The Department of Health Care Administration offers the Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) to provide evidence-based training in micro and macro theory and practice to advance the health of individuals and communities—local, national, and international. The program enables students to understand the complex interrelationships between health organizations, societal and cultural contexts, and biological systems, and emphasizes the well-being of the individuals and populations affected by these complex interrelationships. The UWM MHA program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) and is the only CAHME-accredited MHA program in the State of Wisconsin.

Admission Requirements 

Application Deadlines

Application deadlines vary by program, please review the application deadline chart for specific programs. Other important dates and deadlines can be found by using the One Stop calendars.

Admission

An applicant must meet Graduate School requirements and submit GRE, GMAT, or other graduate entrance exam scores taken within the past five years. Exceptions to the entranced exam requirement will be determined on a case-by-case basis for exceptional prior professional experience or exceptional academic performance. Credits earned in these courses do not count toward the degree.

Credits and Courses

MHA Options

There are three options for the MHA:

Option 1: Face-to-Face Program

(39 credits required for graduation)

All courses are offered in face-to-face sections; 30 credits of required courses, a 2-credit internship, 1-credit MHA capstone course and 6 credits of electives are required.

Option 2: Online Program

(39 credits required for graduation)

All courses are offered online; 30 credits of required courses, a 2-credit internship, 1-credit MHA capstone course and 6 credits of electives are required.

Option 3: Executive Online Program

(33 credits required for graduation)

All courses are offered online; 30 credits of required courses, a 2-credit internship and 1-credit MHA capstone course required. Admission to the Executive Online program requires previous health-related administrative experience and/or an advanced professional degree. Examples of acceptable degrees include MBA, PharmD, PhD, MD, JD, DO, DPT, and APRN.

Required Courses
HCA 801Design of Health and Human Service Systems3
KIN 702Statistical Analysis in the Health Sciences3
or HCA 843 Quantitative Methods for Healthcare Administrators
HCA 821Operations Management in Healthcare Organizations3
HCA 822Human Resources Management for Healthcare Executives3
HCA 823Strategic Planning in Health Care Organizations3
HCA 865Financial Management for Health Care Organizations3
HCA 866Leading Change & Innovation in a System3
HCA 867Global Population Health Management3
HCA 813Health Regulatory Policy and Politics3
HCA 868Health Law and Ethics3
Required Internship
HCA 870Internship in Health Care Administration2
Required Capstone
HCA 871MHA Capstone1
Focus Area Electives:
BUSMGMT 705Corporate Finance3
BUS ADM 775Financial Strategy3
or NURS 620 Global Food Security and Systems
NURS 708Global Maternal and Child Health: From Evidence to Action3
or HI 723 Health Care Systems Applications - Administrative and Clinical
HI 743Predictive Analytics in Healthcare3
Approved General Electives
HCA 835Patient-Provider Communication: Strategies & Practices3

Additional Requirements

Major Professor as Advisor

A student must have a major professor to advise and supervise the student’s studies as specified in Graduate School regulations. Initially, the director of the MHA Program advises and supervises newly admitted students. Students are then assigned faculty advisors according to faculty advising loads.

Time Limit

All degree requirements must be completed within seven years of the first enrollment semester as a degree student.