A Top Ranked Healthcare MBA for Executives
Breadcrumb
Credit hours: 48
16-month program
Start term: July
Hybrid format
The oldest CAHME-accredited program in the Rocky Mountain region
As a top-ranked executive health care MBA program in the country, your education will be both business and health-focused. As a part of the Business School Alliance for Health Management (BAHM), we are among a small group of top-ranked institutions including Harvard, Northwestern, and University of Pennsylvania – Wharton.
New - Now a shorter 16-month program in duration
Our competitive Executive Health Administration MBA program brings in a diverse set of experienced professionals from all areas of health including pharmacists, physicians, dentists, and pharmaceutical sales. Considered a best of both MBA and MHA programs, this degree is ranked in the top 25 of all health care management programs and the highest ranked program for health care executives looking for an MBA in the country.
Program benefits include:
- 100% health-focused curriculum that applies business to the health care industry
- Executive-focused career support through Right Management, a career counseling firm
- Mentoring program through our health administration alumni association
- Executive-level support to accommodate busy professionals
- Hybrid format so you can continue working while pursuing your education
Because every course is healthcare focused, you’ll receive the benefits of an MBA applied directly to health care systems and policy. Faculty are selected as leaders from across the country for their diverse backgrounds and experiences.
As an executive program, we offer a full range of exclusive support services. Our staff consults with you during the admissions process and throughout the program. All administrative responsibilities including registration and enrollment, acquisition of books, software, and other materials, are handled by program staff on your behalf.
On campus: Classes meet on campus for one week twice a year. Classes are held from 8am-5pm and consist of traditional lectures, discussions, and group activities. You will also have ample opportunities to network with peers and faculty throughout the course of the week.
Off campus: Computer conferencing brings the classroom to your home or office through Canvas, the leading provider of e-Learning solutions. You’ll have access to course assignments, presentations, and discussions with your classmates and professors.
The Executive Health Administration MBA consists of 48 credit hours and is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME). All courses are entirely health-focused and targeted toward executives. Up to six credits can be transferred from another accredited graduate school and applied to the program.
Core courses (45 hours)
All core classes combine to provide a robust business foundation. Course topics include:
- Management accounting
- Information systems
- Global health business
- Economics
- Managing healthcare outcomes
- Healthcare marketing
- The healthcare systems
- Corporate finance
- Ethics and health law
Health capstone course (3 hours)
Taken in your final semester, our capstone course consists of a case-based project evaluating two different healthcare systems. You will function as a consultant to the board of directors of two different hospital systems. The project will require you to dive deep and make recommendations on the decision of merging two hospitals.
Healthcare is an industry with high growth potential that will continue into the future. Health administration professionals work to administer, lead and manage healthcare systems, such as hospitals, hospital networks or large healthcare systems. Careers can be found in both private and public sectors.
Health Administration Job Titles
- Account Executive
- Admissions Director
- Business Analyst
- Case Manager
- Claims Specialist
- Director of Nursing
- Director of Operations
- Health Facilities Surveyor
- Healthcare Administrator
- Hospital Administrator
- Medical Associate
- Medical Records Director
- Patient Access Supervisor
- Program Director
Visit our Careers page for more detailed information on the resources available.
Health Administration
1: Relate Efficaciously
1a: Work effectively in teams and understand the importance and diversity of members in all group settings
1b: Manage working relationships including self-management and interactions with others.
2: Communicate Effectively
2a: Speaks and writes in a clear, logical, and grammatical manner in formal and informal situations
2b: Uses communication skills effectively to prepare cogent business presentations and facilitates group synergy
2c: Comprehends basic healthcare and medical terminology
3: Think Critically
3a: Demonstrates knowledge and use of basics business practices including
- Financial and managerial accounting practices, including preparation of budgets
- Economic analysis of firm performance and operating environments.
- Principles and processes of highly efficient and effective organization
3b: Analyzes, creates, and implements plans to improve the quality of patient care.
4: Lead Purposefully
4a: Collaborate effectively within diverse business teams, leveraging teamwork and leadership skills to make strategic decisions including
- Identifying marketing opportunities in a business situation and applies sound theory and principles to capitalize on the opportunity
- Developing and implementing a competitive business strategy, which includes considering the business, demographic, ethno-cultural, political, and regulatory implications of decisions
- Analyzing information technology alternatives to support healthcare initiatives
5: Evaluate components of the U.S. Healthcare System
5a: Explain the basic characteristics and functions of the U.S. healthcare system and how they compare with other healthcare systems around the world.
6: Behave Ethically
6a: Evaluate ethical dilemmas of healthcare management by applying appropriate theories and principles to the assessment of divergent perspectives in the decision-making process.
7: Advance Professionally
7a: Promote and manage their own career progression (identifies career paths, strengths, and skill gaps, and creates plans for self-development)
Tuition
The cost of tuition is $62,500 and is guaranteed for the entire program. Tuition includes textbooks, course-related software, instructional materials, most breakfasts and lunches during on-campus sessions.
A $1,000 nonrefundable deposit is due upon acceptance into the program and is applied to first term’s tuition. The remaining tuition is billed in four installments due at the beginning of each semester.
As an off-campus degree program, this program is exempt from campus-based student fees.
Lodging and Other Expenses
While on campus, you have the option to stay at hotels within walking distance of the Business School. We have negotiated significant discounts for executive program participants. The estimated cost for lodging is $130-170 per night.
You will need access to a personal computer at your home or office. Other incidental costs, such as travel or miscellaneous personal expenses, should also be expected.
Loans
Loans are available through need-based sources, such as the Federal Guaranteed Student Loan Program and the Colorado PLUS Loan Program. Other organizations lend educational funds based on credit-worthiness and other criteria.
Scholarships
Scholarships are also available through the CU Denver Scholarship Office and many professional organizations such as the American College of Healthcare Executives. Inquire directly through your professional organization about scholarship opportunities.
Application Checklist
Online application
Three letters of recommendation
Official transcripts from each college or university attended
Self-evaluation essay
Resume
We admit students for a July start. Admissions are made on a rolling basis, meaning decisions are made as applications are completed.
Application Process
Applicants are required to submit all application materials. There is no application fee. A phone interview is a part of the admission process. Because of the program’s competitive nature and rolling admissions policy, we strongly recommend submitting your application as soon as possible.
You can check your admission status online through the account you created for the online application. You will receive a final decision by email within two to three weeks from submission of all materials.
Admission Requirements
- Applicants must have completed an undergraduate program at an accredited United States college or its equivalent in another country.
- A minimum of five years of increasing responsibility in your health-related organization is required for admission.
- No GMAT or formal business education is required for admission.
How Decisions are Made
The admissions committee considers each candidate’s entire record of achievement. This is demonstrated through:
- Previous education – evaluation of a candidate’s overall or upper-division grade point average prior to admission to the executive program or any other relevant measure of scholastic performance
- Experience – a minimum of five years of administrative or clinical experience in health services
Application Deadline
Applications are due May 30 for that year’s July start.
For any questions, please contact our Executive Health Administration MBA team at emba-health@ucdenver.edu.
A well-connected alumni network
Almost 1,000 alumni representing most major healthcare markets in the United States serving as CEOs, COOs, and CMOs around the country
“I was selected CEO from a nationwide search of more than 200 applicants. The executive program at CU Denver is clearly what opened the door and made this opportunity a possibility. Without the executive program I would not have the confidence, skills, and the prerequisite degree. Taking the executive program at CU Denver has proved to be one of my best decisions.”
– John McNeil ’96, COO, Southwestern Regional Medical Center
Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) – full graduate member
