Health Administration

Program Description

This course of study builds a broad conceptual understanding of the health care industry, and develops specific, focused administrative skills that will help graduates guide health care organizations toward greater efficiency and effectiveness.

This program is offered at the St. Louis home campus and at a number of U.S. campus locations. Please see the Campus Locations section of this catalog for a full list of campuses and the programs they offer.

The MHA is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).

Learning Outcomes

• Students will be able to explain the important terminology, facts, concepts, principles, analytic techniques, and theories used in the field of health care administration.
• Students will be able to effectively apply important terminology, facts, concepts, principles, analytic techniques, and theories in the field of health care administration when analyzing complex factual situations.
• Students will be able to effectively integrate (or synthesize) important facts, concepts, principles, and theories in the field of health care administration when developing solutions to multifaceted health care administration problems in complex factual situations, for greater organization efficiency and effectiveness.

Program Curriculum

The 36 credit hours required for the master of health administration (MHA) or the 57 credit hours required for the master of business administration (MBA/MHA) dual degree must include the following courses:

• HLTH 5000 Organization and Management in Health Administration (3 hours)
• HLTH 5020 Organizational Planning and Change in Health Administration (3 hours)
• HLTH 5040 Human Resources Management in Health Administration (3 hours)
• HLTH 5050 Financial Management in Health Administration (3 hours)
• HLTH 5070 Financial Analysis in Health Administration (3 hours)
• HLTH 5100 Statistics for Health Administration (3 hours)
• HLTH 5120 Issues in Health Policy (3 hours)
• HLTH 5140 Health Administration Law (3 hours)
• HLTH 6000 Integrated Studies in Health Administration (3 hours)

In addition, the student chooses elective courses offered in this major and/or from the program curricula of other George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology majors.

If the requisite course is waived, the student must choose an elective course from this major or from the program curriculum of another George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology major. Students pursuing dual majors who have the requisite course(s) waived will complete only the remaining required courses for the dual majors.

The 39 credit hours required for the master of business administration (MBA) with an emphasis in health administration must include the following courses:

• HLTH 5000 Organization and Management in Health Administration (3 hours)
• HLTH 5050 Financial Management in Health Administration (3 hours)
• HLTH 5140 Health Administration Law (3 hours)

Dual Degree Option: MBA/MHA

The MBA/MHA dual degree option requires the completion of 57 credit hours consisting of the 9 required core courses (27 credit hours) in the Master of Health Administration (MHA) and the 10 required core courses (30 credit hours) in the master of business administration (MBA), as listed in the respective sections of this catalog.

Upon completion of the 57 credits, two separate diplomas are issued at the same time. The two degrees cannot be awarded separately or sequentially under this arrangement. Dual degree students must take BUSN 5760 Applied Business Statistics, but they may substitute another relevant graduate course for the HLTH 5100 Statistics for Health Administration requirement. (They may also complete both statistics courses as an option.)

Admission Criteria

Students applying for admission to the Master of health administration (MHA) Program must meet the admission requirements outlined below:

• A bachelor's degree from an accredited educational institution recognized by Webster University.
• An undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or a cumulative 3.0 GPA for a minimum of 12 credit hours of graduate work.
  • Applicants with an undergraduate GPA that is at least 2.5 but below 3.0 are preferred and may be admitted on a conditional basis. These students must successfully complete 12 credit hours of graduate credit with a grade of B or better to advance to candidacy.
• A minimum of one year of relevant work experience.

Application Process

Students applying for admission must submit the following to the Office of Admission:

• Application for graduate study.
• A non-refundable application fee of $50.
• Official transcripts from all universities and colleges attended.
• One signed letter of recommendation supporting the applicant's petition for graduate study from a current or former employer or from a faculty member familiar with the student's work.
• A résumé.
• A personal statement of 500 words or less describing the applicant's career goals and rationale for seeking the MHA degree.