Bulletin 2000-2002

School of Public and Environmental Affairs Business/SPEA Building (BS) 3027
801 West Michigan Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202
(317) 274-4656
(877) 297-9792 (toll free)
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Master of Health Administration (M.H.A.)

The Graduate Program in Health Administration offers an advanced course of study leading to the professional degree Master of Health Administration and is offered only on the Indianapolis campus. The program meets a recognized need for academic preparation of selected individuals interested in achieving leadership positions in the health services and consists of an interdisciplinary curriculum that can accommodate a wide range of career interests and backgrounds. It provides a broadly balanced foundation of theoretical and practical knowledge and technical skills necessary to succeed in the complex fields of health services. This program is fully accredited by the Accrediting Commission on Education for Health Services Administration (ACEHSA) and enjoys full membership status in the Association of University Programs in Health Administration.

Career opportunities in health administration attract students who have an interesting mix of educational and employment backgrounds. Some may possess significant work experience, while others may come directly from an undergraduate program. Students bring their own career goals, experience, and personal philosophy to the program, thereby providing one of its major strengths. As a result, faculty advisors make every effort to design each individual’s program of study with sufficient flexibility to meet the needs and interests of the student within the field of health administration and still retain the structure needed to maintain academic excellence.

Students completing the program have access to a wide range of career opportunities in the health system. Recent graduates have gained employment with health maintenance organizations, long-term health care facilities, home health providers, public accounting firms, physician group practices, and health care consulting groups as well as in traditional hospital roles. A broad support network of alumni and friends of the program exist that often provide opportunities for students to receive experience during the course of their graduate program. Students also have the opportunity to network and gain experience by means of a summer internship or longer residency. Students graduating from this program have gained employment in the nonprofit sector, in for-profit organizations, and in public organizations.

Admissions

In addition to the general requirements for admission to graduate study in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, the following requirements generally must be met for admission to the Graduate Program in Health Administration:
  1. Applicants must possess an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution and have a minimum overall undergraduate grade point average of 3.00 (B) on a 4.00 scale.

  2. Applicants must complete at least 3 credit hours each of undergraduate courses in introductory accounting (financial accounting recommended), microeconomics, and statistics at an accredited institution with a minimum grade of C in each course. Students who have not completed these courses but who meet all other requirements may be accepted with deficiencies. These students usually are not permitted to enroll in the classes that require these courses as prerequisites until the deficiencies are removed.

  3. Applicants must take the GRE or GMAT and generally earn a composite score in the upper 50th percentile. If a student does not meet this criteria, admission as a provisional student may be stipulated. Applicants who have been awarded an advanced degree may petition the admissions committee for waiver of the GRE or GMAT requirement.

Degree Requirements

(51 credit hours)

A minimum of 51 credit hours, divided between required and elective courses, is required in the Master of Health Administration degree program. Students are required to maintain a 3.0 grade point average. The M.H.A. curriculum begins with a foundation of theory and skill-building courses and makes a transition to course work that requires practical application of those skills in a variety of health care settings.

Part-time students must complete at least 6 credit hours each semester to remain in good standing. All students must complete the program’s academic requirements within five calendar years of matriculation.

Required Courses (45 credit hours)
SPEA H501 U.S. Health Care: Systems, Policies, and Ethical Challenges (3 cr.)
SPEA H502 Developing Strategic Capability in Healthcare (3 cr.)
SPEA H507 Management of Individual and Group Behavior (3 cr.)
SPEA H508 Managing Health Care Accounting Information for Decision-Making (3 cr.)
SPEA H509 Financial Management Principles of Healthcare (3 cr.)
SPEA H510 Health Services Financial Management (3 cr.)
SPEA H514 Health Economics (3 cr.)
SPEA H516 Health Services Delivery and the Law (3 cr.)
SPEA H518 Statistical Methods for Health Services (3 cr.)
SPEA H521 Management Science for Health Services Administration (3 cr.)
SPEA H615 Health Outcomes and Decision Making (3 cr.)
SPEA H623 Health Care Applications of Strategic Management (3 cr.)
SPEA H628 Health Care Information Systems (3 cr.)
SPEA H650 Strategies for Career Preparation (1.5 cr.)
BUS M540 Service Marketing (1.5 cr.)
SPEA H702 Internship in Health Services Management (3 cr.)
or
SPEA H700 Residency (3-6 cr.)
or
SPEA H735 Applied Research in Health Services Management (3-6 cr.)
Electives
Choose two of the following elective courses, or other electives approved by a faculty advisor. SPEA H515 Seminar in Health Policy: Special Topics (3 cr.)
SPEA H517 Managerial Epidemiology (3 cr.)
SPEA H626 Health Services–Human Resources Management (3 cr.)
SPEA H627 Seminar in Advanced Health Finance (3 cr.)
SPEA H630 Readings in Health Services Administration (3 cr.)
SPEA V541 Benefit Cost Analysis (3 cr.)
BUS A508 Not-for-Profit Accounting (3 cr.)
Course Waivers, Substitutions, and Challenge Examinations
Students may petition the program director to waive or substitute for required courses based on completion of satisfactory equivalent course work or by examination (if available). The following guidelines govern the consideration of these types of petitions.

Waivers of Required CoursesThe requirement for a particular course may be waived if the student furnishes evidence of equivalent graduate course work completed within a reasonable period of time from an accredited institution. It should be noted that credit is not given with a waiver—only an exemption from a particular course; another course is always substituted.

SubstitutionsAs a general rule, the substitution of a course for one that is required in the M.H.A. curriculum is prohibited. On rare occasions, petitions for substitutions may be considered, and students who believe they would benefit from such a procedure should discuss the matter with their advisors.

Challenge ExaminationStudents who believe they possess mastery of the subject matter stipulated in a given required course may request a challenge examination. If, in the opinion of the faculty, the student has demonstrated the requisite knowledge, academic credit for the course is authorized. The university fee structure for the cost of such an examination applies.

INDIANA UNIVERSITY - PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS
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