Health Administration | 2024-2025 Graduate Catalog | SIU

The Master of Health Administration program is a comprehensive program that prepares students for administration roles in healthcare organizations. The program is offered through the School of Health Sciences in the College of Health and Human Sciences. Courses are accelerated and offered in eight-week formats to expedite completion.

Master of Health Administration (M.H.A.) in Health Administration

To earn the M.H.A., students must successfully complete 36 credit hours of the core MHA courses including: MHA 510, MHA 511, MHA 520, MHA 531, MHA 536, MHA 551, MHA 566, MHA 575, MHA 580, MHA 582, MHA 585, and MHA 593 (3-6 CH).

Course material covers topics specific to the healthcare field including, but not limited to, effective organizational operations, healthcare systems, health policy, healthcare supply chain and inventory management of controlled substances, strategic leadership for differing healthcare settings, health promotion, legal and ethical foundations, managerial epidemiology and evidence based management, and financial issues specific to the healthcare industry, such as charge masters and relative value units, etc. Upon completion of the program, students are expected to be equipped to operate effectively in administrative roles in healthcare organizations. Special project assignments, case readings, presentations, and journal article reviews are an integral part of the curriculum. Course delivery may be via synchronous and asynchronous methods.

All students graduating from the MHA program will be required to meet the qualifications of the Graduate School at SIUC. Students will be required to complete a culminating scholarly work which includes a research paper.

Students must earn a “B” in all required MHA courses. If a student earns less than a "B" in any MHA course, they must retake it, only once. If they earn less than a “B” the second time, they are dropped from the MHA program due to unsatisfactory academic performance. Students dropped due to unsatisfactory academic performance will not be allowed re-entry into the MHA program at a later date.

MHA courses are restricted to MHA, MHI students, and concurrent admitted students from the MSRS, and/or MDOS, and/or Law School programs, with MHA Advisor approval. Online MHA courses are restricted to those online MHA students; on campus MHA courses are restricted to those on campus MHA students.  The MHA program strictly prohibits students for changing delivery formats unless there is a well-documented medical reason proposed to the MHA Program Director to consider for approval.

Up to 9 credit hours of transfer credit may be allowed from other regionally accredited academic institutions upon review and approval by the MHA Program Director, or designee. The student will submit through the MHA Academic Advisor the full course syllabi of the course they would like to be considered as transfer credit. This must be submitted for consideration prior to the end of the first semester after being admitted to the MHA program. No late submissions for transfer credit will be considered.

A 2.7/4.0 GPA (SIU calculation) from the student’s undergraduate program is required for admission to the MHA program. Students with a 2.5-2.7/4.0 undergraduate GPA (SIU calculation) may enter as a non-declared student, following Graduate School policies, and will be allowed to take up to 9 credit hours of MHA courses. At the end of the 9 credit hours, the student must hold a 3.0/4.0 GPA to be then admitted to the MHA program. Students not meeting the 3.0/4.0 GPA at the end of the 9 credit hours will not be allowed to take any other MHA courses.

The MHA program follows Graduate School policies. The MHA program will not petition to retain a student who does not meet the academic performance guidelines of the Graduate School.

All international applicants must demonstrate proficiency in the English language by submitting an approved English Language Competency Test score with their application. These applicants must have one of the following minimum scores for consideration:

• 550 on the paper-based TOEFL
• 80 on the internet-based TOEFL
• 6.5 on the IELTS
• 105 on the Duolingo English Exam

This applies to all international applicants. No waivers or exemptions will be provided. Students must provide a copy of their scorecard, verifying test results, with their application to the MHA. Given the accelerated nature of the MHA, the academic program does not agree to or approve late arrivals.

M.H.A. Concurrent Degrees

The MHA offers concurrent degrees with other graduate programs as provided below. All students interested in a concurrent degree option must meet with the MHA academic advisor to design a plan for completing both degrees. All Graduate School policies and procedures apply as well as program policies and procedures for both concurrent degrees as noted in the Graduate Catalog, and/or each individual program’s Student Handbook and/or website, as applicable.

A concurrent degree allows students to complete the requirements of two programs and be awarded two master’s degrees at the same time with the benefit of shared coursework between the two programs. If a student is awarded a single degree, they will not be eligible for the concurrent pathway which allows up to 9 hours of coursework to be shared between two degrees.

When entering any program offering a concurrent degree option (MHI, MHA, MSRS, MDOS Track II), students will be advised on the concurrent degree option and the eligibility requirements. Students will sign a document acknowledging that if the first degree is conferred that the shared hours in the concurrent option are forfeited.

Additionally, if a student chooses to have the first degree conferred, a second document will be signed by the student acknowledging that the concurrent degree option (and shared hours) will be forfeited.

1. MHA/MHI - offers the MHA student the opportunity to earn two Master's degrees for just 21 additional credit hours. For the MHA student who is interested in advancing their career by also earning the Master in Health Informatics (MHI), they will complete the following additional MHI/HCM courses all with a B or higher including:
   
   MHI 515 - Systems Analysis, Design and Database Management in Healthcare (3 CH)
   MHI 525 - Health Informatics Applications and Project Management (3 CH)
   MHI 581 - Health Information Interoperability (3 CH)
   MHI 583 - Health Informatics Essentials (3 CH)
   MHI 584 - Applied Data Analytics in Healthcare (3 CH)
   MHI 593 - Advanced Research in Healthcare Informatics (3 CH)
   -AND- one of the following:
   HCM 463 - Environment of Care (3 CH), or
   HCM 464 - Infection Prevention Informatics (3 CH), or
   HCM 465 - Infection Prevention and Control Operations (3 CH).
   
   Students must be admitted separately to the MHA and MHI programs and all policies apply for each program independently.
   
   
2. MHA/JD - prepares students for positions related to litigation, advisement, regulation, advocacy, transactions, and administration across the healthcare spectrum, such as in hospital systems, insurers, pharmaceutical companies, government agencies, and health policy organizations.
   
   When completed separately, the JD degree requires completion of 90 credit hours of coursework and the MHA degree requires completion of 36 credit hours of coursework. However, in the MHA/JD concurrent degree program, the School of Law accepts nine credit hours of MHA coursework toward meeting the JD credit hour requirement and the MHA accepts nine credit hours of law toward meeting the MHA credit hour requirement. This allows students in the concurrent degree program to complete 81 credit hours of law courses and 27 credit hours of MHA courses, saving 18 credit hours.
   
   Students must be admitted separately to the MHA program and the School of Law and all policies apply for each program independently. During the first academic year, students enroll only in the first-year law curriculum. In any subsequent academic term, the student may enroll for courses either in the School of Law and/or in the MHA program. A student registered for both law and MHA courses in the same term must enroll in a minimum of 10 hours in law to meet the academic requirements of the School of Law.
   
   
3. MSRS to MHA - prepares students for administrative roles in healthcare organizations within and beyond the field of radiology. The Master of Science of Radiologic Sciences (MSRS) requires 36 credit hours for degree completion. For the MSRS student who is interested in advancing their career by also earning the MHA, they will complete just 21 additional credit hours of MHA courses all with a B or higher including:
   
   MHA 510 - Effective Healthcare Operations (3 CH)
   MHA 520 - Healthcare Policy (3 CH)
   MHA 566 - Managing Health Information (3 CH)
   MHA 575 - Current Events Seminar in Healthcare (3 CH)
   MHA 580 - Managerial Epidemiology and Evidence Based Management (3 CH)
   MHA 582 - Healthcare Economics (3 CH)
   MHA 585 - Financial Issues in Healthcare (3 CH).
   
   Students must be admitted separately to the MSRS and MHA programs and all policies apply for each program independently.
   
   
4. MDOS Track II to MHA - prepares Master of Science in Medical Dosimetry (MDOS) Track II students for administrative roles pertinent to clinical and administrative positions in healthcare, within and beyond the field of medical dosimetry. MDOS Track II students interested in advancing their career by also earning the MHA will complete just 21 additional credit hours of MHA courses all with a B or higher including:
   
   MHA 510 - Effective Healthcare Operations (3 CH)
   MHA 520 - Healthcare Policy (3 CH)
   MHA 566 - Managing Health Information (3 CH)
   MHA 575 - Current Events Seminar in Healthcare (3 CH)
   MHA 580 - Managerial Epidemiology and Evidence Based Management (3 CH)
   MHA 582 - Healthcare Economics (3 CH)
   MHA 585 - Financial Issues in Healthcare (3 CH).
   
   Students must be admitted separately to the MDOS Track II and MHA programs and all policies apply for each program independently.

Certificate in Infection Prevention and Control

The post-baccalaureate certificate in Infection Prevention and Control is designed for students with an interest in infection prevention and control within healthcare organizations. The certificate consists of 18 credit hours of coursework. A grade of “B” or higher is required in all courses and all coursework must be completed at SIU. Students must complete the following courses:

• MHA 580: Managerial Epidemiology & Evidence Based Management (3 CH)
• MHA 593: Research in Healthcare Administration (3-6 CH)
• MHA 510: Effective Healthcare Operations (3 CH)
• HCM 463: Environment of Care (3 CH)
• HCM 464: Infection Prevention Informatics (3 CH)
• HCM 465: Infection Prevention & Control Operations (3 CH)

Students earning a grade lower than a “B” must retake individual courses, only once. If a grade of “B” or higher is not received on the second attempt of an individual course, the student is removed from the certificate program due to unsatisfactory academic performance.

For more information contact:

School of Health Sciences
Phone: 618-453-7211
Email: health.sciences@siu.edu