Master of Health Care Administration
DMU is improving health care delivery around the world
Prepare to lead as a health care administrator
Pursue DMU’s online Master of Health Care Administration
Health care is more than just caring for our patients. It’s about providing safe, effective, affordable and accessible health care to everyone, especially our most vulnerable populations.
Prepare to meet leadership challenges within health care through Des Moines University’s master of health care administration degree program. Designed for early- to mid-career professionals looking to advance their career, our health care administration master’s degree gives you the knowledge and skills to lead and succeed in this ever-growing, ever-changing profession.
DMU’s master in health care administration is CAHME accredited. With the flexibility of an online program, you can pursue your career aspirations and leadership goals in a way that fits your needs.
At-a-glance
Quick facts:
Quick
facts
93%
of graduates are employed or in graduate school
2.5
years to complete a master in health care administration
23
states represented within our MHA degree
What can you do with a health care administration master's degree?
Health care administrators are vital to the success of their organization. These professionals make sure that doctors, nurses, insurance companies and patients have access to the resources, tools and information they need to provide high quality care.
In fact, health administrator jobs are expected to grow 17% according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is faster than many other careers worldwide.
Health Care Administration Careers
The vast majority of our DMU MHA graduates say they have assumed a higher level of responsibility after completing our graduate degree program. Upon graduation, they have held titles such as:
- Chief financial officer at Upper Great Lakes Family Health Center
- Chief medical officer at Grundy County Memorial Hospital
- Chief operating officer at Primary Health Care, Inc.
- Director of human resources at NCS, Inc.
- Provider compensation specialist at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Health Care Administration Master’s Degree Highlights
DMU’s master in health care administration prepares you to lead as an informed and highly skilled health care professional. You will gain the knowledge and expertise to lead new models of care while maintaining a patient-centered approach. As you earn an MHA degree from DMU, you can expect to:
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Train with local and national leaders in health care administration
Our MHA degree online faculty members are scholars and national health care leaders with diverse professional backgrounds. These experts not only bring the most current topics in health care administration into the classroom, but they also prepare you to lead your own medical organization.
For instance, associate professor Darren Liu is an accomplished author and leading voice on addressing disparities in health care, while assistant professor Tami Swenson is a local advocate for improving lives through community programs and services.
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Receive personalized mentorship and career advising
As a graduate student in DMU’s master of science in health care administration program, you’ll have a full-time faculty member who serves as your academic advisor. This means you will receive one-on-one feedback and coaching on your progress throughout your MHA degree online coursework.
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Earn an affordable, valuable master’s degree
Because scholarship opportunities can be limited for MHA degree students, DMU purposely keeps tuition and fees low for graduate students. We offer a flat-rate tuition for the master of health care administration program, and you do not pay graduate student fees.
You may be eligible to apply for the McGraw Scholarship, offered by the Association of University Programs in Health Administration, or the Tim Campbell Scholarship from the Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Management Education.
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Learn on your schedule
As a master of science in health care administration student, you have the flexibility of taking online classes on your schedule. You’ll be part of the larger DMU community and have access to the same resources as our on-campus students, including our library, student health support and more.
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Be career-ready with hands-on experience
Our health care administration master’s degree program provides opportunities to take part in either a field-based learning experience or, if you’re looking to become a licensed nursing home administrator, a long-term care internship.
These experiences allow you to work on a consulting project that results in a tangible benefit for the organization. Your field-based learning or long-term care internship can be with an external agency, health care organization, long-term care facility, insurance company or another relevant organization.
While some of our health care administration master’s degree students complete this culminating experience through DMU’s Global Health Department, many of our graduate students finish their consulting project virtually or in-person at UnityPoint Health, MercyOne Health, Broadlawns Medical Center or another local health care provider. UnityPoint Health and MercyOne Health are Iowa’s two largest hospital systems and are in Des Moines. And many of our MHA degree students are often hired by these organizations after they finish their DMU master’s degree.
Health Care Administration Faculty
DMU’s experts in health care administration will provide you with long-term and big-picture planning expertise needed to effectively manage the day-to-day operations of health care organizations.
Be part of our global network
What Master of Science in Health Care Administration Graduates Are Saying
“I’m passionate about health equity and community health. In health care administration, you gain a broad understanding of how the entire system works, and you can shape policies that make it better for individuals and the community. In my DMU classes, there were nurses and students in other health care roles. Being able to talk to them about what they did got me even more excited about health care administration.”
Rudy Papakee, M.H.A.'11
Health Director of the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa
Explore Health Care Administration Master’s Degree Program Courses
As a graduate student in DMU’s MHA degree program, you’ll earn 48 credits through online coursework in financial management, leadership, health policy and more. Our graduate students complete the master’s program with a field-based learning or long-term care internship with a health care organization.
You can expect to take classes such as:
- Health Care Economics and Policy
- Health Care Human Relations Management
- Organizational Behavior and Leader Theory
- Strategic Marketing and Communications
Graduate Degree Programs Related to Health Care Administration
