Curriculum

The Master of Health Administration program integrates learning and experience. It emphasizes the key areas of organizational and financial management, human resources, ethical behavior, and leadership skills so important to developing effective health care managers for today and tomorrow. Courses are designed to build upon the foundation of experience students bring to the program. Students have flexibility in tailoring their programs by supplementing core curriculum courses with a selection of relevant elective courses that reflect their own needs and interests.

Candidates must satisfactorily complete 42 graduate credits, with an overall GPA of Saint Joseph’s College courses of 3.0 or higher.  The program consists of a core curriculum of ten courses, three elective courses, and a capstone course. For the capstone, students may choose an Applied Research Paper or Project or an Applied Management Project.

Additional Admission Requirements effective 1/1/2017

Effective 1/1/2017, applicants must have at least two years of experience working in a healthcare  setting and must also submit the following to be considered for the MHA Program:

• Letter of Intent (including goals and career interests and a discussion of two of the identified competencies for this program, including why the competence is important to the healthcare industry and where you are in terms of your development in this area)
• Professional Resume, showing two-years of experience in healthcare
• Two letters of reference from a supervisor or other professional reference (indicating the applicant possesses the aptitude and ambition to complete this course of study)
• Interview with Program Director or designee

Prerequisites

Students pursuing the Master of Health Administration degree must complete a three-credit undergraduate level accounting course prior to enrollment in HA 525 Health Care Financial Management, and a three-credit undergraduate level statistics course prior to enrollment in HA 545 Research Methods.  Most students with undergraduate business degrees will already have had such courses or their equivalents, as will some others. All pre-requisite courses must be completed with the minimum grade of C.  Prerequisites can be waived based on previous work experience in health administration if a resume is provided AND prior approval from the Program Director is obtained.

Fast Track to MHA

The Fast Track program allows students in specific Saint Joseph’s College undergraduate health administration programs (Health Administration Major, Radiologic Science Administration Major, Long-Term Care Administration Major, and Health Information Management Major) to substitute certain courses from the Master of Health Administration (MHA) program in lieu of comparable undergraduate courses. Students will then be allowed to count these graduate courses toward their graduate degree requirements.

Qualified students in those undergraduate programs will be allowed to take up to 12 MHA credit hours (4 courses), which will apply toward an MHA degree and will also meet corresponding undergraduate degree course requirements. Certain restrictions apply. Students interested in taking advantage of the Fast Track Option should contact their Academic Advisor.