Healthcare Administration

Master of Healthcare Administration

Program Director: Deanna Melton-Riddle, DHA MSA, CMA-AAMA, RPT-AMT, CDPLC

A graduate of the UP program will be a transformational leader in healthcare. Transformational leaders are critical thinkers who are able to operationalize innovative change projects, lead and inspire others, and are guided by legal and ethical principles. This leader is able to strategically leverage systems and informatics to optimize quality outcomes, improve operations, and create healthy person-centered environments.

The curriculum provides opportunities for students to prepare for a career in healthcare administration or to enhance their current career in this field. The following program themes are woven throughout the curriculum:

  • Communication and listening
  • Informatics and information technology
  • Ethical and transformational leadership
  • Critical thinking
  • Complex systems, strategic planning and financial proficiency
  • Practice competency

The following healthcare administration courses are offered sequentially following the core curriculum with the exception of the internship and capstone courses, which are offered concurrent with concentration courses.

Program Mission

Our mission is to partner with and support healthcare professionals who are seeking to advance their careers. Our curriculum and practitioner faculty translate theory to workplace application with a focus on knowledge and competency building, along with leadership development. Assignments and Capstone Projects reflect development of competencies required for healthcare leadership.

The curriculum was designed to nurture accountable leaders who approach challenges analytically, reviewing data and evidence, while integrating ethical, compassionate, cultural, regulatory, and legal considerations in decision-making. The program highlights intrapersonal understanding and self-development to support cultivating collaboration and leading teams to execute change. The central focus of the program is leadership development, with courses and concepts woven through the program to complement didactic learning about the health- care system.

Our program tracks serve two distinct segments of healthcare professionals. The Master of Healthcare Administration track supports early to mid-careerists who are interested in broadening their understanding of the healthcare system, financial and managerial approaches, and developing skills in analyzing data and evidence in decision-making. The Executive Master of Healthcare Administration track supports healthcare professionals who have advanced their careers and now seek to refine leadership competencies in aspects of anticipating, managing, and responding to industry changes. Both tracks are offered online to better accommodate the responsibilities of working healthcare professionals.

Program Values

The Master of Healthcare Administration program values reflect the university’s focus on character, competence, and commitment along with the university core themes of seeking to understand, living in community and searching together. We believe healthcare leaders must exemplify character, competence, and commitment to serve and lead. Together we seek to understand the healthcare environment, the inherent challenges of delivering quality care, and the diverse needs of stakeholders. We live in community with stakeholders - patients, their loved ones, and provider/caregivers from all specialties and settings. Together, we search daily for the best approaches to delivering quality care and for developing healthier communities.

Program Vision

Through an emphasis on workplace application focused on the development of character, competence and commitment, we will develop professionals well equipped to handle current and future healthcare needs and become the program of choice for working healthcare professionals who wish to prepare for the next steps in leadership.

Master of Healthcare Administration, Executive Track

The Executive Masters in Health Administration (Executive MHA) degree develops core health system knowledge, leadership skills and business acumen in high potential executives of the United States’ largest health systems. Created to prepare senior executives to respond to and manage organizational change, the program equips graduates to drive innovation, lead through collaboration, and practice adaptive and predictive thinking in the ever-changing healthcare environment. The executive MHA is designed to produce graduates prepared to take on corporate executive leadership positions at health systems across the country.

The Executive MHA degree was created in partnership between the University of Providence (the University) and The Health Management Academy (The Academy), an educational services organization with a long-standing relationship with Providence St. Joseph Health (PSJH). Cognizant of the dearth of interdisciplinary and collaborative leadership development programs in the healthcare industry, the Executive MHA enrolls nationwide cohorts of administrative, financial, nurse and physician executives, and is housed in the School of Health Professions at the University. This major has restricted enrollment and is not offered to the general public.

Healthcare Administration (MHA) Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates in the MHA degree program demonstrate the following program learning outcomes:

  • Apply systems and leadership theories to affect change and meet strategic goals.
  • Integrate ethical, compassionate, cultural, regulatory, and legal components in making leadership decisions.
  • Synthesize and apply effective communication strategies and skills within organizations to create healthy person-centered environments.
  • Demonstrate emotional intelligence, reflective personal growth when leading organizations.
  • Apply data collection methods, applications, sampling systems and informatics to improve decision- making and accountability.
  • Analyze data, evidence-based practice and financial systems to ensure quality and safety in processes.
  • Improve competencies in healthcare knowledge, leadership skills, and business acumen to implement innovative initiatives;
  • Problem solve and collaborate around challenges, trends and opportunities impacting US healthcare;
  • Build a nationwide network of peers and foster collegial relationships;
  • Engage in cross-disciplinary conversations with current and retired corporate health system executives;
  • Access professional development and mentoring.

Degree Requirements

Master's Degree Requirements

Healthcare Administration (M.H.A)

MHA 502HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS3
MHA 505HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS3
MHA 518EVIDENCE BASED MANAGEMENT FOR HEALTHCARE LEADERS3
MHA 521POPULATION HEALTH - A COMMUNITY ORIENTATION1
MHA 522PREPARATION, PROFESSIONALISM, AND ADVOCACY1
MHA 523STRATEGIC PLANNING, MARKETING, AND THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE1
MHA 524REGULATIONS, RISK, AND COMPLIANCE1
MHA 525TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP3
MHA 531SOCIAL JUSTICE, LAW, AND POLICY IN HEALTHCARE3
MHA 535HEALTHCARE LAW & ETHICS3
MHA 562PEOPLE & EXPERIENCE3
MHA 565HEALTHCARE BUDGETING & FINANCE PLANNING3
MHA 698CAPSTONE I3
MHA 699CAPSTONE II3
Choose one Specialized Concentration 6-9
Total Credits Required:40-43

Specialized Concentrations

Leadership Concentration

MHA 510LEADERSHIP THEORY3
MHA 512APPLIED LEADERSHIP3
Total Credits Required:6

Health Justice Concentration

MHA 504HEALTH JUSTICE (MEDICAL - LEGAL PARTNERSHIP)3
MHA 508HEALTH INEQUITIES AND SOCIAL EPIDEMIOLOGY3
Total Credits Required:6

Community Health Investment Concentration

MHA 507ESSENTIALS OF COMMUNITY HEALTH AND HEALTH EQUITY3
MHA 513INTRO TO UPSTREAM QUALITY IMPROVEMENT FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH3
HEALTH INEQUITIES AND SOCIAL EPIDEMIOLOGY (Optional)
Total Credits Required:6

Healthcare Administration, Executive Track

MHA 500EXEC LEADERSHIP STRATEGIES3
MHA 511ENHANCING SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE3
MHA 520LEADING CHANGE & NEGOTIATIONS3
MHA 526HEALTH SERVICES FINANCE3
MHA 530HEALTH, POLICY, ADVOCACY & ETHICS3
MHA 540DIVERSITY & INCLUSION3
MHA 550TRANSFORMING THE CONTINUUM OF CARE3
MHA 560DRIVING INNOVATION & MANAGING RISK3
MHA 680ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT I2
MHA 690ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT II2
MHA 697ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT III2
Approved Electives9
Total Credits Required:39

Approved Electives

MHA 506ADV HLTH SYSTM SYNRGY & ALIGNM3
MHA 515DEVELOPING THE FUTURE WORKFORC3
MHA 536MARKETING, BRANDING & COMMUNITY RELATIONS3
MHA 545CLINICAL INFORMATICS & DECISION SUPPORT3
MHA 555REINFORCING RELIABILITY & VALUE3
MHA 566CONSUMERISM3
MHA 570THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE3

*Plan templates are based on the most current catalog and ideal route for degree completion, and should only be used to get an idea of what degree completion may look like. New and enrolled students should log into DegreeWorks to see their specific degree requirements.  

Healthcare Administration

Plan Template: Master in Healthcare Administration
Description: Master in Healthcare Administration
# of Terms: 6
Term Start: Fall/Spring

Plan of Study Grid
Year 1
Semester ICredits
MHA 522 PREPARATION, PROFESSIONALISM, AND ADVOCACY 1
MHA 531 SOCIAL JUSTICE, LAW, AND POLICY IN HEALTHCARE 3
Choose one of the following: 3
LEADERSHIP THEORY (OR)  
HEALTH JUSTICE (MEDICAL - LEGAL PARTNERSHIP) (OR)  
ESSENTIALS OF COMMUNITY HEALTH AND HEALTH EQUITY  
 Credits7
Semester II
MHA 518 EVIDENCE BASED MANAGEMENT FOR HEALTHCARE LEADERS 3
MHA 521 POPULATION HEALTH - A COMMUNITY ORIENTATION 1
MHA 512
APPLIED LEADERSHIP
or HEALTH INEQUITIES AND SOCIAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
3
 Credits7
Semester III
MHA 502 HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS 3
MHA 565 HEALTHCARE BUDGETING & FINANCE PLANNING 3
 Credits6
Year 2
Semester I
MHA 562 PEOPLE & EXPERIENCE 3
MHA 523 STRATEGIC PLANNING, MARKETING, AND THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE 1
MHA 505 HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS 3
 Credits7
Semester II
MHA 525 TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP 3
MHA 524 REGULATIONS, RISK, AND COMPLIANCE 1
MHA 535 HEALTHCARE LAW & ETHICS 3
 Credits7
Semester III
MHA 698 CAPSTONE I 3
MHA 699 CAPSTONE II 3
INTRO TO UPSTREAM QUALITY IMPROVEMENT FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH (Optional)  
 Credits6
 Total Credits Required:40

*Plan templates are based on the most current catalog and ideal route for degree completion, and should only be used to get an idea of what degree completion may look like. New and enrolled students should log into DegreeWorks to see their specific degree requirements.  

 
 
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