Master of Health Administration
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Program Overview
The Master of Health Administration (MHA) is an executive program for working mid-career professionals looking to expand their skills in health care management. This hybrid program is primarily offered in an online, asynchronous format, with students meeting synchronously two to three times per semester and participating in three residency trips to Emory University.
Lead Health Systems That Work—for Everyone
At Rollins, we don’t just study health systems, we transform them. Join a legacy of leaders who have embraced the commitment to reducing health disparities and confronting systemic challenges with innovation, courage, and a vision for reimagining care for all communities.
The MHA program is designed for working professionals who want more than a credential—they want to lead meaningful change. As part of the nation’s No. 2 school of public health, our MHA program prepares you to manage complex health care systems with a public health lens that centers equity, access, and impact.
Our program focuses on cutting-edge technology that is being developed and used in real-world health care settings to deliver care in a more equitable and efficient manner. This is done in partnership with Emory Healthcare, to ensure that students receive the best possible didactic and complex problem-solving training available from both seasoned faculty and full-time health care administrators. We expect graduates from this program to become leaders who transform health care for the betterment of all involved.
William S. Pearson, PhD, MHA, Program Director
Frequently Asked Questions
An MHA degree is a program of study that teaches students how to manage health care organizations. This program of study includes business management skills focused on health care settings, as well as others that can be used to efficiently deliver health care.
The Emory MHA is a 40-credit degree program that includes a tech-forward concentration of 18 credit hours of courses on information technology, informatics, and data systems to plan and deliver health services.
In the Emory MHA, you will develop an in-depth understanding of the changing health care landscape. You'll develop skills in strategic planning, informatics, budget development, and cost utilization to drive efficiency and sustainability within health care organizations. Additionally, you'll strengthen your leadership abilities, communication skills, and data-driven decision-making, preparing you to lead teams and influence health care outcomes at various organizational levels.
With an MHA, you can pursue leadership roles in health care management, hospital administration, policy analysis, and more. Graduates typically work in hospitals and health systems, health care consulting companies, and insurance and managed care organizations. The degree provides the skills and knowledge needed to manage complex healthcare systems and improve patient outcomes.
MBA programs offer broad business training across industries.
The Emory MHA combines rigorous leadership training with a commitment to equity, preventive care, and measurable impact preparing you to transform health systems from the inside out.
At Rollins, some of the world’s most influential public health leaders have shaped solutions in equity, prevention, and complex health challenges. The MHA blends that leadership with Goizueta’s business expertise and immersive residencies, preparing you to make a tangible impact difference in health care.
The Emory MHA is a unique offering in the MHA landscape for several reasons:
- Partnership: The program is a partnership between Rollins, Goizueta Business School, and Emory Healthcare. It provides students with instruction from highly regarded business faculty, interaction with and instruction from health care executives, and guidance from a top-ranked school of public health.
- Hybrid format: The program combines online coursework with three in-person residencies, offering flexibility for working professionals while fostering peer and faculty networking.
- Real-world problem-solving: During residencies, students tackle actual health care challenges alongside peers and Emory Healthcare executives. At the program’s conclusion, students present their solutions to executives and peers for feedback.
Mentorship: The MHA offers extensive mentorship from Emory Healthcare leaders throughout the program.
Curriculum
Required Courses
The MHA requires 40 total credit hours of coursework that can be completed in 24 months (three semesters per year).
The program includes:
- 36 credit hours of asynchronous coursework
- Virtual cohort case study and/or mentoring sessions two to three times per semester
- Required participation in three on-campus residency sessions (4 credit hours)
- Problem solving project work and mentorship program in partnership with Emory Healthcare
Students who do not already hold a Master of Public Health will be required to take a one-hour, self-paced, online course during their first semester.
On-Campus Residencies
Residency One
The first residency occurs in the week before the first semester of the program and includes:
- An introduction to the fundamentals of complex problem solving through lectures and activities
- An intensive course on health care marketing and communications
- Professional development and networking opportunities, led by our partners at Emory Healthcare
Residency Two
The second residency occurs in the week before the second spring semester and includes:
- A program on the fundamentals of complex problem solving
- Work with Emory Healthcare mentors to address a real-world digital health issue, which students will continue to work on in teams throughout the remainder of year two of the program.
Residency Three
The final residency occurs in the final week of the final semester and will be an opportunity for the MHA student teams to present their final projects to Emory Healthcare leadership.
Taking a Tech-first Approach
CAHME Accreditation
The Emory MHA program is currently engaged in the process of applying for candidacy with the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME). CAHME is a programmatic accrediting agency that conducts accreditation activities for professional programs in health care management at the master's level from degree-granting institutions. CAHME is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
Outcomes
Health Care is Growing Fast
The field has an average of 1.9 million job openings each year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Rollins MHA helps you stand out with a rare blend of public health depth, business rigor, and real-world training inside one of the nation’s leading health systems.
Skills & Opportunities
Health care systems are complex and so are the challenges they face. Whether your focus is operations, policy, leadership, or analytics, the Rollins MHA prepares you to navigate that complexity with clarity and purpose. Grounded in public health, the program builds the skills and networks needed to advance equity, improve outcomes, and lead meaningful change across the health care landscape.
Critical Skills Gained:
- Adaptive leadership
- Health care quality assurance
- Risk management
- Health care policymaking
- Communication and marketing for health care
- Financial management
Job Opportunities:
- Chief medical informatics officer ($274,600/year)
- Director of population health ($186,400/year )
- Director of digital health transformation ($163,836/year)
- Health care data strategist ($108,871/year)
- Hospital administrator ($93,117/year)
Admissions
Admissions Requirements
Admission to the MHA program requires:
- A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution
- Three years of combined work experience in health care or a related setting (e.g. program management, data analysis, data systems administration, program development, program evaluation, health administration, policy analysis, health education)
- Successful completion of quantitative courses or direct work experience in the past three to five years (e.g. data analysis, statistics, accounting); additional coursework may be required for those who do not meet this requirement
- English language proficiency for international students
Contact
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