Master of Health Administration (MHA)
The Master of Health Administration (MHA) program prepares students for a career in the management of health services organizations in the private and public sectors, ranging from direct service providers (hospitals, clinics, long-term care settings) through the ancillary industries (health insurers, quality review organizations). In addition to the core public health disciplines, the 58-hour MHA program provides training to develop competencies [pdf] in management, accounting, finance, information technology, quantitative methods, leadership, and evaluation and planning – all geared for healthcare organizations.
The MHA is offered in a full-time format for regular students, and in a part-time
format for working professionals. Most of the courses are offered in the late afternoons
and evenings, thereby permitting people who work full time to attend with minimal
disruption of their work obligations.
Deciding whether the USC MHA program is a good fit
The Department of Health Services Policy and Management offers two masters programs, the MHA and the Master of Public Health (MPH). The MHA program is more business and organization-management oriented, while the MPH program is more public health agency/program/community health oriented in its content.
Applicants should consider their preferences and aptitudes for managerial roles in
organizations when choosing between the MHA and MPH programs. Volunteering at a local
hospital or large physician practice (or other care setting) or interviewing healthcare
executives/managers at a local hospital can help applicants to understand the roles
of healthcare managers. This will help you to know which degree is a good fit for
your career.
MHA Program Mission
The MHA program’s mission is to prepare healthcare administrators and leaders to have the competencies required for effectively managing health systems and the proficiencies for strategically addressing the social and population health responsibilities of healthcare organizations. The MHA program will serve to prepare the healthcare leadership workforce in South Carolina, throughout the United States, and beyond (Adopted Fall 2021).
MHA Program Vision
The MHA program will aspire for excellence and will be a resource for excellence in
graduate healthcare management education. The program will prepare well trained graduates
ready to assume or progress to leadership positions in healthcare arena. The MHA Program
will serve as a networking/integrating resource for alumni, practitioners and leaders
in health services in South Carolina and beyond (Adopted Fall 2021).
MHA Program Core Values
- Community: The MHA Program actively engages and collaborates with community partners and stakeholders through experiential learning, alumni and practitioner involvement, placements in high quality graduate assistantships, fellowships and jobs.
- Diversity and Inclusion: The MHA program attracts a diverse group of individuals, supports diverse students, alumni, health system and organizations, and embraces respect for diversity and inclusion of all persons.
- Impact: Through inquiry, discovery and workforce development, the MHA program will improve health and well-being of the serving communities, population, and health systems.
- Integrity: The MHA Program adheres to the highest standards of honesty, fairness, stewardship, professional responsibility and scholarly ethics.
- Learning: MHA Students are center of the program. With its outstanding faculty and staff, strong practitioner complement, the MHA Program provides diverse and dynamic educational and experiential opportunities for all learners.
- Leadership: The MHA Program equips leaders with necessary skills to become change agents in health systems, their communities, and the field.
- Student-Centric: Student bonding and cohesion is a priority for the MHA Program which provides support to ensure an organic network growth among each cohort’s peers.
- Professional Development: The MHA Program will drive strength of all partners, students, and alumni through continuous networking and connections and cultivate a learning environment where students thrive to be life-long learners rather than just a graduate.
What are the typical career paths for healthcare managers?
Individuals from a wide range of undergraduate majors and minors can expect to succeed
in health administration, given the many career opportunities the field offers. Healthcare
institutions include primary care practices, hospitals and allied services, long-term
care facilities and health insurance companies. Within a health organization, MHA
graduates can be employed in finance and business development, operations management,
information technology management, quality of care management, including Lean and
Six Sigma applications, human resources, community relations and field programs, social
responsibility, and many other roles.
Graduation and Job Placement Rates
The MHA program has a record of 95-100% graduation rates since 2003. In academic years 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21, the program’s graduation rate was 100%, with all full-time students completing the program within two years of enrollment. Additionally, our program has consistently had 90-100% job placement rates in either administrative fellowships or entry level management positions in healthcare or allied organizations after graduation. For academic years 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21, our job placement rates were 92%, 92%, and 93% respectively, with students acquiring full-time jobs/administrative fellowships within 3 months of graduation. These placement rates were also maintained at 6 months post-graduation.
Typically, each year about 3-4 graduating students (out of 15-22) obtain nationally
competitive administrative fellowships at major health care systems or centers throughout
the United States. These fellowships are designed to train new graduates across the
hospital system for rapid advancement to leadership positions. In recent years the
fellowship locations included the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, Bon Secours Health System
in South Carolina and Virginia, Atrium Health, Duke University, MD Anderson Cancer
Center, Kaiser Permanente, Wake Forest Medical Center, and Palmetto Health to name
a few.
Educational Goals and Content
The USC MHA program prepares healthcare managers with both the competencies required to manage effectively in a market–driven healthcare system and an understanding of the approaches needed to address the social and population health responsibilities of healthcare organizations. The goal is to prepare: (1) individuals without previous health services management experience for entry-level managerial positions and facilitate their advancement into senior management; and (2) experienced health service professionals for promotion and further career advancement.
MHA Curriculum and Pre-requisites
The MHA is a 58-semester-hour program. All students should have completed an undergraduate accounting course or acquired competency in basic undergraduate accounting through private study of a textbook prior to enrollment. The curriculum requires:
| Courses | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Management | 31 hours |
| Accounting and Finance | 9 hours |
| Quantitative Methods | 3 hours |
| Public Health PUBH 700 | 3 hours |
| Managerial Epidemiology | 3 hours |
| Health Planning | 3 hours |
| Approved Electives | 3 hours |
| Management Residency | 3 hours |
“Earn while you learn” - Opportunities
A key strength of our MHA program is that, subject to availability and to economic conditions, we identify opportunities in healthcare organizations in the greater Columbia area for students to interview for compensated graduate assistantship (GA) positions (10-20 hours a week). Graduate assistantships provide a small stipend, usually ranging from $1,500-$2,000 per semester for 10 hours a week, prorated to the hours worked up to a maximum of 20 hours a week. In addition, out-of-state students who have a graduate assistantship have their tuition reduced to in-state rates.
Historically, almost all full-time students have been hired as GAs beginning with
their first semester and all were placed at least in some semesters. However, applicants
should note that placements and locations are affected by general economic conditions,
the needs of potential sponsoring organizations, the student’s educational background
(major) and work experience, and the student’s initiative and enthusiasm displayed
during the interview. It can take until the middle of the first semester (or beyond
depending on the above factors) to complete GA-ship interviews and placements. To
maximize chances of being placed in a healthcare or allied organization, applicants
are encouraged to volunteer at a healthcare organization if they do not have prior
work or internship experience.
Job placement benefits of graduate assistantships
Because of the near-universal placement of students in GA-ship positions in the past, our graduates’ job acquisition rate has been very high, many within 0-3 months of graduation, and most graduates within six months. All applicants should be aware that the graduate assistantship will cover only a portion of the tuition and fees. Applicants should plan financially accordingly and also plan to finance their living costs during the program. We are working to increase funds available for scholarships. At present, we have limited scholarship opportunities.