The Master of Health Care Administration (M.H.A.) Program emphasizes practical knowledge students will use from day one. This real-world focus on management skills, leadership and advocacy will help students advance in today’s complex health care environment. Course content reflects the best research and thinking in the health care industry today, immersing students in a body of knowledge critical to effective health care management.

The program requires completion of 48.0 credit hours of course work.  The convenient course schedule allows students to continue working while earning a degree. The majority of credits can be earned online. Three on-campus experiences immerse students at the beginning, midpoint and culmination of their program and provide invaluable opportunities to connect with their faculty advisor, build networks among fellow students, faculty, guest speakers and alumni, and enable faculty to support continued growth and development in those competencies that require face-to-face time.  Students have five years from admission to complete the MHA Program.

Mission

To develop professionals who are innovative, critical thinkers, committed to a rigorous evidence-based leadership resulting in a radically improved health care delivery system.

Vision

To engage professionals who create radical improvements in health care through leadership, scholarship, and service to the profession.

Values

• Integrity: Adhering to high moral principles or professional standards.
• Excellence: Having enough knowledge, skill or ability to do something well.
• Communication: Connecting with others to lead productive conversations and achieve desired outcomes.
• Lifelong learning: A promise to improve.

Program Requirements

To be eligible to apply for admission to the Master of Health Care Administration program at DMU, applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution.  A cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 is preferred, though all applications will receive a thorough review.

Additional information regarding admission to the program can be found on the MHA Program Admissions Requirements website as well as the MHA Program Admissions Criteria website.

Program Application Process

Application to the Master of Healthcare Administration program is accepted through the Schools of Public Health Application Service (SOPHAS) or directly through the DMU website.

Detailed information regarding the process can be found on the MHA program admissions website.

Applicants will receive a response to their application status after files have been reviewed by the Admissions Committee.

A student may request up to 12.0 hours of graduate credit from a previously-attended, accredited institution. The request should be submitted by completing the MHA Transfer Credit Request form.  Approved transfer credits will be entered on the student’s permanent record by the Registrar’s Office. Additional information is outlined in the MHA/MPH Transfer Credit policy.

Curriculum Overview and Outline

The program’s blend of on-campus experiences and web-based instruction offers the best of both worlds: face-to-face and technology-enabled education proven to optimize learning outcomes.  The program totals 48.0 credit hours.  Students are encouraged to register for courses upon completing the online Orientation.

Program Outcomes

To review various programmatic outcomes statistics (e.g., assessment information, completion rates, graduate survey data, student satisfaction information, etc.), please visit the program’s outcomes webpage.

Nursing Home Administrator License

The MHA Program is the only graduate program in Iowa approved by the Iowa Board of Examiners for Nursing Home Administrators. Completing the MHA degree can fulfill the board criteria to sit for the licensure exam in Iowa. For licensure, the state of Iowa requires a specialized field-based learning experience in long-term care along with the completion of required course work. Long-term care offers growing opportunities in Iowa and other states.

Technical Standards for Admission, Academic Promotion and Graduation

A candidate for the Master of Health Care Administration degree must have abilities and skills (referred to as “technical standards”) in three areas: communication; intellectual, conceptual, integrative, and quantitative abilities; behavioral and social attributes. The University is committed to complying with the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act, recognizing that certain minimum technical standards must be present in all students seeking a health care degree. Reasonable accommodations will be provided when supported with appropriate documentation, but in all cases, candidates and students must be able to demonstrate performance of these standards in a reasonably independent manner.  

1. Communication: Candidates and students must be able to communicate effectively and respectfully, both verbally and in writing, in the English language to elicit information from and provide information to faculty, fellow students, and health care professionals to ensure high functioning collaborative teams.
2. Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative, and Quantitative Abilities:  Candidates and students must have the ability to accurately measure, calculate, reason, analyze, synthesize, problem solve and think critically. They must also have the ability to participate and learn through a variety of modalities including but not limited to classroom and on-line instruction, small groups, team and collaborative activities. Candidates and students must be able to concentrate, analyze and timely interpret data and make decisions within areas in which there is a reasonable amount of visual and auditory distraction. They must also perform these functions in a timely manner.
3. Behavioral and Social Attributes: Candidates and students must possess the emotional health required for full utilization of their intellectual abilities in order that they may exercise good judgment in the completion of their duties as members of the health care team. Candidates and students must be able to tolerate stressful workloads; adapt to changing environments; display flexibility and learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in graduate field based learning/internships; and to be free of impairment due to substance abuse. Integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest, and motivation are all personal qualities that will be assessed during the admissions and educational processes. Students must be accepting and non-judgmental of individuals whose spiritual beliefs, culture, ethnicity, socioeconomic background or sexual orientation differ from their background.

Accommodations

The University encourages application by qualified individuals with disabilities who meet these technical standards either with or without reasonable accommodations.  Requests from candidates and students for reasonable accommodations in meeting the technical standards will be reviewed and considered by the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL).  CTL is the University department that reviews requests for student accommodations.  For additional information about the process for assessing an applicant’s compliance with the Technical Standards, contact the CTL.

Use of an intermediary may be permissible in performing some physical maneuvers or data gathering, but must not substitute for the candidate or student’s interpretation and judgment.  The use of a trained intermediary, a person trained to perform essential skills on behalf of the candidate, or a person used such that a candidate’s judgment must be mediated by someone else’s power of selection and observation, is not permitted.

Technological compensation can be made with respect to certain technical standards, but candidates and students should be able to perform these standards in a reasonably independent manner.  

Process for Assessing Compliance with the Technical Standards

Candidates are required to attest at the time they accept an offer to matriculate that they meet the applicable technical standards, and thereafter must attest on an annual basis, as a student, that they continue to meet the standards. These standards are not intended to deter any candidate or student who might be able to complete the requirements of the curriculum with reasonable accommodations.

Course Sequence

Block I

Block II

Block III

Required Courses

Elective Courses

There are no required elective hours.

Graduation Requirements

A student is scheduled for graduation after successful completion of all degree requirements and upon recommendation of the program faculty for graduation. Students must have a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 to be eligible for graduation. All students graduating from the MHA program are required to submit a graduation petition form prior to their intended graduation date.  Students must submit this form and pay all fees in order to receive their diploma.