The Executive Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) program is a flexible online program that prepares you to be a leader in healthcare administration. Our program is specifically designed for employed executives, physicians, and other healthcare professionals seeking to advance their management and leadership capabilities. This program is the executive studies route to the second-ranked MHA degree in the nation.

The program builds on the strengths of our traditional MHA program but delivers most of the curriculum online. This allows you the flexibility to complete your studies at times most convenient for your busy schedule. Face-to-face classroom time is limited to seven days each August and four days each May. The program provides you the opportunity to complete the degree requirements in 25 months.

Program Outcomes

The MHA Program maps its curricula to 26 competencies developed by the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL), a broad-based nonprofit organization representing all sectors of health care. These competencies are listed below and further defined on the program's website:
• Accountability
• Achievement Orientation
• Analytical Thinking
• Change Leadership
• Collaboration
• Communication
• Community Orientation
• Financial Skills
• Human Resources Management
• Impact and Influence
• Information Seeking
• Information Technology Management
• Initiative
• Innovative Thinking
• Interpersonal Understanding
• Organizational Awareness
• Performance Measurement
• Process Management and Organizational Design
• Professionalism
• Project Management
• Relationship Building
• Self-Confidence
• Self-Development
• Strategic Orientation
• Talent Development
• Team Leadership

Hybrid, Cohort-Based Model

The University of Minnesota developed the first distance education program in healthcare administration more than 40 years ago. The Executive MHA Program carries that tradition forward by combining online, experiential and on-campus learning opportunities. Most of the coursework for this hybrid master’s program is offered online, and students can complete the program in 25 months. In addition, face-to-face classroom time is limited to seven days each August and four days each May.

Since it began in 1946, cohort learning has been central to the University of Minnesota MHA program. Each annual class develops a character of its own and fosters a sense of identity among its members. The executive MHA continues and expands on that tradition. Students start the program together and progress through the same curriculum as a group. Well-structured cohort learning provides opportunities for adults to learn as much from each other as they do from formal instruction. Cohort learning supports and develops both the sense of community that is needed to address a common set of problems, as well as a student’s discovery of the personal meaning of ideas.

Course assignments often ask students to apply what they have learned to their own organizations. This applied knowledge, and the subsequent discussions held with the members of the cohort, greatly expands a student’s learning.

Financial Aid

Financial aid may be available for eligible students. Contact One Stop for additional information on financial aid.

Learn More

Learn more about the program requirements for this master's degree.