Master’s Degrees in Healthcare
Your path to more opportunity.
Skills for Senior Management and Leadership
Healthcare organizations need talented and successful leaders to provide expert guidance in response to the ever-changing demands of the industry. A healthcare master’s degree from American College of Education (ACE) can help you acquire the knowledge and skills you need to be that leader, increasing your impact and taking your career to the next level.
Skills and Knowledge Gained
Master’s degrees in healthcare are meant to prepare you for non-clinical roles within healthcare administration, education, management or leadership at an advanced or executive level. Here’s a glimpse at some of what you’ll learn:
- Leadership and management skills
- Strategic planning, organizational development and healthcare operations
- Evidence-based decision making
- Evaluating research
- Legal and ethical challenges in healthcare
- Epidemiology and public health principles
- Financial resources and budgeting best practices
Healthcare Career Alignment
A healthcare master’s degree can help your resume stand out if you want to pursue high-level leadership, strategy and systems-level management roles. Having a master’s-level degree in healthcare can make you a competitive candidate for positions like hospital administrator, chief operations officer, director of patient experience and more.
Master’s Degree in Healthcare Admission
Along with ACE’s general admission requirements, prospective master’s degree in healthcare students must hold a degree at the bachelor’s or post-baccalaureate level with a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. We may grant provisional admission for a GPA of 2.0.
For the Master of Public Health program, you must also have a bachelor’s degree in public health or a bachelor’s with either a minimum of nine credit hours or three years of experience in public health. Find detailed admission requirements for your program of interest on the program’s page.
Success Stories
See how ACE’s affordable online degrees have helped our students elevate their careers and find success.
Master’s Degree in Healthcare FAQs
What is a master’s degree in healthcare?
A degree at the master’s-level focused in the field of healthcare provides the core skills and knowledge needed to enter or advance into management roles in healthcare.
How long does it take to complete a master’s in healthcare?
The length of time needed to complete a master’s degree in healthcare will vary depending on the degree area and format, as well as whether the program requires the completion of a practicum. Typically, they can take anywhere between one and a half to three years to complete. Many of ACE’s master’s degrees can be accelerated by taking multiple courses, so you may be able to finish in as little as 12 months.*
What can you do with a master’s in healthcare?
A master’s in healthcare can open doors to senior management and executive positions, such as hospital administrator, chief operations officer, director of patient experience and more. If you’re specializing within public health with a Master of Public Health (MPH), you could work within public health practice, program management, epidemiology and data analysis, health policy and advocacy, or health education and communication. If you’d like to focus more on teaching and leading initiatives, an M.Ed. in Health and Wellness Education can help you pursue roles related to education, teaching, program leadership, higher education, training, community and public health education, or nonprofit work.
What is the difference between an MHA, MBA in healthcare and an MPH?
While all of them are master’s degrees related to healthcare, each of these degrees serve distinct career paths within the industry.
A Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) focuses primarily on healthcare systems, operations and leadership. It prepares you to manage and lead healthcare organizations and is best suited for careers in hospital or clinic administration, healthcare operations management, health system leadership or healthcare consulting.
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in healthcare focuses on business management applied to healthcare, where the business skills you learn in finance, strategy and management get situated in a healthcare context. This degree is good for careers in healthcare-related businesses or pharmaceuticals, as well as leadership roles that may extend beyond healthcare.
MPH focuses on population and community health, as well as disease prevention. It prepares you to improve health outcomes at the community or population level. You’d be well-suited for careers at public health agencies, nonprofits or global health organizations. You could also work within epidemiology, health education, policy or community health program management.
*This is an estimated time to completion. Actual completion time may vary depending on the number of transfer credits applied, availability of courses, satisfactory pace, multiple course requests, successful course completion, and meeting program milestones as required.