The graduate degree in Health Administration prepares students for management and leadership roles in health services and related organizations and systems. The curriculum provides for advanced study of issues, problems and strategies for managing the effective and efficient delivery of healthcare through public, voluntary and private sector healthcare organizations, including, but not limited to, hospitals, long-term care organizations, medical and dental group practices, health maintenance organizations, health insurance and health benefits administrations and public health agencies.

Mission: The graduate program in Health Administration prepares a diverse student body for mid-level positions in healthcare organizations in the Greater San Fernando Valley. Graduate students in the program can advance in their current healthcare, health services or health administration positions or by making their initial entry into a health administration role. With a faculty focus on learning-centeredness, community and university service, as well as scholarship, the program is well positioned to educate students for professional practitioner positions aligned with the current healthcare environment.

Vision: The graduate program in Health Administration aspires to prepare a workforce that will enhance the operational efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare organizations and improve the delivery and access to quality care in our service community. The program consistently seeks to meet the national standards associated with excellence in graduate education in health administration.

The following criteria are used for evaluating applicants to the Health Administration graduate program:

1. Cumulative undergraduate GPA.
2. Graduate Record Examination.
3. Undergraduate degree. Students not having a degree in health administration, if accepted, will be required to take a qualifying program prior to being admitted to Classified graduate status.
4. Work experience.
5. Letters of recommendation.
6. Statement of purpose.

The Master of Science in Health Administration program requires a minimum of 45 semester hours of coursework beyond the bachelor’s degree. A minimum grade of “B“ is required for each course and an overall program GPA of 3.0 is required for graduation.

A. For Admission to Conditionally Classified Graduate Status

1. A bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or college with a major in Health Science or its equivalent.
2. A cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above for all undergraduate work.
3. Students not meeting requirement one above may be assigned a program of prerequisites in the Health Sciences. Under certain circumstances, students not meeting requirement two above may be assigned a qualifying program. Specific information concerning prerequisites or qualifying programs may be obtained through consultation with a program graduate advisor.
4. Students must provide evidence of satisfactory completion of the verbal and/or quantitative and/or analytical sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
5. Prerequisites are an accounting course and a statistics course which both must be approved by the graduate coordinator. HSCI 510 and HSCI 511 are required for students who do not have an undergraduate degree in health administration or business.

The GRE may be waived with approval for those students who have a minimum of 3.0 GPA overall and in the major, or have a 3.2 GPA in the last 60 units of undergraduate work, or who already have an advanced graduate degree from an accredited school.

B. Advancement from Conditional to Classified Status

Students admitted as conditionally classified must complete all qualifying coursework, GRE and/or UDWPE prior to moving from conditional to fully classified status. In addition:

1. A GPA of 3.0 or better must be achieved in qualifying coursework.
2. No more than 12 units of work taken prior to attaining fully classified status will be applied to the master’s program, and
3. Students completing qualifying coursework must meet with their faculty advisor to complete the paperwork to advance from conditional to classified status.

Qualifying Courses: To be determined at advisement.

C. Requirements for the Degree

1. Required Courses (36 units)

HSCI 513 Leadership in Health Administration Practice (3)
HSCI 517 Health Economics and National Health Policy (3)
HSCI 521 Health-Care Ethics (3)
HSCI 523 Seminar in Health-Care Organization (3)
HSCI 613 Managing Change in Health Care Organizations (3)
HSCI 614 Health Administration: Financial Management (3)
HSCI 615 Information Management for Decision Making and Control (3)
HSCI 616 Quality Assurance in Health Care (3)
HSCI 618 Strategic Planning in Health Administration (3)
HSCI 619 Third Party Payer Impact on Health Delivery (3)
HSCI 625 Integrative Seminar in Health Administration (3)
HSCI 693A or B Supervised Field Training (2)
and HSCI 693C Supervised Field Training (1)

2. Electives (9 units minimum)

With approval of the Graduate Coordinator, students take electives from approved Health Administration or related courses.

3. Culminating Experience (2-3 units)

Select one of the following (units do not count toward program total):

1. Comprehensive Examination: Student registers for HSCI 697 Directed Comprehensive Studies (3) (Credit/No Credit only).
2. Thesis/Graduate Project (with faculty permission only): Student registers for HSCI 698 Thesis or Graduate Project (2) (Credit/No Credit only).

Total Units Required for the M.S. Degree: 47-48

If you would like more information about this program, please contact brian.malec@csun.edu.