Online Master of Science in Health Care Administration

Degree Program

The Online MS in Health Care Administration program has been designed to provide working health care professionals with the knowledge, skill sets, and abilities needed to be effective health care administrators and managers. Health care delivery is undergoing rapid growth and change in the U.S., a change that has accelerated in the 21st century. As a result, the responsibilities of health care administrators and managers are continuously being redefined. In this dynamic environment, organizations must manage for continuous improvement and maintain flexibility to respond to the latest challenges. This underscores the constant need for health care professionals to keep pace with new knowledge and gain new skills.

The Online MS in Health Care Administration program seeks to develop professionals who understand how to manage non-profit, for-profit, and voluntary health care organizations in effective and innovative ways and who can help health care organizations successfully meet the challenges of a rapidly changing environment. Students in the MS in Health Care Administration program acquire the analytical skills needed to explore new models of health care delivery and organizational design. They also develop the leadership skills needed to discover and implement creative solutions to problems in the current health care system.

Program Objectives

The Health Care Leadership Alliance (HLA), a consortium of major professional health care associations, has identified five competency domains in which all health care administrators and managers should have proficiency for workplace effectiveness.

By successfully completing this program, students will be able to demonstrate competency in the following five domains:

• Communication and Relationship Management: The ability to communicate clearly and concisely with internal and external customers, to establish and maintain relationships, and to facilitate constructive interactions with individuals and groups
• Leadership: The ability to inspire individual and organizational excellence, to create and attain a shared vision, and to successfully manage change to attain the organization's strategic ends and successful performance
• Professionalism: The ability to align personal and organizational conduct with ethical and professional standards that include a responsibility to the patient and community, a service orientation, and a commitment to lifelong learning and improvement
• Knowledge of the Health Care Environment: The demonstrated understanding of the health care system and the environment in which health care managers and providers function
• Business Skills and Knowledge: The ability to apply business principles to the health care environment; basic business principles include financial management, human resource management,  organizational dynamics and governance,  strategic planning and marketing, information management, risk management, and quality improvement

Who Should Attend

This program has been designed for health care professionals with two years of work experience in the field of health care in the U.S. who are currently in or aspire to be in leadership and management positions in either non-profit, for profit, or voluntary health care organizations.

Program Highlights