Why Choose an MHA vs. an MBA?

If you really want to work in the health care service delivery industry, a master’s degree in health administration can provide knowledge you need, and teach necessary skills for a leadership role in the organization, financing, marketing, planning and management of health care services. 

The advantages of a traditional Master of Health Administration (MHA) program and a distance learning Professional Master of Science in Health Administration (MSHA) program – online over a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree include:

• A core curriculum of business management coursework with health care content throughout, rather than just a few elective courses specific to healthcare, as is typical in MBA programs; and
• The opportunity to apply health care focused knowledge immediately, recognizing that health care services are unique, for the treatment of persons often in a most difficult situation in their lives.

Distinctive features of management positions in health care include:

• Legal, regulatory, and reimbursement intricacies of, and differences between, for-profit, not-for-profit and government subsidized health care;
• The core business of patient care, and how quality health care services are  conceptualized and measured;
• The moral basis inherent in the delivery and support of health care services; and
• Practice settings dominated by clinical professionals.

Reasons to choose Virginia Commonwealth University for your master’s degree in health administration:

• It’s one of the oldest health administration programs in the nation, consistently ranked in the nation’s top ten programs, most recently ranked 5th;
• Faculty, inclusive of full-time faculty, alumni/ae, preceptors and other leaders in the health care industry, carefully plan and frequently update curricula to reflect the rapidly changing health care industry;
• The Department maintains an extensive list of affiliate faculty and has a strong alumni/ae network committed to serving as preceptors, mentors, guest lecturers, and adjunct faculty;
• For MHA students, an invaluable practical experience acquired during a one-year residency with a qualified preceptor;
• For MSHA candidates, the Department has over 15 years of on-line teaching experience.   MSHA students interact on-line and during on-campus sessions, learning from not just faculty, but from the real life experiences from a group of health care professionals, specifically clinicians, executive level managers, and mid-career managers from various health care fields; and

The Department offers opportunities to apply for and gain acceptance to two dual degree programs. The MHA/JD in partnership with the University of Richmond School of Law or Washington and Lee School of Law. The MHA/MD in partnership with VCU’s School of Medicine.

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