Health Administration | 2023-2024 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 39 credit hours of the core MHA courses including: MHA 510, MHA 511, MHA 520, MHA 531, MHA 536, MHA 551, MHA 555, MHA 556, MHA 566, MHA 575, MHA 580, MHA 582, MHA 585, and MHA 593 (3-6 CH).

To facilitate completion of the program, the course of instruction will consist of 42 credit hours.

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 or 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 may 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.

On-campus MHA courses are restricted to on-campus students in the graduate programs within the School of Health Sciences with MHA advisor approval. Online MHA courses are restricted to online students within the School of Health Sciences with advisor approval. The MHA program strictly prohibits students from changing delivery formats unless there is a well-documented medical reason presented to the Program Director to do so.

Transfer courses from other academic institutions are not permitted as equivalencies to the core MHA courses.

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.

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./M.H.I. Concurrent Degrees

The Masters in Health Administration (MHA) program offers the student an excellent opportunity to earn two Masters degrees for just 21 additional credit hours. For the student who is interested in advancing their career by also earning the Masters in Health Informatics (MHI), additional courses beyond the MHA that the student must successfully complete with a “B” or higher include:

• 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 – Methods of Medical Informatics (3 CH)
• MHI 584 – Consumer Informatics (3 CH)
• MHI 593 – Advanced Research in Healthcare (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 & Control Operations (3 CH).

Students interested in the concurrent degree option must meet with the program’s graduate advisor to design a plan for completing both degrees. All Graduate School policies and procedures apply as well as program policies and procedures for each the MHA and MHI as noted in the Graduate Catalog, and/or each individual program’s Student Handbook, and/or each individual program website.

Certificate in Clinical Leadership

The Certificate in Clinical Leadership is open to post-bachelor level students who hold a license in a clinical specialty. It is designed to provide the knowledge and skills specialized for roles in clinical leadership and/or as a preparatory certificate for graduate education. Courses in the certificate are specific to patient care environments and will include, but not be limited to: strategic planning, operations, human resource planning, health information, and evidence based managerial decision making specific to patient care environments. Students must complete 18 credit hours of graduate level study, all at SIUC, with a B or above in all required courses which includes:

• MHA 510: Effective Health Care Operations (3 CH) (same as MHI 531)
• MHA 531: Human Resources in Healthcare (3 CH) (same as MHI 531)
• MHA 536: Strategic Leadership in Healthcare (3 CH) (same as MHI 536)
• MHA 566: Managing Health Information (3 CH) (same as MHI 566)
• MHA 580: Managerial Epidemiology and Evidence Based Management (3 CH) (same as MHI 580)
• MHA 585: Financial Issues in Healthcare (3 CH) (Same as MHI 585)

Students earning a grade lower than a B may 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.

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 556: Individual Research in Healthcare (3 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” may 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