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online mha degree

Master of Health Administration

Boost your healthcare education with an MHA degree

Step up to make meaningful change in healthcare. With a Master of Health Administration degree you can develop your healthcare knowledge and expertise as a leader. We’re empowering a new kind of healthcare professional. Our capstone course gives you the opportunity to use the assignment to create a leadership proposal to help you pursue your career goals in the healthcare industry. And the skills-based curriculum of this CAHME-accredited program[1] aligns with essential leadership competencies and the standards of the healthcare industry’s premier professional association, the American College of Healthcare Executive.

[1] The Master of Health Administration (MHA) program is programmatically accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME), PO Box 911, Spring House, PA 19477,  301-298-1820.

Flexibility

Program be completed online in short, manageable, 6-week courses.

Scholarships

Apply for a scholarship to see if you qualify for either $1k or $3k starting with your first course. 

Apply free

No cost to request transcripts
No GMAT
No essay required

Ignite Your Passion

Start when you're ready

Courses

Browse courses for your MHA degree

All MHA program courses are based on current topics in healthcare and provide career-based skills applicable today.

Skills-aligned program icon

Look for this icon to see which skills you’ll learn in a course.

Completion requirements: 36 credits

You’ll need 36 credits (3 credits per course) to complete this Master of Health Administration program. Your course schedule may vary based on transferable credits or credits earned through the University’s Prior Learning Assessment.

Core courses build the business-side of your health admin experience with strategic planning, financial management and industry tools like SWOT analysis. Use your capstone course as an opportunity to develop a leadership proposal that may be applicable within your healthcare organization or as demonstration of your advanced health admin skills and abilities for new career opportunities.

Master of Health Administration enrollment requirements:

  • An undergraduate degree or higher from a college or university with approved institutional accreditation, or that is a candidate for accreditation, or comparable undergraduate bachelor's degree or higher earned at a recognized foreign institution or a graduate degree or higher from an ABA accredited institution (i.e- JD, LLB, LLM). If the institution became accredited while the student was attending, a minimum of 75% of the coursework taken toward the degree must have been completed while the institution was accredited or during the candidacy period.
  • A cumulative GPA of 2.5 for all coursework listed on the degree posted transcript at the same level as the conferred degree (i.e., undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral) is required for admission.
  • A minimum equivalent of three (3) years of full-time, post-high school professional work experience within the past ten years.
  • All applicants must be currently employed or have access to a suitable work environment for the completion of course assignments.

Download MHA Competency Model

Competency-based (CB) Master of Health Administration option

Complete in less than 12 months and for under $11,000

Self-paced, with the assistance of your instructor, this program is designed for working professionals who have a bachelor’s degree and three years of experience, including leading a team in healthcare environment. To be successful in the program, you’ll also need strong organizational and time management skills. See the Cost of Attendance.

Specialize Your MHA Degree

You can specialize your degree to focus on an area of interest in your healthcare career.

Equip yourself with skills to navigate the healthcare laws, rules and regulations designed to help keep patients and providers safe. Choose this MHA Health Care Compliance and Policy specialization if:

  • You are interested in healthcare ethics
  • You want to improve patient care through risk management and policy compliance
  • You are ready for the challenges of an ever-changing healthcare policy environment

With this dual-degree, gain an in-depth understanding of healthcare systems and the business practices that help them run smoothly. Choose the MHA/MBA if:

  • You are interested in both healthcare and business
  • You want to be a part of the big-picture solutions for organizations from marketing and management to healthcare systems
  • You strive for business leadership roles within a healthcare organization

University of Phoenix College of Health Professions commitment

Healthcare with a mission

We strive to empower you to make positive changes in healthcare. That’s why the Master of Health Administration program philosophy is driven by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) Triple Aim. This framework for optimizing health system performance strives to accomplish three critical objectives: 

  • Improving the health of the population
  • Enhancing the patient experience of care 
  • Reducing the per capita cost of care

Healthcare with a vision

Our College of Health Professions wants to foster a new type of health sector leader who is authentic, transparent and creative – who thinks critically and with agility, and who is comfortable at the intersection of industry expertise and academic scholarship.

Why earn your MHA degree?

Opportunity to expand your earning potential

A master's in health administration degree may help you earn more as the demand for healthcare managers grows each year.

Opens up leadership roles

Your MHA degree prepares you with the graduate-level skills you need to become a leader within a healthcare organization.

A step toward FACHE certification

While there are other requirements to earn your (FACHE) Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives certificate, completing a master’s in healthcare administration is one of the requirements for the certification. The credential:

  • Provides recognition as a leader among leaders in healthcare management
  • Demonstrates your competency in all areas of healthcare management
  • Signifies your lifelong commitment to change and improvement
Skills-aligned program icon

Earn career-relevant skills in weeks – not years.

Learning shouldn’t take years to put into practice. That’s why we’re empowering you to build career-relevant skills with every five- to six-week course.

We’ve worked with the labor market researcher Lightcast to identify in-demand skills for occupations and mapped those to our related associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs.

Tuition

Transfer credits

Your previous eligible college credits could save you time and money. That’s why we’ve accepted transcripts from 5,000+ institutions, so you can apply eligible transfer credits from an institutionally accredited university or college toward your Master of Health Administration degree. Check to see if you have qualifying transfer credits. In most cases we can request your transcripts for you — at no cost to you.

Affordable, fixed tuition

Lock in the peace of mind that comes with fixed, affordable tuition. You’ll enjoy one flat rate from the moment you enroll until the day you graduate from your Master of Health Administration program. That’s your Tuition Guarantee.

Tuition Guarantee

Affordable, fixed tuition

$698

Cost per credit

$698

Scholarships to earn your master’s degree, more affordably.

Everyone deserves an affordable education. That’s why we offer an unlimited number of scholarships, so if you qualify, you can get one. We believe everyone deserves an affordable education they shouldn’t have to compete for. Starting with your first course, every qualifying new student will be awarded one of our scholarships - regardless of your financial situation or GPA, or you’ll get the best savings you qualify for. Whether you’re a new or transfer student, you can apply for a scholarship. Explore scholarship options at University of Phoenix.

Financial aid

You have options when it comes to paying for MHA degree, such as federal grants and loans. Our finance advisors can answer your questions about financial aid and can help guide you through the process.

Federal Student Loan Basics

Careers & Outcomes

What can you do with master’s in health administration degree?

About 54,000 job openings for medical and health services are projected each year. Be prepared with the graduate-level skills and knowledge you need for a healthcare admin career.  

A MHA can help prepare you to be a:

  • Health information management director
  • Health manager
  • Practice administrator

View student outcomes at the CAHME program outcomes report.

Top skills learned in this program:

  • Health Administration

  • Business Management

  • Communications

  • Leadership

  • Professionalism

  • Strategic Planning

Ready to get started?

Start your application for free or request additional information.

What you’ll learn

When you earn your Master’s in Health Administration degree, you’ll be equipped with a concrete set of skills you can apply on the job. You’ll learn how to:

  • Evaluate industry and organizational dynamics in the healthcare environment.
  • Generate core business strategies based on innovative concepts developed in the program.
  • Construct strategic relationships with diverse stakeholders across the health sector to achieve business objectives with a current or desired employer.
  • Develop a leadership identity that reflects traits required in complex healthcare environments.
  • Produce a personal legacy that fosters investment in people and the community to drive the future of health care.
  • Foster the ability to create and execute operational improvement plans that address transformation, communication, and execution elements within the sector.

28% Growth

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job growth for medical and health services managers is projected to be much faster than average between 2022 and 2032.

The BLS Projected Growth for 2022-2032 is published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This data reflects the BLS’ projections of national (not local) conditions. These data points are not specific to University of Phoenix students or graduates.

Admissions

Apply for free – no application fee, no obligation.

Starting your MHA degree is a big decision — and we want you to feel great about it. That’s why we remove obstacles from your application.

  • No GMAT
  • No essay required 
  • We’ll request transcripts at no cost to you, when possible, and we accept eligible credits from over 5,000 accredited institutions.
G. Galindo - Enrollment Representative

Gabriel G., Enrollment Rep

Receive 1-on-1 support

You have a support team of real people you can lean on. And our academic counselors, who are with you every step of the way, have earned a 5-star rating from 85% of our surveyed students.[1]

[1] Transactional Survey, September 2022-August 2023 (23,739 respondents)

Start a conversation with an enrollment representative today.

Call us at 844-937-8679 or chat with us 7 days a week.

Receive 1-on-1 support

You have a support team of real people you can lean on. And our academic counselors, who are with you every step of the way, have earned a 5-star rating from 90% of our surveyed students.[1] Start a conversation with an enrollment representative today.

[1] Transactional Survey, August 2021-22 (18,645 respondents)

Gabriel G., Enrollment Representative

Call or chat with us 7 days a week.

Student Experience

An education that fits your busy life

Balancing family, work and school

Work toward your Master of Health Administration degree without giving up what matters most. Start your MHA degree year-round and take one class at a time.

Online learning

Health admin courses include engaging video content to help reinforce the importance of the skills being covered. These videos lend a human touch to the courses and provide you with insights from practitioner faculty who are working within the field.

Around-the-clock support and resources

As a health admin student, you don’t have to go it alone. We have a support team available up to 14 hours a day, 5 days a week. 

Network with fellow healthcare professionals through student organizations

Meet other health administration students while you study. You can even join one of the largest honor societies — Upsilon Phi Delta

What's your learning style?

Take the Learning Style Quiz and find out.

How do you like to learn?

Which pace best suits your learning style?

How do you manage your time?

How long have you worked in the field of study you are looking to get a degree in?

I have an undergraduate degree in the same field I'd like to earn my degree in.

Still have questions about your learning style? Request info for a follow-up call.

Industry Spotlight

The state of healthcare

The healthcare industry is much broader than hospitals. That’s why health admins need the skills to pivot for a diverse range of organizations from health clinics and hospitals of all sizes to retail health locations, at-home services, health insurance companies and government entities. The diversity and range of opportunity has made healthcare administrators essential for organizing and managing facilities effectively across this wide spectrum.

What healthcare professionals need to know

The healthcare industry is constantly changing. New laws and regulatory requirements require healthcare administrators to adapt policy and procedure without compromising patient care.  

Your MHA degree

Your Master in Health Administration degree also prepares you with adaptable leadership skills to manage change as the industry changes. Education never stands still. That’s why we have advisory councils made up of leaders in their fields. Made up of leaders in their fields, the Advisory Council meets periodically to review industry changes, providing valuable insights that help keep our health programs relevant. 

Classroom skills for real world experience

Our practitioner faculty bring the healthcare environment to you

Our health admin faculty at University of Phoenix guide students through the fast-paced healthcare industry with first-hand experiences and real-world exercises. Students learn to develop proposals and policies, manage personnel, craft budgets and use Gemba workplace walk-throughs to experience the pulse of actual healthcare environments that health admins work in every day. 

Faculty Spotlight

Healthcare professionals dedicated to you

Your academic success is a top priority for our deans and faculty members. They bring an average of 28+ years of experience and hands-on perspective to the classroom and help bridge the gap between academics and industry knowledge. 

Christopher Wilson

I’m the grittiest person. And so are our students.

Christopher Wilson
Faculty of the Year 2020, College of Health Professions
University of Phoenix

I’m the grittiest person. And so are our students.

Accreditation

Count on the quality of your education

programmatic accreditation

The Master of Health Administration (MHA) program is programmatically accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME). 

For additional information, visit cahme.org or call 301-298-1820.

Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME)
PO Box 911
Spring House, PA 19477 

Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education

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Frequently asked questions about the Master of Health Administration degree

Timeframes vary depending on your time commitment. You may also pursue a self-paced competency-based MHA degree which, while more rigorous and demanding, allows you to complete the program in less than 12 months. Explore MHA CB degree

The Master of Health Administration (MHA) program is programmatically accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME), PO Box 911, Spring House, PA 19477, 301-298-1820. As a discipline-specific accreditation agency, CAHME sets high standards for health administration degrees.

A master’s degree in healthcare administration prepares you for roles in the growing healthcare industry including: 

  • Medical and Health Services Managers 
  • Health Educators 
  • Practice Administrator

While widely available, not all programs are available to residents of all states. Please check with a University Enrollment Representative.