Master of Health Administration
UIW’s MHA degree is a 21 month, 48 credit hour program designed for those seeking entry and mid-level management positions within the healthcare industry. Because courses are offered in the evenings, the program is ideal for those currently in the workforce. Built upon a foundation of 20 competencies critical to the managerial success of healthcare administration professionals, the MHA degree provides students with a health systems perspective based on an understanding of health and disease as well as the economic and social factors that influence the industry. Courses focus on and integrate managerial responsibilities, functions and roles related to human resources management, budgeting and financial decision making, legal and ethical issues, quality and continuous improvement, information management, marketing, health policy and strategic thinking within the context of the healthcare industry. In addition, students are provided a wide range of opportunities to gain real world healthcare experience.
Program Delivery
The MHA degree is offered both synchronously online (i.e. hybrid) and on-campus at the Rosenberg School of Optometry (i.e., residential). Applicants must select one or the other option when applying. Courses are held 1 night per week in the evening and students take two courses at a time, thus attending class two nights per week in total. The hybrid program also requires three in-person, 2- to 3-day residency visits to the UIW campus in San Antonio, Texas, which occur at the beginning, middle and end of the 21-month program. This offers students the opportunity to meet face-to-face with professors and peers in the program and to participate in the same events required of the residential program students.
MHA Internship Requirement
The MHA internship is required for students who do not have relevant health administration work experience and applicant’s ability to participate will be considered in the decision to accept a student into the program. Students with extensive clinical experience in the healthcare industry may also be waived of this requirement depending upon their work experience. Students begin their internship in the Fall semester of their second year and continue it through the following Spring semester. Students are paired with an executive in one of our healthcare industry partners including hospitals, health clinics, physician groups and community health centers, where they will work a minimum of 15 hours a week. The internship focuses on project-oriented activities that demonstrate the student’s ability to apply what they have learned in their coursework and to contribute to organizational outcomes. The internships are non-paid and do appear on the student’s transcripts.