Healthcare administrators manage complex organizations that serve diverse individual and community needs. The Master of Science in healthcare administration program at University of Maryland Global Campus is designed to develop leaders in this dynamic field. In this program, you can gain the expert knowledge, management skills, and strong professional development you need to seize career opportunities and maximize your potential in this era of rapid healthcare transformation.

These requirements are for students who enroll in the 2020–2021 academic year. For prior year academic requirements, visit our catalog archive.

About the Healthcare Administration Master's Degree

What You'll Learn

Through your coursework, you will learn how to

  • Apply strong financial management skills, including techniques for responding to uncompensated care, cost increases, increased competition, and increased regulation
  • Employ statistical tools to analyze health data and make effective business decisions
  • Demonstrate knowledge of different models in healthcare administration, including contemporary theories, critical perspectives, and best practices for performance excellence in a highly competitive healthcare environment
  • Use decision-making skills for institutional management, organizational development, and intercultural work environments
  • Strategically plan, implement, and evaluate information systems
  • Evaluate regulatory constraints, provider liability, patient rights, employment law and labor relations, and administrative law for healthcare organizations
  • Analyze public health issues and their impact on healthcare organizations
  • Solve ongoing problems in healthcare financing and delivery
  • Develop a comprehensive business plan for a healthcare product, service, or organization

Coursework Examples

In past projects, students have had the opportunity to

  • Interview key healthcare professionals about current and future trends in the healthcare marketplace
  • Develop a strategic plan and budget for improving the delivery of care
  • Analyze the implications of the evolving statutes and regulations on healthcare costs, access, and quality
  • Contact a public health agency to analyze and give a presentation on a public health program or policy

Industry Certification

This program can help prepare you for the following certification exam(s):

Healthcare Administration Master's Degree Requirements

Our curriculum is designed with input from employers, industry experts, and scholars. You'll learn theories combined with real-world applications and practical skills you can apply on the job right away.

Master's Courses

Initial Requirement 

  • UCSP 615
    (to be taken within the first 6 credits of study)

Core Courses

Management Foundation Courses

  • MGMT 615
  • MGMT 650

Healthcare Administration Courses

  • HCAD 600
  • HCAD 610
  • HCAD 620
  • HCAD 625
  • HCAD 630
  • HCAD 635
  • HCAD 640
  • HCAD 645
  • HCAD 650
  • HCAD 660
  • HCAD 665

Capstone Course

  • HCAD 670

Course Rules and Program Progression

  • HCAD 600 and MGMT 615 should be taken as the first courses in the program.
  • MGMT 650 should be taken in the second or third semester.
  • HCAD 620 is prerequisite to HCAD 625.
  • HCAD 640 is prerequisite to HCAD 645.
  • MGMT 650 should not be taken at the same time as HCAD 640 or HCAD 645.
  • You must complete 36 credits before enrolling in HCAD 670.

Other Requirements

  • You must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher at all times.
  • All degree requirements must be fulfilled within five consecutive years.
  • Any transfer credits must have been earned within the five-year time frame to be applied toward a graduate degree.

Please review our overview of overall master's degree requirements for additional considerations.

Career Preparation

This program is designed to help prepare midcareer healthcare professionals for a leadership role in a dynamic sector that touches every life. Career opportunities are in areas that include department management, health systems analysis, legislative work, and executive leadership in the private sector, professional societies, nonprofit organizations, military, and in all levels of government.

Experience Recommended for Success in the Program

If you lack a recent background in finance or accounting, you should take UCSP 620 before HCAD 640. If you lack a recent background in statistics, you should take UCSP 630 before MGMT 650. Taking UCSP 605 is recommended to help improve writing skills.

Student Clubs and Organizations

  • Upsilon Phi Delta

    • Type: Honor society
    Available To: Undergraduate and Graduate

    Upsilon Phi Delta is the national academic honor society of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration.

    The purposes of Upsilon Phi Delta are to

    • Elevate the standards, ideals, competence, and ethics of professionally educated women and men in health administration and leadership

    • Recognize and encourage scholarship in healthcare administration

    • Recognize students who achieve distinction in healthcare administration studies in universities and colleges

    • Provide financial assistance through scholarships to outstanding students pursuing a degrees in healthcare administration

    • Motivate academic excellence in students studying healthcare administration

Awards & Recognition

  • Best Value College | Master of Science in Health Care Administration Program | College Values Online | 2016


Finance Your Education

Learn about ways to meet, manage, and lower your education costs.