Master of Health Administration

For technical support questions such as how to submit supporting documents, please contact the Georgia Southern Office of Graduate Admissions.

Deadlines:

• February 1 – Fall priority admission deadline for consideration for JPHCOPH graduate assistantship
• May 1 – Final deadline deadline for International applicants
• June 1 – Final deadline deadline for United States applicants

Timeline:

We invite you to apply for the JPHCOPH graduate programs. To ensure a thorough review, please request your transcripts/foreign evaluations, test scores, and reference letters well ahead of the JPHCOPH application deadline. Taking a proactive approach and submitting materials promptly will significantly increase your chances of a successful application outcome.

To Apply:

• Complete an application via our online portal.

Application Requirements:

Policies, Requirements and Standards

The objective of the Master of Health Administration degree is to provide the student with mastery of the knowledge and skills for the effective administration of health service organizations across the continuum of care. Specifically, the student will understand the basic organizational, financial, legal, and managerial components of health services as they relate to a dynamic and evolving healthcare delivery system.

Admission Requirements

For consideration of admission to the MHA program, the applicant must complete an application for admission to the College of Graduate Studies at Georgia Southern University, submit official copies of all required academic transcripts related to undergraduate and graduate coursework at the time of program application, submit an updated professional/personal resume that details educational and work experiences for a period of not less than three (3) years from the time of application, provide at least two (2) letters of recommendation, and complete a structured admissions questionnaire. The applicant must also have satisfactorily completed requirements for the baccalaureate degree from a college or university accredited by an appropriate institutional accreditor.

Standards of Progression and Graduation

A. All degree requirements must be completed within seven years.

B. Students are encouraged to apply for graduation two semesters before the anticipated date of graduation. Note: A copy of the official program of study must accompany the candidate’s application.

Our Master of Health Administration program is accredited by CAHME—the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education.

• Upon completion of the program, MHA students will demonstrate the ability to develop an organizational strategic plan that encompasses familiarity and assessment of both the external healthcare environment and the internal organization environment.
  
• Upon completion of the program, MHA students will demonstrate ability to effectively use evidence-based decision-making to address commonly-encountered operational issues within health services organizations.
  
• Upon completion of the program, MHA students demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively and persuasively with stakeholders of a health organization.

1. Communication and Relationship Management
   

• Interpersonal Communication Skills: Effectively communicate ideas, information, opinions, and feelings as well as the ability to listen to and understand others’ ideas, information, opinions, and feelings.
  
• Presentation Skills: Effectively communicate ideas, information, results of analysis, and positions through professional presentations (including oral and written presentations), including the ability to speak effectively and persuasively in front of decision-makers and other stakeholder groups. This includes preparation and use of visual aids or other media for small and large groups of people, preparing and using visual aids such as PowerPoint presentations or other media, and writing clearly, concisely, and persuasively.
  
• Team Participation and Leadership Skills: Work effectively as a member of a group or team, including contributing to team productivity and working cooperatively with other team members in a non-leadership role, as well as helping to organize and lead team-based activities when appropriate.
  

2. Leadership
   

• Leadership Skills and Behaviors: Understand, recognize, and apply different leadership theories, styles, and techniques.
  
• Systems-based Thinking: Observe and evaluate situations from a systems perspective, and apply systems-based thinking in decisions that incorporate this perspective and effectively consider the implications of one’s decisions on all components of the system.
  
• Critical Thinking/Decision Making: Critically assess and make decisions in complex situations, including the ability to “actively and skillfully conceptualize, apply, analyze, synthesize, and/or evaluate information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action” (Scriven and Paul, 1987).
  

3. Professionalism
   

• Professional Ethics: Describe and apply personal, organizational, and professional ethics, including the extent to which one adheres to ethical business principles as well as the extent to which one exhibits ethical behavior in one’s daily life and interactions with other people.
  
• Professional Skills Development –Conduct periodic self-assessments of professional skills attainment, effectively network with professional colleagues, participate in career and professional planning activities, and maintain awareness of relevant current events and research.
  

4. Healthcare Environment
   

• Socio-Cultural Environment: Describe the socio-cultural aspects of healthcare delivery, including disparities in healthcare access and health outcomes, and cultural factors that impact the patient-provider interaction, and health of the patient and the population.
  
• Healthcare Workforce Environment: Explain healthcare workforce issues that affect clinical, non-clinical, and professional employees, including the professional roles and responsibilities of various clinical and non-clinical staff, and the medical education process.
  
• Health Systems Organizations – Describe the interdependency, integration, and competition among healthcare sectors; the inter-relationships among access, quality, cost, resource allocation, accountability, and community; and funding and payment mechanisms.
  
• Economic Environment: Explain the economic and financial forces that impact the healthcare system, including supply and demand functions for health, forms of business organization, third-party payers and reimbursement methods, the theory of risk, insurance products, and the role of accounting and finance in healthcare organizations.
  
• Legal, Regulatory, and Policy Environment – Describe the legal, regulatory, and policy environment of the healthcare system, including how courts, legislatures, regulators, and policymakers interact and function; how the legal system influences health policy, providers, healthcare organizations, and organizational strategy; how to apply basic tort, contract, and corporate law principles; and patient’s rights and responsibilities.
  

5. Business Knowledge and Skills
   

• Financial Analysis and Management: Apply financial analysis and management techniques, including financial statement composition and analysis, cost allocation methods, cost behavior, pricing decisions, planning and budgeting, time value analysis, risk assessment, debt and equity financing, capital budgeting, and lease financing.
  
• Human Resources Management: Explain and assess human resources management processes, including internal customer service, workforce diversity, employee satisfaction, motivation and improvement strategies and measurements, and the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork among clinical administrative and staff personnel.
  
• Organizational Dynamics / Management / Governance: Describe the processes of managing individuals, groups, and systems in organizations, including organizational governance, structure, culture, personality, communication, motivation, and leadership.
  
• Strategic Management and Marketing: Discuss and apply principles of strategic management and marketing, including environmental assessment, stakeholder analysis, competitor analysis, market analysis and segmentation, and strategy development, implementation, and tracking.
  
• Information Systems and Informatics: Describe health information systems and information management issues, including electronic medical records, e-prescribing, health information exchange and interoperability, HIPAA, etc. and apply data from these systems in organizational decision-making.
  
• Continuous Quality/Performance Improvement: Discuss and apply quality/performance improvement practices, including quality improvement theories and frameworks, accreditation organizations, evidence-based practices, and utilization of clients’ perspectives, to enhance operations/activities.

The Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health has a variety of student groups focused on furthering the cause of public health, including the Dean’s Student Advisory Committee, Delta Omega, the Maternal and Child Health Interest Group, and the Public Health Student Association.

The Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health offers study-abroad opportunities in Ghana and Ireland for undergraduate and graduate students.

The Graduate Student Organization (GSO) is committed to representing and supporting the interests of all current and prospective graduate students at Georgia Southern University and seeks to support scholarly activities as well as promote social opportunities for the development of graduate students.

For All Online Programs:

Federal law requires colleges and universities to make certain disclosures to prospective students of these programs.  These disclosures include information on the University’s authority to operate outside of Georgia, complaint processes, adverse actions, and refunds.
For required disclosures in general with regard to online programs offered by the University, visit the Office of Legal Affairs website.