MHA in Health Administration

About the MHA 

The HMI Department's MHA degree is designed for students from a range of educational backgrounds and provides the knowledge and skills necessary to function effectively as a healthcare executive. The curriculum includes such competency areas as health systems operations, organization theory, information management, financial management, strategic planning and marketing, human resource management, health economics, managerial epidemiology, leadership, and ethics. By combining basic and advanced course work with an internship and executive management study (an applied management study that replaces a thesis), the student may develop expertise in a focused area. Professional elective course selection is a mutual decision between the student and advisor, and in all cases, the intent is to tailor the degree program to the student’s interests. The goal of the graduate program in health administration is to prepare professionals for leadership roles in health care. Students develop an excellent applied knowledge in such areas as clinical decision support systems, risk assessment and management, clinical outcomes assessment, managing interdisciplinary teams and integrated health systems.

Degree Requirements

The residential MHA degree requires a total of 54 credit hours, which includes 39 hours of core coursework, three credit hours earned for a required 12-week summer internship, a three-credit hour capstone group management project, and nine credit hours of professional electives.  Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative MU graduate grade point average to earn the Master's degree.

The professional elective requirement, which comprises three courses, allows MHA students the opportunity to concentrate in a particular area of study if they choose.  They may take courses in health informatics, health ethics, informatics for public health, and project management within the HMI Department, pursue graduate certificates, or complement their MHA coursework with classes in areas such as business administration, public administration, industrial engineering and public health.

MHA students must complete a 12-week administrative internship at an approved integrated managed care system, group practice, hospital or other healthcare organization under the guidance of a qualified preceptor (often a HMI alumnus/a). The internship is designed to incorporate the academic training students receive in their first year of the master’s degree with practical applications within the host site. The students receive hands-on exposure to health care management in a real-world environment and experience first-hand the dynamics of a career in health care. The intern should have the opportunity to observe their mentor and other professionals in the work environment, as well as opportunities to discuss their experiences. 
Specific general skills to be developed include: 
- Leadership 
- Strategic decision making 
- Project management 
- Teamwork

HMI's executive-in-residence works individually with students to place them at internship sites.  For a list of recent internship placements, please see https://medicine.missouri.edu/departments/health-management-and-informatics/graduate-degrees-programs/residential-mha, administrative internship section.   

Required Courses
HMI 7410Introduction to the US Health Care System3
HMI 7430Introduction to Health Informatics3
HMI 7471Introduction to Accounting and Finance in Health Care3
HMI 8453Executive Management Studies3
HMI 8460Administration of Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8461Managing Human Resources in Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8470Strategic Planning and Marketing for Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8472Financial Management for Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8524Health Economics3
HMI 8544Managerial Epidemiology (Population Health Management)3
HMI 8571Decision Support in Health Care Systems3
HMI 8573Decision Making for Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8574Health Care Law3
HMI 8575Health Policy and Politics3
HMI 8689Field Experience in Health Management and Informatics3
Students must complete nine credit hours of professional electives9
Students must satisfy a pre-requisites in microeconomics

Executive MHA Degree

In addition to the residential (on-campus) MHA, the degree is offered in an alternative format to professionals who have clinical or administrative experience in health care. HMI accepts an executive MHA cohort to begin in January of each year. The Executive MHA combines monthly on-campus weekend sessions, independent study, and online interaction in an innovative two-year course of study, and requires 42 credit hours of health services management coursework.  Students are required to complete a substantial independent research project, which they present during their oral comprehensive examination in their final semester.

Dual Degree-Residential MHA/MSHI

Required Courses
HMI 7410Introduction to the US Health Care System3
HMI 7430Introduction to Health Informatics3
HMI 7440Health Information Technology3
HMI 8435Information Security, Evaluation and Policy3
HMI 8437Data Warehousing and Data/Text Mining for Health Care3
HMI 8441Biomedical and Health Vocabularies and Ontologies3
HMI 8443Enterprise Information and Solutions Architecture for Strategic Healthcare Operations3
HMI 8453Executive Management Studies3
HMI 8460Administration of Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8461Managing Human Resources in Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8470Strategic Planning and Marketing for Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8472Financial Management for Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8524Health Economics3
HMI 8544Managerial Epidemiology (Population Health Management)3
HMI 8550Health Data Analytics3
HMI 8571Decision Support in Health Care Systems3
HMI 8573Decision Making for Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8574Health Care Law3
HMI 8575Health Policy and Politics3
HMI 8610Consumer Health Informatics3
HMI 8689Field Experience in Health Management and Informatics3
HMI 8870Knowledge Representation in Biology and Medicine3
HMI 8090Thesis Research in Health Management and Informatics1-6

Dual Degree-Executive MHA/MSHI

Required Courses
HMI 7410Introduction to the US Health Care System3
HMI 7430Introduction to Health Informatics3
HMI 7580Project Management3
HMI 8435Information Security, Evaluation and Policy3
HMI 8437Data Warehousing and Data/Text Mining for Health Care3
HMI 8441Biomedical and Health Vocabularies and Ontologies3
HMI 8443Enterprise Information and Solutions Architecture for Strategic Healthcare Operations3
HMI 8450Methods of Health Services Research3
HMI 8451Individual Executive Management Studies3
HMI 8460Administration of Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8461Managing Human Resources in Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8470Strategic Planning and Marketing for Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8472Financial Management for Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8524Health Economics3
HMI 8544Managerial Epidemiology (Population Health Management)3
HMI 8550Health Data Analytics3
HMI 8571Decision Support in Health Care Systems3
HMI 8573Decision Making for Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8574Health Care Law3
HMI 8575Health Policy and Politics3

Dual Degree MHA/MPA

Required Courses
HMI 7410Introduction to the US Health Care System3
HMI 7430Introduction to Health Informatics3
HMI 8460Administration of Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8470Strategic Planning and Marketing for Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8524Health Economics3
HMI 8544Managerial Epidemiology (Population Health Management)3
HMI 8571Decision Support in Health Care Systems3
HMI 8573Decision Making for Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8574Health Care Law3
Shared Courses (24 Credits)
PUB_AF 8420Public Program Evaluation3
PUB_AF 8430Public Policy Analysis3
HMI 8461Managing Human Resources in Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8472Financial Management for Health Care Organizations3
HMI 8575Health Policy and Politics3
HMI 8689Field Experience in Health Management and Informatics3
PUB_AF 8110Introduction to Public and Nonprofit Management3
PUB_AF 8170Public Policy Processes and Strategies3
PUB_AF 8180Research Methods and Inquiry in Public Affairs I3
PUB_AF 8181Research Methods and Inquiry in Public Affairs II3
PUB_AF 8210Public Service and Democracy3
MPA Elective Course3

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Sample Plan of Study

Health Administration Residential Plan of Study 

First Year
FallCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
HMI 74103HMI 85243HMI 86893
HMI 74713HMI 85443 
HMI 84603HMI 85733 
HMI 84613Electives6 
 12 15 3
Second Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits 
HMI 74303HMI 84533 
HMI 84703HMI 85713 
HMI 84723HMI 85743 
Elective3HMI 85753 
 12 12  
Total Credits: 54

In addition to the basic plan of study outlined above, all MHA students must complete at least nine credit hours of professional electives during the course of their degree, bringing the total required credit hours to 54.  Microeconomics is a prerequisite for the MHA degree, and may be fulfilled through prior coursework or by completion of an online microeconomics module, which is available free of charge to admitted MHA students.

Executive Health Administration Plan of Study

Executive students begin in the Spring semesters

First Year
FallCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
Executive students begin Spring semester, and program runs on calendar year.  HMI 74103HMI 84503
 HMI 74303 
 HMI 84603 
 0 9 3
Second Year
FallCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
HMI 84613HMI 84703HMI 84513
HMI 85243HMI 84723 
HMI 85733HMI 85443 
 9 9 3
Third Year
FallCredits  
HMI 85713  
HMI 85743  
HMI 85753  
 9    
Total Credits: 42

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Thesis/Non-Thesis Requirement

All MHA students must participate in and complete an Executive Management Study (EMS) project during the second year of the degree. The EMS is a capstone group project. Each group of students is assigned a client (often within the University of Missouri Health System), and asked to research and address a particular problem and provide recommendations. Recent EMS projects have included:

  • improvement of patient experience of wait times in the Orthopaedic Clinic at the Missouri Orthopaedic Institute
  • surgical site infection reduction informed by NSQIP resources for UMHC
  • system-wide urinary catheter reduction for UMHC
  • improving screening and follow-up for students with substance use and/or mood disorders at MU Student Health

Students have also completed projects for external organizations, such as Express Scripts and the Adair County Health Dept. All MHA students complete a presentation of their EMS project.

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Financial Aid

Further information about costs, financial aid, and external scholarship opportunities is available on the Cashiers Office website, and Student Financial Aid website.

Admissions Requirements

Applicants are required to meet two sets of minimum qualifications for admission: the requirements of the MHA program and the minimum requirements of the Graduate School. Because requirements vary, you must refer to a degree program’s graduate admission page to learn about specific admission criteria, application deadlines, eligibility and application process. Before official admission to the University of Missouri, your application materials will be reviewed by both the degree program to which you’ve applied and the Graduate School.

Health Administration Admissions Information

Deadline for Fall entrance: Rolling; priority deadline is March 1

A minimum of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution

Undergraduate GPA: 3.0 during the last 60 hours of undergraduate course work and any subsequent graduate course work

Minimum TOEFL scores:

Internet-based test (iBT) Paper-based test (PBT)
100 603

Minimum Academics IELTS scores: 

Item Score
OVERALL 7.5

Required Application Materials

Master's program applicants should apply online through the Graduate School application system. When completing the online application, you will have an opportunity to upload/attach additional documents. Please include the following documents:

  • an updated résumé or curriculum vitae;
  • personal essay that:
    • outlines your professional plans and career objectives;
    • explains how you became interested in health services management/health informatics and how your prior training and experience would help your career;
    • includes specific issues and problems in health care you consider challenging and why;
    • indicates if you intend to apply to the traditional (residential) on-campus degree program or the distance education (executive) format

Other required documents:

  • Official transcripts of all coursework from all colleges, technical schools and/or universities attended
  • Three letters of recommendation (submitted through the Graduate School application system)

You may also be required to submit other documentation and in some cases complete prerequisite courses. Below is a checklist to help make sure your application is complete:

  • Request to re-enroll form (for previously admitted students only)
  • Application for Change of Degree form (for students already enrolled in a Master's degree or Graduate Certificate program)
  • Letter of support from your employer (Executive Students only)
  • Official TOEFL report (for international applicants only - have official results sent to us: institution code is 6875, our department code is 25 - minimum score of 100 on the Internet-based exam required)

Admissions Contact 

Lhakpa Diki Lama
ldlpdp@missouri.edu

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