Health Administration - Executive Master | College of Community Innovation and Education

Degree: Master of Health Administration
Track: Executive Health Services Administration

Health care administrators play an integral role in managing public health systems, hospital networks and health care facilities. Make health care management an integral part of your career by earning a master’s degree in health services administration from UCF.

The 44-credit hour curriculum of the Executive Master of Health Administration* emphasizes leadership, strategic and financial planning, and issues and trends in health care. This track is offered entirely online to provide greater access to interested candidates and to accommodate the schedules of working professionals. Students who are admitted to the program will belong to a cohort that will take the same classes in the same sequence, allowing for greater collaboration and networking among students and an increased sense of community.

Whether you are a health care professional who is ready to move into a leadership position or a recent college graduate who wants to further your education, the Executive MHA will provide you with the knowledge, skills and abilities to succeed in the fast-changing field of health care management.

The Health Administration (EMHA) may be completed fully online, although not all elective options or program prerequisites may be offered online. Newly admitted students choosing to complete this program exclusively via UCF online classes may enroll with a reduction in campus-based fees.

*Formerly “Executive Master of Science in Health Sciences – Health Services Administration Track”

CAHME Accreditation
The Executive MHA at the University of Central Florida is accredited by the Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education. CAHME is the only organization recognized to grant accreditation to individual academic programs offering a professional master’s degree in health care management education and is recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation. CAHME Accreditation is the benchmark for students and employers alike that ensure the integrity of healthcare management education.

CAHME Mentorship Circle
CAHME Mentorship Circle status recognizes that the MHA program at the University of Central Florida — in addition to achieving the high standards of CAHME accreditation — engages in activities that help to extend CAHME’s mission of advancing the quality of graduate healthcare management education. Mentorship Circle status recognizes that the program provides opportunities to other students and other programs to advance their own experiences and skills — for the good of the entire healthcare field.

Mission

Vision

Values

Goals

The Master of Health Administration Program prepares current and future health administrators to make positive contributions to the health care industry. Our diverse student population achieves competence in the health care environment by:

Understanding health care systems
Applying business skills
Communicating and managing relationships
Demonstrating excellence in leadership
Exhibiting professionalism and ethical conduct

Our program competencies are developed through exceptional, media-enhanced instruction, and are reinforced through expert faculty who create and disseminate knowledge that improves managerial practice, strengthens health systems worldwide through global partnerships, and significantly contributes to the profession’s body of knowledge through applied research, publications, and presentations. Program competencies are also applied through service-learning, experiential projects and practical internships with community partners.

In addition to the core values of UCF (Integrity, Scholarship, Community, Creativity and Excellence), the MHA Program also embodies the following values:

Respect for the dignity of each individual;
Fairness and Equity in matters of employee relations, resource allocation, and dispute resolution;
Accountability of individual faculty, staff, and students to one another and to society;
Continuous Improvement in the quality of work of faculty, staff, students, and alumni;
Teamwork among student, faculty, staff, and alumni; and
Opportunity building for students, faculty, and alumni;
Responsiveness to change and innovation.
Diversity of individual faculty, staff, and students.

The program has established the following goals in keeping with its mission and vision:

Goal A. Prepare students for careers in health services management and policy by imparting the knowledge, values, and skills essential for effective management and leadership of health organizations.
Goal B. Conduct high-quality research in the areas of health services management and policy with a metropolitan, community, regional and national focus.
Goal C. Provide services through which the Department's faculty, staff and students apply their management, research knowledge, and skills to issues relevant to various stakeholders in Central Florida.
Goal D. Actively engage alumni in assisting the program in curricula and development initiatives, student recruitment, career development, and research initiatives.
Goal E. Ensure a continual diverse applicant pool of excellent full and part-time students. Diversity refers to ethnicity, age, gender, work experience, and academic background.

Admissions and Advising

The Executive MHA at the University of Central Florida is 44 credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree. Admission to the program is competitive and contingent on meeting its requirements. Not all students who apply may be accepted, even if minimum requirements are met.

Our Executive MHA advisor, Hannah Nguyen, can guide you through the program and answer any questions you may have about the degree. However, we ask that you visit the FAQ section below, and check the Executive MHA student handbook before contacting our advisor as it may already provide the answer to your question.

For more information on the Executive MHA, download the program brochure from our UCF Online page.

FAQs

Course Descriptions

What are the admissions criteria?
To be considered for admission to the Executive MHA, you must submit the following:

An official transcript of your undergraduate degree that shows a minimum 3.0 GPA
A one- to two-page goal statement describing why you want to pursue this degree or how it will help you meet your career goals.
Your resume

Candidates are also required to have at least three years’ worth of administrative or clinical experience in health care.

Where do I apply?
All prospective students must apply via the College of Graduate Studies’ website.

How much is the tuition?
The estimated cost per credit hour is $772.69. This includes all university fees, which may be subject to change. Current tuition rates can be found on the tuition and fees website. Be sure to select the appropriate program level as “graduate” to reflect the correct tuition cost.Please note that UCF employee and state tuition waivers are not accepted for this program.

What kind of financial aid is available?
UCF’s Office of Student Financial Assistance provides aid to students who cannot afford the full cost of tuition. A variety of scholarships, grants and loans may be made available to students based on need and academic achievement. For more information, please visit the Office of Student Financial Assistance website.

Do I have to enroll as a full-time student?
Yes, students must enroll on a full-time basis and will be required to take two classes per semester. Students will be able to complete the program within two years.

Will I be required to visit the campus?
No. The Executive MHA can be completed entirely online and utilizes advanced video technology so that students can communicate with each other without having to visit the campus.

How many students will be accepted into the program?
Approximately 30 students are admitted every admission cycle, which starts in the fall.

How does the cohort model work?
The Executive MHA follows a cohort model, which means that each group of students admitted during the fall admissions cycle will progress through the program of study together. The advantages of this model include:

An increased sense of community
Enhanced opportunities for networking and collaboration
Faculty can cover certain topics in more depth

What was the completion rate for the last graduating class?
92% of the matriculating students completed the program within two years.

What percentage of students were employed within three months of graduating?
93% of graduating students were employed within three months of graduation.

First Fall

HSA 6766 (Health Care Statistics and Research)

This course covers research method techniques and statistical techniques for problem-solving and decision-making, including theoretical, quantitative and qualitative skills to understand, conduct and evaluate health care research.

HSA 6345 (Leadership for Health Care Executives)

This course addresses current leadership theory focusing on leadership styles, motivation, change management, innovation and creativity as they related to management of health services organizations.

First Spring

HSA 6179 (Financial Accounting for Health Care Managers)

This course examines accounting and financial management concepts, along with managerial protocols and regulatory constraints affecting health care organizations.

HSA 6346 (Health Care Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management)

The focus of this course is the application of human resources and organizational theory in the health care setting for health care managers.

First Summer

HSA 6505 (Health Care Quality and Risk Management)

This course provides an understanding of the current quality-based management practices within health care organizations and effective risk management strategies for health care managers.

HSA 6178 (Financial Management for Health Care Managers)

This course teaches students to apply and integrate advanced accounting and financial principles to develop solutions to specific problems encountered in today’s health care organizations.

Second Fall

HSA 6197C (Health Care Informatics for Health Care Leaders)

This course provides the student with the knowledge to the align health information technology advances with the organizational strategy, including improving quality, safety, and efficiency.

HSA 6156 (Health Care Economics and Policy)

Study of the economic foundations of the health care market and policy.

Second Spring

HSA 6520 (Epidemiology and Health Planning)

This course introduces students to the descriptive and applied methods of managerial epidemiology, including methods for data retrieval and research application.

HSA 6555 (Health Care Ethics and Law)

This course presents an overview of legal and ethical issues facing managers and providers in variety of health care settings.

Second Summer

HSA 6188 (Health Care Capstone and Strategic Management)

The course is designed to integrate and build on all prior Executive Health Services Administration concepts and course work through the lens of strategic management.