Master's in Health Services Administration

M.S. in Health Services Administration

The Master of Science in Health Services Administration (MHA) program prepares health professionals for advancement in administrative careers in healthcare organizations. This degree gives professionals the comprehensive planning, organizational, and regulation-responsive toolkit to manage within one of the nation’s fastest growing and most complex economic sectors.

Consider getting your MHA degree at NLU if you:

  • Are ready to advance from a clinical or administrative role to a management position in a healthcare or related services organization
  • Need the knowledge base to respond within the regulatory and legal framework governing healthcare organizations
  • Want to develop your communications skills to effectively influence and lead across an organization
  • Seek to understand the developing trends in health services to become and remain an expert in this fast-evolving sector

Why NLU for an MHA Degree

NLU's MHA degree program offers a practical, applications-oriented curriculum that builds leadership skills and knowledge that managers can implement in real time in their working environments. Students' own professional environments and challenges provide case study contexts for class learning in addition to course materials that expose students to developing human resources trends and forces operating in organizations today.

Meeting in one intensive session per week over approximately 18 months, the program is tailored to meet the needs of busy adults juggling personal and professional commitments. Fellowship with classmate-colleagues is also promoted. Master of  Health Services Administration students generally stay with one group of classmates through the whole program, building a professional network and a deep understanding of comparative organizational environments from peers.

NLU's MHA degree program is professionally accredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE).

What You Will Learn

  • The opportunities and challenges presented by the regulatory and legal environment in healthcare
  • Management and organizational design strategies to build competitive advantage in the health services marketplace
  • Public policy and public health contexts for business decisions
  • Concepts and theories of administration as these are applied to healthcare organizations
  • Management-level thinking, leadership and problem solving skills
  • Best practices in oral and written communications

Career Outlook

Employment of medical and health services managers is expected to grow by 16 percent between 2008 and 2018, significantly faster than the average for all occupations, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The expansion will be greatest in settings outside traditional hospitals, including self-standing clinics, internet-based environments, and other independent sites where resourceful management skills will be in high demand.

MHA degree graduates are prepared to advance in a wide range of management positions including:

  • Clinical Director
  • Hospital Services Manager
  • Program Manager
  • Medical Office Manager
  • Health and Social Service Manager
  • Director of Nursing
  • Medical Records Manager
  • Mental Health Program Manager
  • Practice Administrator

Program Requirements

The Master of Science in Health Services Administration curriculum appears below. It includes 13 courses totaling 37 semester hours of credit and can be completed in about 22 months. The College of Management and Business will review graduate hours completed at accredited institutions and may transfer up to 9 hours maximum toward the Master of Science in Health Services Administration.

Admission Requirements

All applicants must meet NLU's general admission requirements. Refer to the appropriate application checklist.

 

Locations

  • CHICAGO DOWNTOWN CAMPUS

    NLU’s Chicago campus on South Michigan Avenue occupies five floors of the historic Peoples Gas Building. This landmark building, across the street from the Art Institute of Chicago and Grant Park, is easily accessible by train, bus and car and is surrounded by restaurants, parking lots/garages and shops.

    122 S. Michigan Avenue
    Chicago, IL 60603
    800.443.5522

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  • ELGIN

    Conveniently located in a fast-growing business district off I-90 and Route 31, NLU Elgin features 10 classrooms with high-tech media equipment; a computer lab with high-speed Internet access; two conference rooms; and comfortable student lounges. Parking is free at this recently remodeled and upgraded teaching site, which now includes wireless Internet access.

    620 Tollgate Road
    Elgin, IL 60123
    800.443.5522

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  • NORTH SHORE

    Opened in the summer of 2006, NLU North Shore at Skokie is a state-of-the-art modern campus located just off the Edens Expressway near the Old Orchard Shopping Center. The campus includes 44 wireless classrooms equipped with high-tech media equipment; four computer labs with high-speed Internet access, including a walk-in lab in the library; six conference rooms; a public café for beverages and snacks; a student welcome center; a library for research and study; and multiple, comfortable student lounge areas.

    5202 Old Orchard Road
    Skokie, IL 60077
    800.443.5522

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  • LISLE

    Located just minutes from the East-West Tollway (I-88), NLU Lisle features 42 wireless classrooms equipped with high-tech media equipment; four computer labs with high-speed Internet access, including a separate walk-in lab in the library; a café for beverages and snacks; a student welcome center; a library for research and study; conference rooms; and six comfortable student lounge areas with wireless access.

    850 Warrenville Road
    Lisle, IL 60532
    800.443.5522

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  • WHEELING

    Located in one of Chicago's major northwest suburbs, the newly renovated NLU Wheeling includes 20 classrooms with high-tech media equipment, four conference rooms, four computer labs with high-speed Internet access, large student lounge areas with wireless capabilities and interactive video capabilities, and an extensive research library. The site also houses the university library research collection.

    1000 Capitol Drive
    Wheeling, IL 60090
    800.443.5522

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  • FLORIDA (TAMPA)

    Established in 1988 and located in one of the city's major business districts, NLU's Tampa campus serves students in 13 counties in central Florida. In addition to six classrooms, the campus features a conference room, a computer lab with high-speed Internet access, an extensive research library and comfortable student lounges.

    4950 West Kennedy Blvd. #300
    Tampa, FL 33609
    800.366.6581 | www.nl.edu/florida

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  • WISCONSIN

    NLU's Milwaukee campus has a proud history of serving graduate students in education in southeastern Wisconsin. Nearly one in five certified Wisconsin teachers looks to NLU for graduate education programs – more than any other university in the state. In addition to classrooms with high-tech media equipment, the campus offers a state-of-the-art computer lab with wireless Internet access and an extensive IDS research library.

    12000 West Park Place, Suite 100
    Milwaukee, WI 53224-3007
    414.577.2658

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