Many in health care and public health embody a quiet humbleness: There’s always people to take care of and problems to solve; just keep working and avoid the spotlight.
Dr. Maureen Jones, Director of the University of Kentucky College of Public Health’s Master of Health Administration (UK MHA) program, wants to focus the spotlight on the program’s students and alumni who are making a difference in their communities.
“Our students don’t leave here with just a degree,” Dr. Jones said. “They leave here with a set of relevant leadership skills they can apply right away. Graduates accept positions across Kentucky and the country at UK HealthCare, Norton, Ascension, Duke, the Veteran’s Administration, UC Health, Rush, Mayo and more. But in the process of getting meaningful positions, they’re making differences in their communities.”
Dr. Jones continued, “We need to be visible, because that helps our students get better careers, draws high quality students to UK, and will help industry leaders know that they can call on the University of Kentucky College of Public Health for expertise in this area. We are recruiting students who are focused on innovation and creativity to make a meaningful impact on today’s health care problems.”
The MHA program is a professional degree program, which is different from most master’s programs, Dr. Jones noted. The program grounds its teaching in theory but does not stop there. Our faculty craft courses where students apply concepts to real-world problems.
“Students are engaging with industry experts in strategy, operations, business development, finance, human resources and working through current organizational challenges. This allows them to solve actual problems while they’re in the UK MHA program, better preparing them for when they get out there,” Dr. Jones said.
The UK MHA Program is competency-based. Each course exposes students to a specific set of skills and abilities. Within each course, students demonstrate their progress by becoming proficient with the prescribed competencies.
“We layer these skills over the curriculum to allow for practice, feedback, and development over time,” Dr. Jones said. “The competency model was developed with input from faculty and industry executives to assure we are targeting the most relevant set of skills and is reviewed regularly to assure it aligns with industry needs.”
There are two options for the UK MHA program — a full-time two-year route and a part-time four-year plan. Both are 50 credits including an internship. The program features a prescribed set of sequenced courses and room for a few electives.
For part-time students, the set of courses is similar, but students take, on average, two or three classes a semester. All students without significant administrative experience complete a 400-hour internship that pairs them with a healthcare leader mentor for 12 weeks over the summer between their first and second year. Students with administrative experience may develop an administrative internship within their own organization that requires activities beyond their existing job responsibilities.
UK MHA students and alums are clearly visible and are making an impact in the world of public health. Learn more here.
