View a complete list of courses, program-specific and degree-level requirements, recommended prep courses and previous experience, and more.
This program requires a total of 42 credits.
This course must be taken within the first 6 credits of study (if required). The UCSP 615 requirement may be waived if you previously earned a graduate degree from a regionally accredited institution. For more information, contact your academic advisor.
This is our recommended course sequence to progress through this program. This sequence incorporates course prerequisites and program requirements but does not list course alternatives that may be available. We recommend you take a maximum of 6 credits per term. You cannot take a prerequisite with its subsequent course during the same session. Your plan will be unique and dependent on multiple factors, including the number of credits you transfer to this program.
Contact an advisor if you have any questions about this plan, course alternatives, or your course load limit.
In addition to the specific requirements for this program, we also have general requirements for all of our master’s degree programs.
To be successful in this program, we recommend that you have strong writing skills and a recent background in finance, accounting, and statistics.
If you completed your undergraduate degree at UMGC with coursework in health services management, an accelerated pathway between our undergraduate and graduate degree programs in this area may allow you to reduce your total coursework for this program by up to 6 credits.
Learn to formulate global health policies, improve quality of care and service delivery, and manage global health programs with an online graduate certificate in global health management. Once you have successfully completed the certificate, you may be able to earn up to 12 credits toward the online master’s degree in healthcare administration.
If you earn a master’s degree in healthcare administration, you can save up to 15 credits on a master’s degree in health information management and technology through this dual degree pathway.
For this pathway, you will need to have taken the healthcare administration master’s degree first. To complete the second degree (health information management and technology), you must complete the following courses, for a total of 21 credits:
By completing the coursework in this program, you may be able to take the following certification exams:
This information is for students who enroll in the 2023–2024 academic year. For prior year requirements for this program or to review UMGC's complete program requirements for a specific academic year, visit our program catalog archive.
Employers in today’s evolving healthcare industry want leaders who are ready to contribute. This program is designed to prepare you to make an impact in health policy, security and governance; manage complex and innovative systems; seek a variety of opportunities; and work in quickly changing environments. Our courses are designed to help you walk away with vital skills in communication, leadership, risk management, value-based healthcare advocacy, and more.
Our top-notch faculty update the curriculum regularly with a focus on helping students achieve these learning goals:
This program is designed to help you prepare for an important professional role in a healthcare organization, like program director, director of operations, practice manager, administrator, assisted living community manager, compliance manager, healthcare account manager, patient advocate, and more. UMGC courses are taught by experienced faculty members, and address skills and competencies that today’s employers seek.
Throughout the curriculum, your instructors will assign coursework that is designed to help you hone real-world skills and gain experience relevant to healthcare professionals. In past courses, students have been able to complete the following projects:
Gain insight from our experienced faculty and delve deeper into topics ranging from online learning to leadership.
Get answers to questions that current and prospective students are asking about program admission, credibility, student organizations, and more.
A master's degree in healthcare administration is a graduate-level degree program designed to prepare students to manage and lead healthcare organizations. At UMGC, the Master of Science in healthcare administration covers information technology as it relates to healthcare administration, the U.S. healthcare system, public health administration, legal issues in healthcare, financial management, and more.
At UMGC, we want you to be happy with the investment you make in your education, and we work hard to keep our programs affordable. When you choose to pursue your master's in healthcare administration at UMGC, you can rest assured that the quality of our curriculum is backed by the reputation of an accredited state university and a member institution of the University System of Maryland. Deciding whether an online master's degree in healthcare administration is worth it for you ultimately depends on your individual needs and goals. If you're not sure whether this is the right program for you or need help figuring out how to fit the program into your life, don't hesitate to reach out to us—our advisors and success coaches are happy to help.
UMGC's online master's degree in healthcare administration is a 42-credit program with courses offered year-round. If you successfully complete six credits each fall, spring, and summer, you can expect to graduate in a little more than two years.
UMGC is committed to keeping our tuition and fees as affordable as possible. The master's degree in healthcare administration follows the standard graduate program tuition rates, which appear at the top of this webpage. We also offer scholarships, an interest-free monthly payment plan, and no-cost digital materials in place of most textbooks to help make your education more affordable.
You don't need to have majored in any specific area to be successful in the master's in healthcare administration at UMGC. However, we do recommend you have a recent background in finance or accounting, as well as statistics. Strong writing skills are also encouraged.
We recommend students participate in the following organization:
Upsilon Phi Delta, the national academic honor society of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration, elevates and encourages scholarship, standards, and ethics in the healthcare field. This honor society recognizes scholarship in the healthcare field, and honors students who achieve distinction in healthcare-relevant programs of study in universities and colleges.
It is available to undergraduate and graduate students. Undergraduate membership is open to students pursuing a major in health services management. Undergraduate students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher and at least 18 credits of health services management coursework, with a GPA of 3.25 or higher in those courses. Graduate student membership is limited to individuals who are actively pursuing their graduate degrees in one of UMGC's healthcare-related programs, meet the national eligibility standards of a minimum GPA of 3.5, have completed 18 credits, and are invited to become a member. For more information, please email upd@umgc.edu.
