Master of Health Administration

The graduate program in health administration is offered by Indiana University School of Medicine's Department of Public Health. Recognized for its outstanding faculty, professional integration, and strong business ethics, the Indianapolis program reflects the exciting frontiers of the contemporary health care industry.

This advanced program attracts professionals and students interested in a variety of leadership opportunities in hospitals, managed care, ambulatory care, and voluntary health agencies. Opportunities also exist in consulting firms, corporate health programs, insurance, government, and other regulatory agencies. The program is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education and is a member of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration.

Approximately one-third of the students in the program have professional backgrounds; the remaining two-thirds come directly from undergraduate programs. In the classroom, this mix creates a dynamic environment of fresh perspectives and practical experience. The versatile faculty teach a rigorous interdisciplinary curriculum interwoven with current research and events. The M.H.A. program requires 51 graduate semester credit hours.

A summer internship between the first and second year of study is an excellent opportunity to learn from a health industry leader. The internship offers students valuable experience in the health care field and is an excellent opportunity to blend academic preparation with hands-on experience. Positions are available throughout the United States.

As an option, students may choose an administrative residency, a 10-12 month paid residency that can assist in the transition from classroom to workplace through intensive exposure to a selected management career. It blends academic preparation with administrative practice. Students with little health administration experience may find the residencies beneficial. Residents are selected through competitive application processes.

A mentorship program utilizing local M.H.A. alumni and friends of the school gives students the opportunity to meet a variety of practicing health care professionals. Mentors are available in all segments of the health care field and range from recent graduates to corporate officers and senior public officials.

Our students are successfully competing for national administrative fellowships after graduation. Fellowships have been awarded to M.H.A. program graduates from institutions that include Good Samaritan Health System in Nebraska; Winston Fellowship and Washington Hospital Group in Washington, D.C.; Baylor Medical Center in Houston; Cleveland Clinics in Cleveland; and the American College of Healthcare Executives in Chicago. Most fellowships provide a two-year paid administrative experience.

Admissions

In addition to the general requirements for admission to graduate study in Indiana University School of Medicine's Department of Public Health, the following requirements generally must be met for admission to the Graduate Program in Health Administration:

  1. Applicants must possess an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution and have a minimum overall undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 (B) on a 4.0 scale. Applicants with a minimum GPA of 3.0 during the last half of their undergraduate education are shown preference, however a 3.0 GPA does not guarantee admission.
  2. Applicants must complete at least 3 credit hours each of undergraduate courses in introductory accounting, microeconomics, and statistics at an accredited institution with a minimum grade of C in each course. Students who have not completed these courses but who meet all other requirements may be accepted with deficiencies. These students are not usually permitted to enroll in the classes that require these courses as prerequisites until the deficiencies are removed.
  3. Applicants must take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and achieve a composite score of at least 1,000 total in the quantitative and verbal sections or a GMAT total score of at least a 500.  Note that achieving these scores does not guarantee admission. An applicant with a GRE score lower than 500 in any section may be required to participate in special academic counseling and evaluation prior to any admission decision. Additional course work may be required, and admission as a provisional student may be stipulated. Applicants who have been awarded an advanced degree may petition the admissions committee for waiver of the GRE requirement.

Mid-Career Credit Option

The Graduate Admissions Committee of the Indiana University School of Medicine's Department of Public Health may grant up to a maximum of 12 credit hours toward the MHA degree for students who have had significant professional level work experience in management and policy development. "Professional" level work is that requiring extensive education or specialized training (e.g., at least an undergraduate degree) and gives substantial control over the manner in which it is done to the person performing it. 

Credit will be granted for work experience gained before the student completes 36 credit hours of course work in the MHA program.

The following guidelines will be used by the Admissions Committee to award these credits:

  1. To receive THREE (3) credit hours, a student must have had one to three year's professional experience in policy development or management with a health care organization in any of the following areas:
    1. Directing programs
    2. Preparing budgets
    3. Making decisions on organizational or staff development
    4. Analyzing, developing and evaluating policies
    5. Conducting public or legislative relations programs
    6. Program planning
  1. To receive SIX (6) credit hours, a student must have had three to five years of managerial experience in a healthcare organization that includes significant responsibility for at least two of the following:
    1. Directing programs
    2. Preparing budgets
    3. Making decisions on organizational or staff development
    4. Analyzing, developing and evaluating policies
    5. e. Conducting public or legislative relations programs
    6. Program planning

Credit hours will be given in the MHA program only for managerial experience.

  1. To receive NINE (9) credit hours, a student must have had at least five years of executive responsibility in a health care organization for at least four of the following:
    1. Directing programs
    2. Preparing budgets
    3. Making decisions on organizational or staff development
    4. Analyzing, developing and evaluating policies
    5. Conducting public or legislative relations programs
    6. Program planning

This experience must include supervising a significant number of staff, including other supervisors, managers or contract employees. Credit hours will be given in the MHA program only for managerial experience.

  1. TWELVE (12) credit hours may be awarded by the Admissions Committee in exceptional circumstances to students who have had at least ten years of executive responsibility for multiple areas of a health care organization.

Credit hours will be given in the MHA program only for managerial experience.

Application Process and Policies   Students are eligible to apply for Mid-Career credit at the time of application for graduate study or until they have competed 36 hours of course work in the MHA program.  Professional experience acquired after the completion of 36 hours of course work in the MHA program will not be considered in awarding Mid-Career credit.  Students may be awarded more Mid-Career credit than they can use to fulfill their degree requirements.

Tuition Charge for MCO Credit   For every three credit hours of Mid-Career credit awarded, students will be charged for one (1) credit hour at the tuition-rate applicable to them.

Degree Requirements (51 credit hours)

A minimum of 51 credit hours, divided between required and elective courses, is required in the Master of Health Administration degree program. The M.H.A. curriculum begins with a foundation of theory and skill-building courses and makes a transition to course work that requires practical application of those skills in a variety of health care settings.

Part-time students must complete at least 6 credit hours each semester to remain in good standing. All students must complete the program's academic requirements within five calendar years of matriculation.

Required courses (45 credit hours):

  • PBHL-H 501 U.S. Health Care: Systems, Policies, and Ethical Challenges (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H 502 Developing Strategic Capability in Health Care (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H 507 Management of Individual and Group Behavior (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H 508 Managing Health Care Accounting Information for Decision Making (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H 509 Financial Management Principles of Health Care (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H 514 Health Economics (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H 516 Health Services Delivery and the Law (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H 518 Statistical Methods for Health Services (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H 521 Management Science for Health Services Administration (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H 612 Marketing Health Services Delivery (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H 623 Health Care Applications of Strategic Management (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H626 Health Services Human Resources Management (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H 628 Health Care Information Systems (3 cr.)

One of the following courses:

  • PBHL-H 700 Residency (3-6 cr.) OR
  • PBHL-H 702 Internship in Health Services Management (3 cr.) OR
  • PBHL-H 735 Research in Health Administration (3-6 cr.)

Electives (6-9 credit hours):

Management Electives:

  • PBHL-H 510 Health Services Financial Management (P: H 509) (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H 606 Health Services Quality Improvement and Risk Management (3 cr.)
  • SPEA-V 566 Executive Leadership (3 cr.)
  • SPEA-V 639 Managing Government Operations (3 cr.)
  • SPEA-E 533 Environemental Management Systems: ISO 14001 Based (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H 640 Topics in Health Services Administration (with advisor's approval) (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H 630 Readings in Health Services Administration (3 cr.)
  • BUS-X 572 Value Chain in Health Care (3 cr.) (with approval of Kelley School of Business)
  • INFO-I 502 Informatics Management (3 cr.) (with approval of School of Informatics)
  • INFO-I 530 Seminar in Health Information Applications (3 cr.) (with approval of School of Informatics)
  • JOUR-J 528 Public Relations and Research (3 cr.) (P: J 321 or instructor's approval)

Policy Electives:

  • PBHL-H 515 Seminar in Health Policy: Special Topics (3 cr.) OR  PBHL-P 611 Policy Design Implementation and Management (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H 517 Managerial Epidemiology (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H 615 Health Care Outcomes and Decision Making (3 cr.)
  • SPEA-V 512 Public Policy Process (3 cr.)
  • SPEA-V 541 Benefit-Cost Analysis (3 cr.)
  • SPEA-V 562 Public Program Evaluation (3 cr.)
  • SPEA-P 525 Geographical Information Systems for Planning (3 cr.)
  • SPEA-P 527 Planning Applications of Geographical Information Systems (P: P525) (2 cr.)
  • SPEA-H 640 Topics in Health Services Administration (3 cr.)
  • SPEA-H 630 Readings in Health Services Administration (3 cr.)
  • PHIL-P 547 Foundations of Bioethics (3 cr.)
  • SOC-R 515 Sociology of Health and Illness (3 cr.)

Nonprofit electives:

  • SPEA-V 521 The Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector (3 cr.)
  • SPEA-V 525 Management in the Nonprofit Sector (3 cr.)
  • SPEA-V 557 Proposal Development and Grant Administration (3 cr.)
  • SPEA-V 558 Fund Development for Nonprofits (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H 640 Topics in Health Services Administration (3 cr.)
  • PBHL-H 630 Readings in Health Services Administration (3 cr.)
  • ECON-E 514 The Nonprofit Economy and Public Policy (3 cr.)
  • BUS-A 508 Accounting for Nonprofit Organizations (3 cr.) (with approval of Kelley School of Business)

Note: Other graduate-level electives may be approved by a faculty advisor.

Course Waivers, Substitutions, and Challenge Examinations

Students may petition the program director to waive or make substitutions for required courses based on completion of satisfactory equivalent course work or by examination (if available). The following guidelines govern the consideration of these types of petitions.

Waivers of Required Courses  The requirement for a particular course may be waived if the student furnishes evidence of equivalent graduate course work completed within a reasonable period of time from an accredited institution. It should be noted that credit is not given with a waiver-only an exemption from a particular course; another course is always substituted.

Substitutions  As a general rule, the substitution of a course for one that is required in the M.H.A. curriculum is prohibited. On rare occasions, petitions for substitutions may be considered, and students who believe they would benefit from such a procedure should discuss the matter with their advisors.

Challenge Examination  Students who believe they possess mastery of the subject matter stipulated in a given required course may request a challenge examination. If, in the opinion of the faculty, the student has demonstrated the requisite knowledge, academic credit for the course is authorized. The university fee structure for the cost of such an examination applies.


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