The Master of Health Administration (MHA) program is designed to create a new class of well- prepared managers to oversee superior care and deliver outstanding value for their organization and the populations they serve. Our combination of a top-rated medical school and world-class integrated eight-hospital health care system provides you with an extraordinary environment in which to learn, one where you will get plenty of hands-on experience as well as critical strategic and operational knowledge. The program is designed as 2-year program (44 to 48 credits), but students can opt to accelerate degree completion under the close advisement of the program director.

Applicants to the Program must have a Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university. For complete program description and application materials please visit the website at: http://icahn.mssm.edu/mha

To help you develop effective management skills in health care delivery, our program will cultivate your competencies in three areas:

Technical and Substantive Knowledge

• Analyze economic data and financial information for strategic decision-making, understand market influences, and create organizational efficiencies and cost savings

• Apply operations management tools and practices to optimize performance, including the lean and other process improvement methodologies

• Leverage information systems and technologies to improve patient-centered health care delivery

• Master the tenets of human resource management

• Understand the content and implications of the Affordable Care Act, the nature of the regulatory system, and the intricacies of medical reimbursement and payment systems

• Identify social and behavioral factors of public health, and craft methodologies for successful public health interventions

Conceptual Reasoning

• Understand and develop rationales, theories, and models of health care policymaking

• Develop effective strategic thinking, planning, and implementation skills

• Build skills to foster innovation, including psychology, processes, and implementation

• Enhance knowledge of effective communications strategies and principles

• Develop a firm grasp on policy perspectives and context about health care delivery issues

• Improve problem-solving skills, while balancing financial, legal, and medical considerations

Skills Development

• Learn to build teams and manage decision-making

• Expand and improve leadership skills for projects, initiatives, and teams

• Handle and manage conflicts at every level of the organization

• Improve your ability to serve diverse populations and cultures

• Recognize, analyze, and address ethical issues concerning health care delivery

This chapter covers the Master in Health Administration Program. Students can find the following information in this section.

• Program Information

• Program Competencies

• Program Requirements

• Curriculum

• Advising

• Internship and Capstone Project

Curricular Requirements

The Master of Health Administration program is designed to deepen your knowledge of the broad principles and tools necessary for the effective delivery of health care. We equip you with the ability to harness innovative strategic approaches, and the latest technological data and systems, advancements in medical care, and approaches to management.

The curriculum can be completed full-time in 16 to 24 months, and comprises 44 to 48 credits, depending on whether you have professional health care work experience. A part-time or accelerated option is available, and you would work with an adviser to customize your study plan and course sequence.

Courses run on weekday evenings after 5:00 p.m. when you can either be in-person or participate via a blended/hybrid online learning design option allowing you easy remote access to live lectures and all course materials.

During the program, you will:

• Explore environments, processes, and structures of health care systems

• Examine evidence-based frameworks, management, and value-creation processes

• Apply organizational tools for effective and efficient management

• Study trends, experimentation, and emerging strategic innovations in the current health care landscape

• Foster core competencies in technical and substantive knowledge, conceptional reasoning, and skills development

Standards for Maintaining Satisfactory Progress

MHA students maintain satisfactory progress by:

• Passing all courses in their program of study in order to graduate

• Maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher

• Attending and completing all in-person seminars, courses, and skills sessions

• Actively participating in all online elements, including but not limited to discussion boards, blogs, synchronous sessions, and all course assignments

• Actively engaging with peer learners and faculty in each course

• Maintaining satisfactory progress on all milestones for the Capstone project

Students who do not meet the criteria for Good Standing may be placed on probation by the Program Director, Dean of the Graduate School, or their appointed representatives: including the Academic Advisory Committee and the Academic Program Office. Once a student is placed on academic probation, academic progress must be made within two terms. Dismissal is the likely consequence if performance continues to be unsatisfactory. Students on probation are considered enrolled.

Students are required to maintain a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA). Students who fall below a GPA of 3.0 will be placed on academic probation. Anytime a student’s GPA falls below 3.0, the Program Faculty Director will work with the student and create a remediation plan.

The Faculty Director in discretionary consultation with program or school-wide academic committee reviews the progress of each student on probation. If the GPA has not improved in the subsequent term, the student will continue to meet the Faculty Director revising the remediation plan, as needed. If the student’s GPA has not reached 3.0 within two terms having been placed on probation, the student may be dismissed from the program

Navigating Through the MHA Degree

MHA students must read and continually reference the Student Handbook, Curriculum Guide, Advisement worksheet (course checklist) and sample curriculum to understand the expectations of the MHA degree.

Students should contact the MHA staff with questions regarding policies and procedures, degree requirements, and questions regarding the Program. For issues related to tuition, course registration, program withdrawals, leave of absence or more, please contact the Office of Student Financial Services and Registrar, respectively.

Contact information:

Advisement: Brian J. Nickerson, PhD, JD, FACHE

Senior Associate Dean for Master’s Programs and Program Director

General: Herb Lopez

Administrative Manager

Internship

The MHA administrative internship consists of collaboration between the student, a site supervisor/preceptor, faculty advisor and Program Director. The internship provides students the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of lessons learned in coursework and apply to an administrative fieldwork setting relevant to a student’s area of interest in health care delivery management. 0-3 credits.

Capstone Project

We focus on the practical application of these curricular elements. As the culmination of your study, you will be required to complete a capstone project: a health care improvement project using lean and other management principles, addressing an important management problem faced in either your employer’s organization or another host institution. Your project will have real-world impact.

Any student pursuing ISMMS training/certifications/degrees, either primarily enrolled or while enrolled in another program (or on leave of absence from that program), must obtain approval of their study design for culminating projects, including any planned IRB-related submissions or questions regarding whether the project involves human subjects research, from the program advisor. If the student is enrolled in a second ISMMS program, the student is responsible for notifying both the primary and secondary programs of the filing of an academic LOA to ensure the status of the student is known to both program and any program handoffs/transitions are coordinated.