EXECUTIVE MASTER OF HEALTH ADMINISTRATION ONLINE

Executive MHA Curriculum

Take Your Next Step

Connect with an advisor to discuss career outcomes, curriculum, and get your questions answered.

Step 1 of 2

About Our Curriculum

The Executive MHA offers a hybrid online/in-residence executive education program that will prepare the graduate to meet career objectives. The program provides students with the flexibility to meet program requirements while maintaining full-time administrative positions, but also emphasizes the importance of an integrated approach to executive education.

Five Curricular Themes

The curriculum of the EMHA is organized around five themes: Thriving in transformational times through innovative leadership; delivering cost-effective care in an era of value-based purchasing; providing efficient management and administration; developing and implementing strategies to enhance patient safety and quality of care; and demonstrating organizational and clinical effectiveness through health information technology. These integrated themes and the associated content provide graduates with a comprehensive approach that expands their understanding of the key principles and applications necessary to function in a senior administrative leadership role.

1. Thriving in Transformational Times through Innovative Leadership Developing executives who anticipate health care delivery system changes and create strategies to take advantage of these opportunities to maximize organizational potential.

2. Delivering Cost-Effective Care in Era of Value-Based Purchasing Developing a cognitive and intuitive understanding of the fundamental factors driving health care delivery system evolution (cost and effectiveness) and how organizations can evolve aligning with these objectives.

3. Providing Efficient Management and Administration Translating the fundamental factors of cost and effectiveness in the internal operations of the organization to improve productivity, clinical outcomes and patient experience.

4. Developing and Implementing Strategies to Enhance Patient Safety and Quality of Care Operationalizing outcomes that matter to payers, organizations and clinicians.

5. Demonstrating Organizational and Clinical Effectiveness Through Health Information Technology Demonstrating how health information technology systems provide a foundation for the organization’s strategic growth.

Click here for a full list of themes and associated courses

EMHA Degree Requirements

Degree candidates are required to complete a total of 36 units to be eligible for the Executive MHA degree.

A high level of attendance is expected for EMHA courses. Program participants are required to maintain a minimum 3.0 grade point average to fulfill degree requirements. Full-time students complete the program within 6 semesters. If it becomes necessary to extend the course of study, arrangements can be made through the student services advisor. However, administrative fees and/or higher program costs may apply.

Residency Experiences

In addition to the synchronous and asynchronous learning modules included in each course, students will participate in a four-day in-residence session, twice during the program. The first in-residence session will occur before the midpoint of the program, and the second session will be a capstone experience during the last semester of the program. The Executive MHA degree program does not require a supervised field placement (residency) in a health care organization.

Available for direct interaction with students, the guest speakers and USC EMHA faculty members will address the future of the health care industry, examine life in the health care C-Suite, discuss current and future trends and define how health care leadership will evolve.

What EMHA Courses Will You Take?

HMGT-520

Leading People and Health Care Organizations

4 Units

HMGT-540

Health Care Economics, Financing and Reimbursement

4 Units

PPD-511

Health Information Systems

2 Units

HGMT-601

Operations Management Accountability

4 Units

HGMT-575

Managing and Improving Health

4 Units

PPD-518

Quality of Care Concepts

2 Units

HMGT-565

Managing the Organization’s Financial Health

4 Units

HMGT-512

Information Technology and Patient Engagement

2 Units

HGMT-603

Development and Monitoring of Quality and Patient Safety and Outcomes

2 Units

HGMT-602

Operational Efficiency Processes in Health Care Organizations

2 Units

HGMT-570

Strategic Management

4 Units

HGMT-600

Managing Risk

2 Units

Innovative Leadership Through Transformational Times

  • Gaining a broad understanding of various leadership styles with the objective of enhancing overall effectiveness as a health care leader.
  • Understanding the role of performance measurement, risk assumption and evidence-based medicine in an era of population health management.
  • Gain a greater understanding of the statutory and regulatory changes affecting the delivery of health care and how such changes can be effectively managed.

HMGT-520

Leading People and Health Care Organizations

4 Units

HGMT-575

Managing and Improving Health

4 Units

HGMT-570

Strategic Management

4 Units

Efficient Management and Administration

  • Development of a broad range of professional competencies in financial management as a foundation for effective management in a changing environment.
  • Develop a thorough understanding of Six Sigma and Lean Methodology and the application to process improvement in health care organizations.
  • Ability to effectively address emerging issues in the financing of health care brought about by federal and state statutory and regulatory requirements.

HGMT-601

Operations Management Accountability

4 Units

HGMT-602

Operational Efficiency Processes in Health Care Organizations

2 Units

Patient Safety and Quality of Care

  • Understanding health risk, measuring performance and assessing opportunities for improvement in the area of patient safety and clinical outcomes.
  • Gain a rich understanding of the tools for tracking clinical performance and costs.
  • Gain an understanding regarding the coordination of clinical services across a continuum of care as a means to improve individual patient outcomes and enhance population health.

PPD-518

Quality of Care Concepts

2 Units

HGMT-603

Development and Monitoring of Quality and Patient Safety and Outcomes

2 Units

Organizational & Clinical Effectiveness through Information Systems

  • Understanding the requirements for real time data and information exchange between all participants in the continuum of care as well as the necessity of user friendly patient portal accessibility.
  • Understand the role of Information Technology (IT) as an enabler for health care delivery transformation.
  • Appreciate the role of IT to track and measure patients’ outcomes and experiences across multiple clinical settings; inpatient, long term care, specialty out-patient and primary care.

PPD-511

Health Information Systems

2 Units

HMGT-512

Information Technology and Patient Engagement

2 Units

For an example of a sample cohort schedule click here

Chart of competencies and program outcomes click here

We continually review the Executive Master of Health Administration program to ensure the best possible educational experience. As a result, we reserve the right to alter at any time the curriculum, class schedule, fees, faculty, location or other program components for the purpose of achieving our educational mission.

Ready to get started?