Program Mission Statement 

The primary mission of the MHA program is to develop managers and leaders for health services and public health organizations through excellence in education.

Program Description
                                                                                    
The MHA program offers the most widely accepted management degree in the U.S. healthcare system. Graduates are employed with public and private hospitals, ambulatory care organizations, long-term care institutions, health maintenance organizations, insurance companies, multi-institutional systems, and other organizations concerned with the planning, delivery, and financing of personal health services. The program has been fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) since 1971. Students in Tulane's nationally competitive program share excellent scholastic credentials and a keen desire to pursue senior management roles in healthcare systems.  They come from diverse academic backgrounds, including liberal arts, the sciences, business, and health professions. In core courses, students are introduced in the fundamentals of business and functional areas of management within the context of health services. Students are introduced to the key public health disciplines and examine legal and ethical concerns of the industry. Core courses also examine the dynamics of the workforce, logistics of health service delivery, and the distinctive economic and strategic concerns of health care. Elective studies offer students advanced and specialized courses within a broad range of management topics. When appropriate, students may select advanced management courses offered by other schools within the university. 

Program Competencies

HSM adopted an outcomes or competency-based assessment of student performance. The HSM faculty, in conjunction with an alumni focus group, identified seven competency areas considered necessary for professionals entering the field of health management and policy.

These competencies fall into the following domains: Leadership, Management, Communication, Critical and Analytical Thinking, Health Policy, Health Systems Analysis, and Strategic Management.

Upon completion of the MHA program in Health Systems Management, graduates will be able to:

• Develop and define a vision and guide individuals and groups toward that vision while maintaining group cohesiveness, motivation, commitment, ethical standards and effectiveness. (Courses that substantially support this competency: HSMG 6170; HSMG 6190; HSMG 6320; HSMG 6370; HSMG 6500; HSMG 6920; HSMG 7540; HSMG 7910; HSMG 7920.)
  
• Participate in planning and decision-making, organizing, leading, and controlling an organization’s human, financial, physical, and information resources to achieve organizational goals in an efficient and effective manner. (Courses that substantially support this competency: HSMG 6370; HSMG 6840; HSMG 7540; HSMG 7910; HSMG 7920.)
  
• Effectively transfer information in oral, written, and non-verbal form to others, including the ability to judge what needs to be communicated, when it needs to be communicated, to whom, how and how much, and where this communication should take place. (Courses that substantially support this competency: HSMG 6320; HSMG 6840; HSMG 6920; HSMG 7660; HSMG 7910; HSMG 7920.)
  
• Formulate the right questions, think logically and independently, conceptualize and problem solve in an unstructured environment. (Courses that substantially support this competency: BIOS 6030; ENHS 6030; EPID 6030; SPHL 6010; SPHL 6030; HSMG 6030; HSMG 6170; HSMG 6370; HSMG 6450; HSMG 6750; HSMG 6840; HSMG 6920; HSMG 7170; HSMG 7540; HSMG 7550; HSMG 7580; HSMG 7710; HSMG 7910; HSMG 7920.)
  
• Assess the impact of health policy on major and diverse community and organizational stakeholders and its implications for organizational response, initiatives, and direction. (Courses that substantially support this competency: HSMG 6030; HSMG 6210; HSMG 6370; HSMG 7550; HSMG 7660.)
  
• Recognize and analyze health system and sub-system properties, processes, and outputs, and the dynamic interactions within the system and with the external environment. (Courses that substantially support this competency: ENHS 6030; EPID 6030; HSMG 6030; HSMG 6370; HSMG 6450; HSMG 6500; HSMG 7170; HSMG 7660.)
  
• Develop, implement, manage, and evaluate economic and financial models to plan and guide the organization to achieve its strategic goals and objectives. (Courses that substantially support this competency: EPID 6030; HSMG 6450; HSMG 6500; HSMG 6840; HSMG 7540; HSMG 7550; HSMG 7580; HSMG 7710.)

Admission Requirements

Students must meet the School's requirements to be considered for admission to the MHA in Health Systems Management.  The ideal educational preparation includes study in the natural, social, and behavioral sciences, mathematics, economics, business and humanities. There are no specific educational prerequisites since no one undergraduate major is preferred above others.

• A baccalaureate degree is required for admission to the Program, and admission is limited to 12-15 positions per entering class;
• GRE score of 1000 or higher per the School's minimum admission requirements;
• 3.0 undergraduate GPA or better;
• Exceptions for outstanding performance either on the GRE or the undergraduate GPA, impressive service or professional experience, or strong recommendations are considered;
• Students with at least one or two years of work experience preferred, although about half of each MHA class comes to Tulane directly from undergraduate degree programs.

In addition, all applicants must complete an interview with a department faculty member. Students may enroll in the MHA program in the fall semester. Applications should be submitted by March.

Program Requirements

The MHA degree curriculum consists of 60 credit hours of course work. Course work includes 18 credit hours in the public health core, 41 credit hours in the management core, and 1 credit hour of electives.  Students participate in an approved Administrative Residency experience in a health care or related organization during the first summer of the program. The Administrative Residency satisfies the 200-hour practicum requirement. Students must also complete a Culminating Experience.

-Download Sample Course Plan
-Download Curriculum Worksheet

School Core Courses (18 credit hours)                                       

Management Core (41 credit hours)

Electives (1 credit hour)

SPHL 7950 - Culminating Experience (0 credit hours)
MHA students will develop and present a Public Health Analysis on a pressing, local public health issue. Students conduct research on this problem, write a 10-20 page manuscript, and then present their findings to a panel of faculty and local alumni and practitioners.

SPHL 9980 – Practicum (0 credit hours)
The practicum requirements for this program are satisfied by an Administrative Residency that typically begins in the summer following the student's first year of coursework. Students complete a final comprehensive paper, a residency plan, and receive a final evaluation from their site preceptor.

For more information:
                                                                                    
Mark Diana, PhD
Director, MHA Program
E-mail: mdiana@tulane.edu
Phone:  504-988-5359  504-988-5359
Fax: 504-988-3783
Location: Tidewater, Suite 1909

T. J. Stranova, ScD
Director of Administrative Residency
E-mail: tstrano@tulane.edu
Phone:  504-988-6758  504-988-6758
Fax: 504-988-8258
Location: Tidewater, Suite 1913

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Department of Health Systems Management
Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
1440 Canal Street, Suite 1900, New Orleans, La 70112
504.988.5428 phn  504.988.3783
hsm@tulane.edu