Master in Healthcare Administration

In the MHA program, you will be transformed into a knowledgeable, ethical professional prepared for a number of management careers across the healthcare space. We focus on honing professional skills and developing the expertise you will need to differentiate and grow in your health care career. 

With its holistic and inter-professional approach, the MHA integrates a variety of core competencies:

• Organizational management and ethics
• Healthcare finance and reimbursement
• Healthcare information systems
• Quality and patient safety
• Managerial epidemiology
• Strategy and leadership in healthcare organizations

Aligned with our Jesuit heritage, MHA students (and graduates) will have the skills and encouragement to positively influence change in their communities. Through experiences such as the unique capstone project, students are asked to take initiative, identify and meet needs in their communities, and make long-term commitments. In short, MHA students are groomed to be leaders in improving the health of their communities.

Specifically, graduates will be prepared to:

• Apply core business and financial principles to the healthcare environment
• Evaluate industry and organizational dynamics in the healthcare environment
• Assess and prioritize population health needs
• Drive operational and performance improvements in healthcare organizations
• Manage data to guide decision making in health services organizations
• Synthesize theoretical and analytical knowledge, critical thinking, and communication skills to solve problems in healthcare administration
• Integrate values, ethics, and social justice into the management and leadership of health services organizations, aligned with the Jesuit Catholic tradition

The MHA degree complements a wide range of fields of study. Applicants may originate from undergraduate programs in healthcare administration, public health, or business, or they may enter from fields such as psychology, communications or social work. MHA graduates will strengthen and integrate values, ethics, and social justice into the management and leadership of health care systems, services, and delivery.

The MHA program is for those with a strong desire to improve the health of our communities by working through an administrative lens.

• Seven foundational core courses (21 credit hours)
• Three specialty electives (9 credit hours)
• Four onsite immersion sessions at one of our Loyola campuses prior to each semester (4 credit hours)
• Capstone experience (3 credit hours, an applied field-based project)

• Completion of Loyola University Chicago graduate school admission application 
• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university
• Minimum 3.0 on 4.0 scale cumulative GPA on most recently conferred degree
• Competency demonstrated by at least three credits of undergraduate or graduate coursework with a grade of “B” or higher earned within the past five years in each of the following areas of study: accounting, economics, and statistics
• Current resume or curriculum vitae
• Personal statement describing the applicant’s goals and career interests
• Two letters of recommendation indicating the applicant possesses the aptitude, interest, and ambition to complete the course of study for the MHA degree. Letters should be from a current or previous faculty member or employer familiar with the applicant’s work.

Learn more about the application process and international application requirements.