Master of Health Administration
UIW’s MHA degree is a 21 month, 48 credit hour program designed for those seeking entry and mid-level management positions within the healthcare industry. Because courses are offered in the evenings, the program is ideal for those currently in the workforce. Built upon a foundation of 20 competencies critical to the managerial success of healthcare administration professionals, the MHA degree provides students with a health systems perspective based on an understanding of health and disease as well as the economic and social factors that influence the industry. Courses focus on and integrate managerial responsibilities, functions and roles related to human resources management, budgeting and financial decision making, legal and ethical issues, quality and continuous improvement, information management, marketing, health policy and strategic thinking within the context of the healthcare industry. In addition, students are provided a wide range of opportunities to gain real world healthcare experience.
Program Delivery
The MHA degree is offered both synchronously online (i.e. hybrid) and on-campus at the Rosenberg School of Optometry (i.e., residential). Applicants must select one or the other option when applying. Courses are held 1 night per week in the evening and students take two courses at a time, thus attending class two nights per week in total. The hybrid program also requires three in-person, 2- to 3-day residency visits to the UIW campus in San Antonio, Texas, which occur at the beginning, middle and end of the 21-month program. This offers students the opportunity to meet face-to-face with professors and peers in the program and to participate in the same events required of the residential program students.
MHA Internship Requirement
The MHA internship is required for students who do not have relevant health administration work experience and applicant’s ability to participate will be considered in the decision to accept a student into the program. Students with extensive clinical experience in the healthcare industry may also be waived of this requirement depending upon their work experience. Students begin their internship in the Fall semester of their second year and continue it through the following Spring semester. Students are paired with an executive in one of our healthcare industry partners including hospitals, health clinics, physician groups and community health centers, where they will work a minimum of 15 hours a week. The internship focuses on project-oriented activities that demonstrate the student’s ability to apply what they have learned in their coursework and to contribute to organizational outcomes. The internships are non-paid and do appear on the student’s transcripts.
Admission Requirements
The MHA program only accepts students into the program to start in the Fall semester. Applications are accepted until July 1 of each year or until the incoming class is full. Up to twenty-five students are admitted into each class modality (i.e., hybrid and residential), annually. During the application process, applicants will declare whether they want to pursue the entire program in the hybrid online synchronous program or the residential on-campus program. The hybrid program is only open to students residing in the United States since there is an in-person, on-campus requirement for which students must travel to San Antonio, Texas three times throughout the 21-month program.
Applicants must submit the following documents to complete their application:
- Official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate work,
- A statement of purpose explaining why the applicant desires to pursue an MHA and why at UIW, and
- One letter of recommendation. The letter of recommendation should be from an individual who knows the applicant quite well, preferably from a workplace supervisor.
Once the application file is complete, it will be evaluated by the MHA Program Director. Qualified applicants will then be invited to participate in an interview conducted by at least two members of the MHA admissions committee. While an interview is required, it does not guarantee admission into the Program.
Applicants who are accepted into the MHA program will be required to complete a background check prior to the start of classes. Additional information will be provided in the acceptance letter.
International students must demonstrate proof of English proficiency in accordance with UIW English proficiency standards. UIW English proficiency standards can be found here: http://uiw.edu/internationaladmissions/english_proficiency.html.
Students accepted into the MHA program will be categorized into one of the admission tiers below. Those granted admission under either the Tier II or III level will be considered probationary. Probationary students will be required to earn a B- or better in specific courses to be taken at the beginning of the program.
Tier I: Applicant’s Baccalaureate degree’s (or other graduate-level degree’s) cumulative GPA is a minimum 3.5.
Tier II: Applicant’s Baccalaureate degree’s (or other graduate-level degree’s) cumulative GPA is a minimum 2.8 but less than 3.5.
Tier III: Applicant’s Baccalaureate degree’s (or other graduate-level degree’s) cumulative GPA is a minimum 2.5 but less than 2.8. Tier III applicants are also required to submit Graduate Record Exam (GRE) General Test results with a minimum verbal score of 151, a minimum quantitative score of 150, and an analytical writing score of at least 4.0. OR a 560 or higher on the Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT).