Health Care Administration - Graduate Programs
Objectives
The program in Health Care Administration is designed to provide graduate students an integrated, contemporary, and multidisciplinary education primarily for early and mid-careerists. Diverse topics are included in the curriculum, research and residences to provide:
- An understanding of the modern health industry
- Knowledge, skills and abilities to assume administrative roles in various organizations in the health industry
- Opportunities to develop leadership skills
- Interactions with diverse specialists in the health industry to evaluate and resolve administrative problems
ACCREDITATION
The Master of Science in Health Care Administration program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME).
Admission
Admission to the M.S. in Health Care Administration (HCAD) program is based upon the completion of the general admission requirements of Graduate Admissions. For HCAD program admission a score on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and record of one’s undergraduate academic performance are required. Students for whom English is not their native language must achieve a TOEFL score of at least 575 (paper-based) or 230 (computer-based). Applicants are encouraged to submit with their application a resume that highlights professional and personal accomplishments, linguistic abilities, computer expertise and leadership experience. A standardized test score (GMAT or GRE) will not be used as the sole criterion for admitting applicants or the primary criterion for denying an applicant’s admission to the HCAD program.
Multiple criteria are used to make admission decisions. Quantitative measures include an applicant’s GMAT or GRE scores and grade point average as calculated by Graduate Admissions. These measures are integrated into a formula, or index, that multiplies the grade point average by 200 and adds the total GMAT score. Index factors are weighed equally at the outset of applicant evaluation. A graduate grade point average is used in the index when it is 3.0 or above and is based on at least 24 semester hours. For unconditional admission, the applicant’s composite total from the index must be 1050 or higher and items 1 through 5 above should strongly indicate potential for successful academic performance as a graduate health care administration student.
Along with grade point average and GMAT or GRE scores, admission criteria include the following:
- GMAT or GRE sub scores (verbal and quantitative)
- GMAT or GRE writing sample
- Grades in specified undergraduate business and non-business courses (math, accounting, economics, statistics, for example)
- Educational objectives and quality of written expression of the application essay
- Letters of recommendation from three persons familiar with the applicant’s academic background and/or work experience
- Undergraduate Major
- General and specific program accreditation status of degree granting institution
- Professional work experience
- Professional certification or licensure
- A personal interview, at the discretion of the program advisor
Unconditional Admission
The GMAT or GRE test may be waived for applicants with an earned graduate degree in an appropriate health care related discipline or profession.
The GMAT or GRE test may also be waived for applicants with five or more years of increasing responsibility in managerial, professional, and/or technical positions in the health care industry, and with a 3.0 grade point average on undergraduate work as calculated by Graduate Admissions; detailed work history required with application.
The GMAT or GRE test may also be waived for applicants who have (within the last 3 years) or will receive an undergraduate degree from UT Arlington with a GPA of 3.2 or higher, as calculated by the graduate school.
Students who are unconditionally admitted, have a minimum undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 as calculated by the Graduate School (or 3.0 at the graduate level), and enroll for a minimum of six semester credit hours will be eligible for available fellowship and/or scholarship support. A standardized test score (GMAT or GRE) will not be used as the sole criterion or the primary criterion for determining fellowship and/or scholarship eligibility.
Probationary Admission
For an applicant with an index score below 1050, probationary admission may be available when at least three items of 1 through 5 above strongly indicate potential for successful academic performance as a graduate health care administration student. Items 6 through 10 will also be used to identify positive indicators for admission. Probationary admission requires the student to maintain a 3.00 grade point average for the first two semesters of enrollment. Additionally, the student may be required to take deficiency courses.
Provisional, Deferred and Denied Admission
A provisional decision to admit may be granted when the applicant meets criteria for unconditional or probationary status, but one or more applicant credentials are incomplete. A deferred decision may be made when an applicant’s file is not sufficiently complete to make an admit or deny decision.
For an applicant with an index score less than 1000 and other evidence that indicates lack of potential for academic success as a graduate health care administration student, admission will likely be denied. However, all applicant data will be carefully reviewed before an admission denial is made.
Degree Requirements
The M.S. Degree in Health Care Administration requires 45 hours of specified coursework. The fifteen courses are listed below.
| HCAD 5301 | HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION I | 3 |
| HCAD 5305 | FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING FOR HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY | 3 |
| HCAD 5306 | MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING FOR HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY | 3 |
| HCAD 5316 | HEALTH CARE FINANCE | 3 |
| HCAD 5310 | HEALTH CARE LAW | 3 |
| HCAD 5315 | STATISTICAL METHODS FOR HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATORS | 3 |
| HCAD 5330 | SERVICE MARKETING MANAGEMENT | 3 |
| HCAD 5333 | ECONOMICS OF HEALTH | 3 |
| HCAD 5337 | ETHICS, LEADERSHIP, AND TEAMWORK | 3 |
| HCAD 5340 | HEALTH CARE STRATEGIC HUMAN CAPITAL | 3 |
| HCAD 5350 | HEALTH CARE INFORMATION SYSTEMS | 3 |
| HCAD 5377 | HEALTH CARE QUALITY ASSESSMENT | 3 |
| HCAD 5380 | HEALTH CARE DATA ANALYTICS | 3 |
| HCAD 5390 | STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT FOR HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS | 3 |
| HCAD 5399 | GRADUATE HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION INTERNSHIP | 3 |
| Total Hours | 45 | |
Together these courses provide the student with a general background in business and economics and industry relevant knowledge in all of the fundamental areas of managing health care organizations. The internship course requirement can be satisfied in either of two methods. The internship options are as follows:
Internship
The completion of an internship is a primary component of the program for students who do not have prior appropriate professional work experience in a health-related organization. The internship provides students the opportunity to acquire firsthand professional knowledge of and experience with the functioning of a health-related organization. The working internship requires the completion of 240 hours of approved work experience in a professional capacity and a final written report, related to the student’s internship exposure, supervised by a member of the faculty of the degree program. The MS HCAD Advisor will provide overall supervision and coordination of the internship.
Residence/Internship Substitute
A student who has substantial and acceptable work experience in a supervisory or professional position may qualify for the internship substitute. Work experience is approved by the MS HCAD Advisor. Accordingly, a student may request:
Option I
Design, conduct and complete a supervised research project, an effort equivalent in scope to three (3) hours of graduate research-oriented courses, that is highly relevant to the student’s intended future professional focus in lieu of a working internship; the project will be supervised by at least one member of the faculty of the degree program, or
Option II
Complete an approved graduate course with significant research content highly relevant for the student’s intended future professional field of specialty.
Graduate Certificate Program
Admission
The certificate program is available to any student who has been admitted into Graduate Studies at UT Arlington. The student should contact the Graduate Advisor to declare the intent to earn the certificate before enrolling in courses to satisfy certificate requirements.
Program of Study
The certificate requires the completion of at least 12 hours of courses. HCAD 5301 is required.
| Required: | ||
| HCAD 5301 | HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION I | 3 |
| Select three of the following: | 9 | |
| FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING FOR HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY | ||
| MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING FOR HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY | ||
| HEALTH CARE LAW | ||
| STATISTICAL METHODS FOR HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATORS | ||
| HEALTH CARE FINANCE | ||
| SERVICE MARKETING MANAGEMENT | ||
| ECONOMICS OF HEALTH | ||
| ETHICS, LEADERSHIP, AND TEAMWORK | ||
| HEALTH CARE STRATEGIC HUMAN CAPITAL | ||
| HEALTH CARE INFORMATION SYSTEMS | ||
| HEALTH CARE QUALITY ASSESSMENT | ||
| HEALTH CARE DATA ANALYTICS | ||
| STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT FOR HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
A grade of A or B must be received for all courses that can be applied to meet certificate requirements.
Change of program to the M.S. Health Care Administration Program
A student in the Certificate Program must apply for a change of program and meet all admission requirements to enter the M.S. Health Care Administration program.
Courses
HCAD 5192. SPECIAL TOPICS IN HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION. 1 Hour.
In-depth study of selected topics in health care administration.
HCAD 5199. GRADUATE HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION INTERNSHIP. 1 Hour.
Practical training in health care administration. Analysis of theory applied to real life situations. Course counts as an elective and has a pass/fail grade. No credit will be given for previous experience or activities. Prerequisite: Minimum nine graduate semester hours completed.
HCAD 5292. SPECIAL TOPICS IN HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION. 2 Hours.
In-depth study of selected topics in health care administration.
HCAD 5299. GRADUATE HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION INTERNSHIP. 2 Hours.
Practical training in health care administration. Analysis of theory applied to real life situations. Course counts as an elective and has a pass/fail grade. No credit will be given for previous experience or activities. Prerequisite: Minimum nine graduate semester hours completed.
HCAD 5301. HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION I. 3 Hours.
Introduction to health care; legislation; reimbursement systems; characteristic administrative and clinical roles responsibilities and education; public health care structures; regulatory agencies; health industry trends; and advances in research and technologies.
HCAD 5302. HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION II. 3 Hours.
Managed care; types of health care delivery systems; national health care policy; teamwork in primary care; management of cost and quality of care; legal issues; ethical issues, including bioethics and business ethics; changing roles of health care professionals; varieties of domestic, public and international health care delivery systems.
HCAD 5305. FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING FOR HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY. 3 Hours.
Introduction to concepts, purposes, problems, methodology, and terminology of financial accounting for health care industry.
HCAD 5306. MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING FOR HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY. 3 Hours.
Introduction to concepts, purposes, problems, methodology, and terminology of managerial accounting for health care industry. Prerequisite: HCAD 5305.
HCAD 5310. HEALTH CARE LAW. 3 Hours.
Coverage of statutory and case law of the health care industry. Topics include patient rights and malpractice, employment and compensation matters, insurance and claims, and government agencies that regulate aspects of health services delivery.
HCAD 5315. STATISTICAL METHODS FOR HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATORS. 3 Hours.
Statistical methods designed to prepare graduate students to become competent producers and consumers of data analyses and to use statistical thinking to approach managerial decision making. Students should be familiar with the effectiveness and limitations of various applicable techniques and should be able to recognize when additional statistical expertise is required. Topics include an introduction to evidenced based medicine, probability with an emphasis on the poor predictive value of imperfect diagnostics for rare conditions, standardizing and trending data, graphic and numeric descriptions of data, concepts of inference such as margins of error and significance of results, concepts of quality control including time series analysis and forecasting, and health care applications of discrete random variables with Poisson or binomial probability mass functions. It is recommended that students who have no recent courses in statistics take BSTAT 5301 prior to HCAD 5315.
HCAD 5316. HEALTH CARE FINANCE. 3 Hours.
Analysis of financial problems with an emphasis on the application of financial management principles and concepts to health care organizations.
HCAD 5330. SERVICE MARKETING MANAGEMENT. 3 Hours.
Examines conceptual frameworks and management practices particularly relevant to the health care industry. The course examines many concepts and theories from the service marketing industry and analyzes their values in crafting marketing strategies. Emphasis is on problem solving unique to the health care industry.
HCAD 5333. ECONOMICS OF HEALTH. 3 Hours.
Economic analysis applied to current health policy issues, including health expenditures, public and private insurance, incentives, provider education and labor markets, hospitals, prescription drugs, malpractice, long-term care, the Internet, and various proposals for reform. For HCAD majors only.
HCAD 5337. ETHICS, LEADERSHIP, AND TEAMWORK. 3 Hours.
Examines the leadership process, change management, and high-performance team-building strategies. Emphasis will be placed on the development of self-awareness and skills necessary to lead. Identification of values and ethical issues in health care administration will also be stressed through the application of ethical principles and theories of decision making in the analysis of ethical dilemmas.
HCAD 5340. HEALTH CARE STRATEGIC HUMAN CAPITAL. 3 Hours.
A high-performing workforce, developed through effective people practices, is the lifeblood of a health care organization. This course presents a strategic perspective on contemporary human resource management theory and practice. Key topics covered include workforce planning, staffing, diversity, development, performance measurement and management, and compensation; labor and employee relations, regulations, and legislation; as well as key concepts in team and organizational behavior.
HCAD 5350. HEALTH CARE INFORMATION SYSTEMS. 3 Hours.
Addresses issues in the development, integration, and management of health care information systems. Specifically, topics in financial information systems, patient care systems, and health care delivery applications will be discussed. Both case studies and real life applications will be studied.
HCAD 5377. HEALTH CARE QUALITY ASSESSMENT. 3 Hours.
Covers an integrated case study approach to organizational performance management resulting in the delivery of ever-improving value to patients, improved health care quality and organizational sustainability, improvement of overall organizational effectiveness as a health care provider, and organizational learning.
HCAD 5380. HEALTH CARE DATA ANALYTICS. 3 Hours.
Digitization of patient records and widespread use of digital technologies in healthcare organizations have created large repositories of data that can be analyzed to improve care delivery quality, lower cost, and increase patient satisfaction. This course introduces concepts, techniques, and tools for collecting and analyzing healthcare data to gain insight and support decision making by managers and policymakers in healthcare organizations. Data visualization techniques to effectively communicate results are also covered. The course will consist of lectures, case studies, hands-on exercises, and projects.
HCAD 5390. STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT FOR HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS. 3 Hours.
Development of skills necessary for managing health care organizations from a strategic perspective. Particular emphasis is given to the use of systematic assessment of the environment and the organization, as well as the development and implementation of business strategies to meet the needs of stakeholders. Prerequisite: Must be taken in the last semester of the HCAD program.
HCAD 5392. SPECIAL TOPICS IN HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION. 3 Hours.
In-depth study of selected topics in health care administration.
HCAD 5398. RESEARCH IN HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION. 3 Hours.
Independent research under the supervision of a faculty member.
HCAD 5399. GRADUATE HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION INTERNSHIP. 3 Hours.
Practical training in health care administration. Analysis of theory applied to real life situations. Course counts as an elective and has a pass/fail grade. No credit will be given for previous experience or activities. Prerequisite: Last semester of the program and permission granted by Graduate Advisor.
Faculty
Faculty are listed in their respective departments.