Master of Health Administration Curriculum

The MHA addresses healthcare industry culture and advanced business skills.

A minimum of 30 hours (professionals with prior health administration experience) or 31 hours (all other students) are required for graduation. The MHA academic requirements consist of:

• Foundation Courses

• Core Courses

• Electives

Foundation Courses

The MHA program is a part of the Management department within the College of Business. Students will graduate from this program with knowledge of basic business tenets. For students coming into the program with little to no undergraduate background in business, it is important to have a solid foundation in accounting and marketing by taking the foundation courses listed below.  It is not necessary to have completed these courses before starting the MHA program; however, it is recommended that you take them as soon as possible because they are prerequisites for two of the core courses.

If you have taken the undergraduate courses ACG2021 and/or MAR3023 at FAU (or an approved equivalent at another institution), the corresponding foundation course is not required if you earned a grade of "C" or better.

Important: Foundation courses may not be taken for credit. These courses are in addition to the 30 or 31 hours required for the MHA. Once admitted to the program, the foundation courses must be taken at the graduate level.

Core Courses (24 or 25 Credits):

The core consists of a business communications course, several healthcare industry courses, and a one-credit internship. (The internship may be waived for students with significant professional health administration experience.)

Virtually everyone earning any type of masters degree in the College of Business takes Graduate Business Communications, and the organizations that hire our graduates appreciate it. As the name implies, the course is a refresher, or reclamation, of your business writing and presentation skills.

The remaining core courses offer knowledge about the culture of the healthcare industry and doing business in the healthcare industry. There are courses in management, marketing and planning, finance, research methods, law, policy, and one that provides a thorough overview of all the pieces that make up the industry. 

The one-credit internship requirement is a key part of the program. It is required of most students but may be waived for students who have held significant management positions (hire/fire authority and budget responsibility) in healthcare organizations for two or more years. Once you have a general idea of the sector of the healthcare industry you find most appealing, we can help you locate an organization in that sector here in South Florida. The internship requires 15-20 hours per week working with upper level management learning about how the organization does business and the continuing balance between regulation, revenue, and responding to patient needs. 

*May be waived for students with significant prior professional experience in health administration

Electives (6 credits):

Choose two courses from the following list.  Some options are offered in Health Administration or business while others are offered in other FAU colleges.  Students who wish to take an elective outside of the College of Business will need to speak to an advisor in the college that offers the course for permission.