management, managed care, as well as financial and data analytics.

Credit Hour Breakdown

  • MSF Credits: 30
  • MHA Credits: 34.5
  • Total credits: 64.5

Completion Time:

  • Full-time students can complete the program in 6 semesters.
  • Part-time students can complete the program in 10 semesters.

Learn More About MSF

Graduate Certificates

MHA students can pair their degree with a graduate certificate to diversify their skill set.

The future of health care is data-driven. Skills in business analytics will position you to make better decisions, optimize operations, and improve patient outcomes. This innovative approach can create opportunities for your community and your career.

How to Apply
Students can apply for the GCBA as soon as they are admitted to the MHA program.

Additional Information
For more information visit the GCBA page or meet with an admissions advisor.

The healthcare industry is undergoing a digital revolution. Having a well-rounded skillset in information systems and emerging technologies can help you thrive in an increasingly digital landscape. This forward-thinking approach can position you as a innovative leader in your career.

How to Apply
Students can apply for the GCIS as soon as they are admitted to the MHA program.

Additional Information
For more information visit the GCIS page or meet with an admissions advisor.

Healthcare organizations face ever-increasing cybersecurity threats. You can reduce the risk of threats to your community and your organization with a working knowledge of cybersecurity fundamentals. Position yourself as a leader who can prioritize protecting sensitive patient data and ensuring operational resilience with a Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity Management (GCCM).

How to Apply
Students can apply for the GCCM as soon as they are admitted to the MHA program.

Additional Information
For more information visit the GCCM page or meet with an admissions advisor.

The modern health care system is complex. Understanding efficient operations and supply chain management is critical to delivering quality patient care. A Graduate Certificate in Operations and Supply Chain Management (GCOSCM) can equip you with the skills to optimize processes, reduce costs, and improve patient outcomes.

How to Apply
Students can apply for the GCOSCM as soon as they are admitted to the MHA program.

Additional Information
For more information visit the GCOSCM page or meet with an admissions advisor.

Faculty

MHA classes are largely taught by practicing/retired health care administrators with a breadth of knowledge and experience. Our career-line faculty have 30+ years of experience in executive-level positions including CEO, CFO, COO, etc. across a breadth of health care organizations.

Accreditation

Our MHA program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME). This ensures that our program meets rigorous academic and professional standards for healthcare education.

Our MHA program is also accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). This ensures that our program meets the highest standards of excellence in business education.

Let’s Connect

Our admissions specialists are happy to discuss any questions or concerns you might have about the application process, admissions requirements, or any other aspect of the program. We’re eager to meet you and provide personalized support as you explore our program.

MHA@Utah.edu
David Eccles School of Business
C Roland Christensen Center, Room 125F