Master of Healthcare Administration
Website: https://twu.edu/health-care-administration/graduate-degrees/master-of-healthcare-administration/
The Master of Healthcare Administration (M.H.A.) degree prepares students to assume leadership and management positions in the healthcare industry. The M.H.A. is accredited by CAHME, the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education, and emphasizes the application of ethical healthcare leadership within the broader societal and economic environments. Our program delivers business skills in leadership, operations analysis, human resources management, accounting, and finance focused on the complex healthcare industry, from hospital administration to managing clinics and other healthcare entities.
Students have an opportunity to work on comprehensive client-based projects, and also may apply to participate in an administrative internship. While an internship or fieldwork is not required, it is strongly recommended for all individuals who lack healthcare experience or whose experience is primarily technical or clinical. Students make the decision whether or not to include an internship as one of the M.H.A. electives in conjunction with their faculty advisor. In addition to the M.H.A. degree, students may also choose an optional emphasis area, a dual degree option, or a post-baccalaureate certificate.
Marketable Skills
Defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's 60x30 Strategic Plan as, "Those skills valued by employers that can be applied in a variety of work settings, including interpersonal, cognitive, and applied skills areas. These skills can be either primary or complementary to a major and are acquired by students through education, including curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities."
Our MHA Program uses the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL) competency model as the framework for curriculum planning and operation. Texas Woman’s University was one of the universities and healthcare groups that worked together to develop the initial model. Our competency model was reviewed and updated in June 2023 by the HCA faculty, alumni, and its practitioner-based Advisory Board. The foundation of the Program’s curriculum is to facilitate the development of a depth and breadth of knowledge in the health sector as well as 17 professional competencies to support career success in healthcare management and leadership.
The competencies are organized in their support of four domains: Critical Thinking, Analysis, Problem Solving and Business Skills; Communication and Interpersonal Effectiveness; Professionalism and Ethics; Management and Leadership. Students completing the MHA program will be assessed on their ability to demonstrate the competencies at the basic (B), intermediate (I), and advanced (A)-levels.
All MHA students monitor their growth and development according to these competencies through a series of self- and faculty-assessments, and use this feedback to create professional development plans to guide them toward their career goals.
Critical Thinking, Analysis, Problem Solving, and Business Skill
- L3. Analytical Thinking (A)
- L8. Financial Skills (A)
- L17. Performance Measurement (I)
- L18. Process Management & Organizational Design (A)
Communication and Interpersonal Effectiveness
- L5. Collaboration (A)
- L22. Communication Skills (A)
- L21. Relationship Building (A)
Professionalism and Ethics
- L1. Accountability (A)
- L22. Self-Confidence (A)
- L23. Self-Development (A)
- L26. Team Leadership (A)
Management and Leadership
- L4. Change Leadership (I)
- L9. Human Resource Management (I)
- L12. Intuitional Technology Management (A)
- L14. Innovative Thinking (A)
- L20. Project Management (I)
- L24. Strategic Orientation (I)
Admissions
All students must meet the University requirements as outlined in the Admission to the TWU Graduate School section of the catalog.
The academic program may have additional admission criteria that must also be completed as outlined on the program's website.
Degree Requirements
Total Semester Credit Hours Required
45-54 semester credit hours (SCH).
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| Leveling/Foundation Courses (may be waived with advisor approval) | 0-9 | |
| Foundations of Health Services | ||
| Research Methods for Managerial Decision Making | ||
| Financial Accounting in Health Care Administration | ||
| Health Systems Organization Sequence | 6 | |
| Health Law and Ethics | ||
| Health Policy Analysis | ||
| Management and Leadership Sequence | 12 | |
| Strategic Planning in Healthcare | ||
| Human Resources Management in Health Care Administration | ||
| Professional Portfolio and Healthcare Career Competencies | ||
| Capstone in Health Care Administration | ||
| Quantitative Methods Sequence | 12 | |
| Operations Analysis in Healthcare Administration | ||
| Health Information Management | ||
| Population Health Management | ||
| Performance Measurement and Quality in Health Care Administration | ||
| Finance, Accounting and Economics Sequence | 9 | |
| Management Accounting for Health Care Organizations | ||
| Health Care Finance | ||
| Economics of Health Care | ||
| Electives | 6 | |
Select six semester credit hours of electives in consultation with advisor. Leveling/Foundation courses can not be used as an elective. | ||
| Total SCHs | 45-54 | |
Degree/Course Format
The MHA Program offers a flexible, year-round, sequenced, hybrid program that accommodates students to complete full- or part-time degree requirements. Three specially designed immersion courses (HCA 5883, HCA 5633, and HCA 5933) require students to attend a portion of class on the Dallas or Houston campus (see Immersion Sequence description to follow). The balance of courses are offered 100% online. Online courses may or may not include required or optional “live” evening courses via synchronous video. All required remote or in-person meeting dates are communicated in the TWU Class Schedule.
Courses are sequenced to support student success using four levels: Foundation, Levels I, II, and III. Students are required to fully complete a level (or be enrolled concurrently in the final courses in a level) before they can enroll in the subsequent level.
MHA Program Faculty/Staff
The MHA program recruits a blend of full-time tenured or tenure-track, visiting, and adjunct faculty. The MHA Program strives to blend industry expertise with student-centered teaching and rigorous scholarship to prepare students for career success. An introduction to the MHA Faculty/Staff highlights the careers, teaching, and research experience these professionals bring to their students.
Foundation Courses/Placement Assessment
The MHA Program attracts students with highly diverse backgrounds, experiences, and interests. The foundation courses are the first level of preparation for specialized study in Health Care Administration and serve as “leveling” courses to ensure that our diverse student body enters the level I-III curriculum prepared for success.
The Program offers three Placement Assessments to all admitted students. Admitted students are invited to complete 1, 2, or all 3 of the assessments to determine their placement in the curriculum or where they will start the program. A 70% or higher score on these assessments will allow students to skip one or more of the Foundation Courses.
Immersion Sequence
Three MHA courses (HCA 5883,HCA 5633, and HCA 5933) are designed as hybrid courses (hybrid = online + in-person course) that require all students to travel to either Dallas or Houston to participate in in-person learning experiences with program faculty. HCA 5883 and HCA 5933 will require participation in a 3-day extended weekend and HCA 5933 will require students to participate in-person for 3 days during the scheduled term on a TWU campus or another approved off-site location. Online pre and post-work will be required to prepare for the course and to wrap up final assignments. These special courses will immerse students in graduate-level, dynamic courses that are designed to support student advancement on competencies that benefit most from in-person instruction.
Electives
Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, will select at least six semester credit hours of approved elective courses in order to obtain additional breadth or depth in a particular field of Health Care Administration study. A study abroad elective is also available. Electives from other TWU departments or other Universities may be approved with permission from the faculty advisor if they meet the criteria as related to the study of health care administration and the student’s career goals. However, transfer credits from other Universities or Departments are subject to limits established by the graduate school.
Internship/Fieldwork Opportunities
Internships and field experiences are available with healthcare organizations. They are designed to provide students with the opportunity to integrate and apply knowledge and skills from their course experiences. While an internship or fieldwork is not required, it is strongly recommended for all individuals who lack health care experience or whose experience is primarily technical or clinical. The decision regarding whether the internship or fieldwork should be included as one of the elective courses is made jointly by the faculty advisor and student at the completion of 12 semester credit hours of study. In addition, many courses include fieldwork projects, tours, and assessments of local healthcare organizations. A maximum of three semester credit hours may be earned in internship or fieldwork and applied toward the degree. In order to receive academic credit for an internship or fieldwork the student must contact his/her faculty advisor and complete the necessary documentation with the HCA internship/fieldwork coordinator prior to applying or accepting an internship or fieldwork assignment.
Professional Development Portfolio
Each MHA student is required to develop and maintain a professional portfolio throughout their time in the Program. The portfolio is a professional development tool students use to monitor their achievements, strengths, and areas for development against the TWU MHA Competency Model. Each student presents their portfolio to the faculty or their faculty advisor at the conclusion of each of the three courses in the Immersion Sequence. Faculty or faculty advisors work with students to develop professional development plans to support their career goals.
Additional Grading Requirements
In addition to the general University grading requirements, the HCA Program limits the number of courses in which a grade of C is made in HCA program-specific courses to two. If a grade of C is made in a third HCA program-specific course, then regardless of the cumulative grade point average, the student will be dropped from the HCA Program. Since this is an HCA grading requirement and not a University requirement, the student may choose to apply to another TWU program.
The two C Rule applies even if the student retakes a course in which the initial grade was a C.
