Health Administration, M.H.A.

Saint Louis University's nationally ranked Master of Health Administration program prepares students to be leaders in a variety of health care organizations such as hospitals, health systems, insurance companies, pharmacy-benefit management organizations, consulting firms and physician organizations.

SLU has been a pioneer in health management education since 1947. A leader in developing competency-based and practice-integrated education, our spirit of innovation endures as we continually develop new options for students to explore health administration. Join us in continuing this mission of excellence in teaching, research and service for the next 75 years.

From the premier learning experiences and professional development exposure, to the faculty and staff who pour their entire hearts into helping students reach their full potential, I feel blessed to be a part of this program and family. I will be taking all my experiences and training with me to my fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, and I look forward to remaining connected to the program and pouring back into it any way I can!" 

-Michalia Dix, M.H.A. Class of 2022

Program Highlights

• The Health Administration, M.H.A. and Business Administration, M.B.A. or Health Administration, M.H.A. and Law, J.D. dual degree programs allow you to earn two degrees in a compressed timeline.
• Working professionals can earn the Health Care Quality and Performance Excellence certificate in under a year and have the option to apply it to the M.H.A. program. 
• Residential and online/hybrid options are available. Pursue the option that works best for you. 
• Our competency-based model focuses on how you will apply your skills rather than simply what you learn in class. 
• About 97% of our recent graduates were beginning full-time careers in their fields, starting fellowships or seeking further graduate education within 90 days of graduation.
• Earn a certificate in health care quality and performance excellence at no additional cost.
• Multiple areas of emphasis are available. 
• Our leading internship program prepares you to launch your career. 

Curriculum Overview

As one of the nation’s most established M.H.A. programs, SLU's M.H.A. connects students to a coast-to-coast network of internship sites and alumni working in senior leadership positions. The program is triple-accredited: the M.H.A. program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME); the College for Public Health and Social Justice is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH); and Saint Louis University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). 

The curriculum's foundation is the SLU competency model, pioneered early in health care pedagogy's shift to competency-based education, and the cornerstone of CAHME accreditation. A competency-based health care management education is focused not simply on the lectures you hear or writing papers, but on what you can do as a professional once you graduate.  

Fieldwork and Research Opportunities

SLU's program offers students a practice-integrated education, including a 10-week internship with senior leaders in many of the nation's top health systems and health care organizations. Internship experiences are based on students' individual goals, objectives and preferences. Students are transformed into knowledgeable, ethical professionals prepared for a range of management careers across the health sector. Applied, practical projects are an important means of professional growth. In addition to the internship between years one and two of the program, students will work on multiple applied projects throughout the curriculum.

2023 Internship placements span 13 states and include organizations such as:

• St. Louis Children's Hospital
• SSM Medical Group
• Centene
• Cleveland Clinic
• UC Health
• Hartford Healthcare
• Northwestern Medicine
• HealthScape Advisors
• MA General Hospital
• Anders CPAs & Advisors
• U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs
• UT Southwestern
• Washington University in St. Louis

Careers

M.H.A. graduates occupy senior management positions in a variety of health care settings. Alumni work in health and hospital systems, insurance companies, academic medical centers, physician practices, consulting firms and benefit management organizations, such as Express Scripts.

The 2023 class had a 100% graduation rate and 90 percent of graduates secured full-time careers in their fields, started fellowships or were seeking further graduate education within 120 days of graduation.

The 2023 alumni are working in:

• Post-graduate fellowships (39%)
• Hospitals and health systems (20%)
• Physician practice (e.g., medical clinic) (2%)
• Foundation or voluntary agency (e.g., RWJ Foundation, Red Cross) (2%)
• Consulting (17%)
• Employed outside healthcare (5%)
• Continuing education (5%)
• Not seeking employment or unknown (10%)

Admission Requirements

Applicants should have a bachelor’s degree, preferably with a 3.00 grade point average. The GRE is not required. Applications are reviewed on a holistic and rolling basis. 

Application Requirements

• Application form and fee (apply at HAMPCAS)
• Transcript(s)
• Three letters of recommendation
• Resume/curriculum vitae
• Interview (on-campus interviews are preferred, but phone or Zoom options are available for situations where travel to SLU is not feasible)
• Professional goal statement

Requirements for International Students

All admission policies and requirements for domestic students apply to international students. International students must also meet the following additional requirements:

• Demonstrate English Language Proficiency
• Financial documents are required to complete an application for admission and be reviewed for admission and merit scholarships. 
• Proof of financial support that must include:
  • A letter of financial support from the person(s) or sponsoring agency funding the student's time at Saint Louis University
  • A letter from the sponsor's bank verifying that the funds are available and will be so for the duration of the student's study at the University
• Academic records, in English translation, of students who have undertaken postsecondary studies outside the United States must include:
  • Courses taken and/or lectures attended
  • Practical laboratory work
  • The maximum and minimum grades attainable
  • The grades earned or the results of all end-of-term examinations
  • Any honors or degrees received.

WES and ECE transcripts are accepted.

Application Deadline

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until classes are full.

Review Process

All applications are considered on an individual basis with a balanced approach. Candidates may be invited to an on-site interview.

Tuition

Additional charges may apply. Other resources are listed below:

Net Price Calculator

Information on Tuition and Fees

Miscellaneous Fees

Information on Summer Tuition

Scholarships and Financial Aid

The College for Public Health and Social Justice offers several ways to help finance graduate education.  Opportunities include a limited number of merit-based scholarships and graduate research assistantships.  Awards are made to applicants with the highest combinations of GPAs and test scores who complete their applications by the priority deadlines.

For more information, visit the Office of Student Financial Services.

Accreditation

Saint Louis University's College for Public Health and Social Justice is fully accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). To see our most recent accreditation documentation, please visit the College for Public Health and Social Justice website.

The Master of Health Administration is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education, the Council on Education for Public Health, and the Higher Learning Commission.

Saint Louis University's Master of Health Administration (M.H.A.) works to transform talented, service-motivated students into knowledgeable, ethical professionals prepared for a range of management careers across the U.S. health sector.

To achieve this goal the program relies on competency-based education (CBE). In fact, SLU's M.H.A. program has a long history of CBE. In 2002 the program developed one of the three nationally recognized competency models that has since been adopted and adapted by health management and health administration programs throughout the country.

In keeping with CBE, classes and the corresponding learning objectives are organized to meet 21 core competencies necessary for success in health administration across the broad health sector. Similar types of knowledge, skills and abilities are grouped into five competency domains (leadership, critical thinking/analysis, management, culture and community engagement, and communication). To remain at the forefront of health administration education, the SLU M.H.A. program regularly reevaluates the model with the input of alumni and other health industry professionals. 

Leadership (L)

• L1. Leadership Excellence: Demonstrate the abilities and behaviors that are characteristic of leadership excellence, which include establishing a vision and inspiring and supporting others to work towards that shared vision and related goals
• L2. Ethical Behavior: Demonstrate ethical behavior through words and actions, which include honesty, integrity and a concern for justice
• L3. Social Responsibility: Prioritize goals and policies that balance the mission, vision and values of organizational stakeholders with the values and needs of the community
• L4. Adapting to Change: Evaluate changing environments, listen to diverse viewpoints and propose effective responses that align with personal values and organizational mission

Critical Thinking And Analysis (CTA)

• CTA1. Data Analysis: Apply appropriate methods and technology to analyze data patterns, trends and relationships
• CTA2. Environmental Analysis: Evaluate political, economic, social, technological, workforce, legal and regulatory factors that impact systems, organizations, communities and individuals at multiple levels along the health care continuum
• CTA3. Translating Complexity: Translate the results of complex analyses into information that illustrates potential problems and opportunities in a persuasive, meaningful way
• CTA4. Evidence-Based Decision Making: Assemble and utilize reliable and valid information sources and data to support informed, evidence-based decision-making
• CTA5. Systems Thinking:  Apply appropriate models and methods to analyze issues from a systems perspective and to design creative, flexible solutions that advance organizational goals and effectiveness
• CTA6. Ethical Analysis: Identify ethical concerns in management and policy and analyze those concerns using appropriate frameworks and principles

Management (M) 

• M1. Management Functions: Apply management theories, approaches and core functions to routine operations and to current and emerging issues in the health care environment
• M2. Teamwork: Demonstrate the ability to lead and work with people and teams to accomplish planned goals and actions on time, with budgeted resources
• M3.  Essential Skills: Demonstrate essential management skills, which include efficient time and resource management; conflict negotiation and resolution; coaching and motivating others; facilitating discussion, cooperation and consensus-building; delegating authority
• M4. Adapting to Uncertainty: Under conditions of uncertainty, demonstrate the ability to produce high-quality work, make decisions, adapt to changing priorities and learn from mistakes
• M5. Systems Management: Demonstrate the ability to deploy organizational resources and enforce accountability to support the implementation of systems-based management approaches
• M6. Professionalism: Demonstrate conduct characteristic of health care professionals, which includes adhering to professional expectations, workplace norms and performance standards; engaging in professional and community service; and participating in professional development opportunities

Culture And Community Engagement (CCE)

• CCE1. Cultural Competence: Build cultural competence in personal standards and practices and within the performance standards and practices of organizations, systems and communities
• CCE2. Community Engagement: Apply evidence-based approaches to engage communities and multilevel partners in working together to improve modifiable determinants of health and health outcomes

Communication (C)

• C1. Create Information: Demonstrate the ability to promptly create and organize ideas and information that are effective and customized to fulfill the needs of the target audience
• C2. Convey Information: Demonstrate formal and informal communication using traditional and contemporary modalities to convey messages that are clear and cogent for the target audience
• C3. Interpersonal Effectiveness: Foster positive interpersonal relationships with internal and external stakeholders through use of bidirectional communication techniques, which include listening and responding appropriately to the ideas and opinions of others; giving and receiving feedback; and participating in crucial conversations

Non-Course Requirements

• We recommend student membership in the following health care management professional organizations: American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), Missouri-ACHE, Healthcare Financial Membership Association (HFMA), Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), and/or any other health care management professional organization.
• Concentration-specific comprehensive exam (HMP 5950 Special Study for Exams)  In this case-based culminating experience, students receive a health care business case and a short window of time to analyze it, develop a proposal and present it to a panel. This simulates the real workplace experience of studying a business problem and presenting a proposal to the management team in an organization.

Continuation Standards

Students must maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 in all graduate/professional courses.

Students must earn a B- or better in all required courses. Elective courses may be passed with a C or better. 

Roadmaps are recommended semester-by-semester plans of study for programs and assume full-time enrollment unless otherwise noted.  

Courses and milestones designated as critical (marked with !) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation. Transfer credit may change the roadmap.

This roadmap should not be used in the place of regular academic advising appointments. All students are encouraged to meet with their advisor/mentor each semester. Requirements, course availability and sequencing are subject to change.

*

The M.H.A. curriculum requires completion of 60 credits of courses as specified above. Students, who complete all of their M.H.A. requirements by the end of year two, as scheduled are eligible to be awarded their M.H.A. degree in May of year two. 

Core courses in the M.H.A. curriculum are distributed across four areas, as follows: 

• Public Health (College for Public Health and Social Justice) Core (PUBH): includes one 3-credit PUBH core course (= 3 credits) required of the College for all degree programs.
• Health Management and Policy (Department) Core (HMP): includes four 3-credit required HMP core courses and one 0-credit required HMP core courses (= 12 credits total).
• Health Management (MHA degree) Core (HM): includes ten 3-credit required HM core courses (= 30 credits total)
• Elective course options (ELT): includes 12 credits of elective graduate courses, which can include any graduate course offered by the HMP department, another department or program in the SPH, or any other academic unit of the University that is not part of the M.H.A. required course curriculum.

All full-time M.H.A. students must register for and satisfactorily complete three semesters of HMP-5900: Health Management and Policy Rounds during year one and year two in the two-year curriculum (students will take HMP 5900 during fall and spring semesters of year one and fall semester of year two.) 

Internship: All M.H.A. students are required to complete a professional internship in health management during their course of study.

Students must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 27 credits in year one M.H.A. curriculum (including both fall and spring semesters of HMP-591), be in good academic standing (i.e., have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher) and obtain the approval of the M.H.A. program director and HMP internship and placement coordinator before enrolling in the internship program. This means that students may have no incomplete coursework before being placed in the field. 

Most health management internships consist of a 12-week, full-time placement with a private health provider or other health care organization during the summer prior to each student’s final year of academic course work. Placements are made by the HMP faculty, in consultation with the HMP internship and placement coordinator, who match each individual student’s experience and career interests with the nature and preferences of available placement sites each year.

The required quality elective may be fulfilled with either HMP-5100 Quality Improvement in Health Care Management or HMP-5810 Six Sigma Green Belt.

You may apply through SOPHAS or HAMPCAS

Apply for Admission Through SOPHAS

Apply for Admission Through HAMPCAS

For additional admission questions, please contact:
Bernie Backer
Director of graduate recruitment and admissions 
314-977-8144 
bernard.backer@slu.edu