PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Master of Health Administration (MHA) is a professional graduate degree that prepares the graduate for a career as a senior administrator of a health service organization. Students will gain an understanding of the following competency areas:
• the U.S. healthcare system;
• communication;
• executive leadership and ethical decision-making;
• critical thinking;
• quantitative analysis;
• patient outcome improvement; and
• professionalism.
There are interprofessional experiences included in the MHA program. All MHA students complete a 400-hour internship in health administration to gain hands-on experience, as well as one health administration & policy case competition. Students have recently served as interns in hospitals, multi-specialty physician practices, long-term care facilities, university medical centers and with the Veterans Administration. The internship provides an opportunity to integrate the student’s understanding of the practical day-to-day functions of management, planning or policy analysis with the traditional basic skills learned during the didactic portion of the program. Following graduation, most students go on to an administrative fellowship program or directly into the workforce.
Click here to view the types of jobs our alumni have.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
The following are required:
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Must be in good standing with the college or university where currently enrolled or last attended.
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Bachelor’s degree or entry-level first professional degree from an accredited institution.
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Grade point average of 3.0 or above using the upper-division coursework of the bachelor's degree.
- Submission of the SOPHAS application and the supplemental OUHSC Hudson College of Public Health application.
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Career goal statement uploaded through
SOPHAS.
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Current CV/Resume uploaded through
SOPHAS.
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Three letters of academic or professional recommendation uploaded through
SOPHAS by the recommender. Applicants must list recommenders’ contact information on the application and then upon submission, SOPHAS will send instructions to each recommender on how to submit their letter electronically through the online portal.
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Transcripts:
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U.S. Applicants: SOPHAS requires a separate official transcript from every U.S. and Canadian institution attended be submitted by utilizing the instructions
here. Applicants will enter the information in coursework section of the application utilizing the data from their transcript(s). Do not enter foreign courses taken at Universities outside the U.S. or Canada into the coursework section of the application.
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International Applicants: Submit transcripts/mark sheets to the World Education Services (
www.wes.org) for a course-by-course evaluation. Applicants must designate SOPHAS to receive the evaluation.
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International applicants are required to demonstrate
English proficiency by submitting
TOEFL (score of 100 or above) or
IELTS (score of 7.0 or above) that meet the
minimum required score. TOEFL scores must be submitted to SOPHAS using the designation code #5688.
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Interview with Admissions Committee (in-person or via web-conferencing).
APPLICATION DEADLINES
Hudson College of Public Health applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and applications will be reviewed as they are complete. All materials must be submitted by the deadlines listed below for full consideration.
Master of Health Administration and Policy:
- Spring: December 15
- Fall: August 1
- Summer: May 1
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
CURRENT OU STUDENTS OR ALUMNI APPLICATION PROCESS
Application Instructions for Current OU Students and OU Alumni can be found here.
NON-OU STUDENTS OR ALUMNI APPLICATION PROCESS
STEP 1: SOPHAS APPLICATION
Submit a SOPHAS application (www.sophas.org) and required fee (click here to review information regarding SOPHAS fees and fee waivers). The documentation identified in the ‘Admission Requirements’ section must be submitted in SOPHAS.
STEP 2: SUPPLEMENTAL APPLICATION
Applicants to the OU Hudson College of Public Health are required to submit a supplemental application and fee. The supplemental application is available via the OU Health Sciences Center website at: https://apps.ouhsc.edu/admissions/. Applicants must select the same program(s) in the supplemental application as they did in the SOPHAS application.
PLEASE NOTE: Fee waivers are not available for the supplemental application.
Fee structure for the supplemental application is as follows:
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$100 for one or two professional programs (Certificate / MPH / MHA programs). One professional program = $100. Two professional programs = $100.
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$75 for one or two graduate program(s) (MS / PhD programs).
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$175 for one professional program AND one graduate program (i.e. applicant applies to both the MPH in Biostatistics and the MS in Biostatistics).
CURRICULUM
COMPLETION OF MHA DEGREE IN TWO YEARS
| FIRST YEAR (FALL SEMESTER) |
| HAP 5453 |
U.S. Health Care System |
| HAP 5643 |
Quantitative Methods in Health Administration |
| HAP 5623 |
Forecasting and Budgeting |
| HAP 5483 |
Health Care Law and Ethics |
| HAP 5203 |
Health Economics |
| FIRST YEAR (SPRING SEMESTER) |
| HAP 5613 |
Financial Management of Health Service Organizations |
| HAP 5733 |
Managed Care and Integrated Delivery Systems |
| HAP 5863 |
Strategic Management in Health Service Organizations |
| HAP 5883 |
Health Care Quality Management |
| HAP 7913 |
Professional Communication Skills in Healthcare Settings |
The internship is usually scheduled during the summer between the first and second years after the successful completion of the first thirty hours of the curriculum. Students may not arrange an internship if on academic probation. If a student does not have a 3.0 GPA or has received lower than a “B” letter grade in any course, the internship may be scheduled at a later date which may delay graduation.
| SECOND YEAR (FALL SEMESTER) |
| HAP 5183 |
Organizational Theory and Behavior |
| HAP 5873 |
Health Information Systems |
| HAP 7103 |
Managerial Epidemiology |
| HAP 5543 |
Marketing of Health Services |
| SECOND YEAR (SPRING SEMESTER) |
| HAP 5303 |
Health Policy and Politics |
| HAP 5973 |
Seminar in Health Administration |
| HAP 5563 |
Human Resource Management |
| HAP 5950 |
Field Work in Health Administration |
COMPLETION OF MHA DEGREE IN THREE YEARS
| FIRST YEAR (FALL SEMESTER) |
| HAP 5453 |
U.S. Health Care System |
| HAP 5643 |
Quantitative Methods in Health Administration |
| HAP 5203 |
Health Economics |
| FIRST YEAR (SPRING SEMESTER) |
| HAP 5733 |
Managed Care and Integrated Delivery Systems |
| HAP 5883 |
Health Care Quality Management |
| HAP 7913 |
Professional Communication Skills in Healthcare Settings |
| SECOND YEAR (FALL SEMESTER) |
| HAP 5183 |
Organizational Theory and Behavior |
| HAP 5623 |
Forecasting and Budgeting |
| HAP 5483 |
Health Care Law and Ethics |
| SECOND YEAR (SPRING SEMESTER) |
| HAP 5303 |
Health Policy and Politics |
| HAP 5863 |
Strategic Management in Health Service Organizations |
| HAP 5613 |
Financial Management |
| THIRD YEAR (FALL SEMESTER) |
| HAP 5873 |
Health Information Systems |
| HAP 7103 |
Managerial Epidemiology |
| HAP 5543 |
Marketing of Health Services Organizations |
| THIRD YEAR (SPRING SEMESTER) |
| HAP 5973 |
Seminar in Health Administration |
| HAP 5563 |
Human Resources Management |
| HAP 5950 |
Field Work in Health Administration |
STEM DESIGNATION
The Master of Health Administration and Policy program is NOT considered a STEM-designated degree program.
A STEM-designated program is an academic program that falls under at least one of the approved categories from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). These categories are recognized by the government for their focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) topics. DHS's updated STEM-designated degree list can be found here: https://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/stemList2022.pdf.