MHA Master of Health Administration

The mission of the University of Kentucky’s Master of Health Administration program is to cultivate a supportive learning environment that prepares students for early-career leadership positions through a competency-based curriculum model.

• Placement Targets: Any healthcare service organization across the country.

• Leadership positions.

• Healthcare administration fellowship or leadership position in a healthcare organization.

• Typical organization types include acute care facilities, ambulatory services, physician practices, long-term care, bio-medical, and more.

• Areas: Operations, strategy, performance improvement/quality, service line management, consulting, data analytics, human resources, department administration, practice management, program administrators, operations manager, and more.

• Early healthcare careerists. Students entering the program often have non-administrative experience with limited leadership opportunities. Most students seek healthcare leadership positions after graduation.

• Early and mid-careerists (those with minimal or no healthcare administration experience) seeking a highly engaged full-time program they complete in 20 months.

• UK HealthCare employees can apply to the program as part-time students through the Employee Education Program they complete in an average of 32 months.

• All geographic areas and majors are welcome to apply.

The MHA program recruits and welcomes students from all states in the U.S. We seek diversity in our cohorts. The University of Kentucky is a public land grant university dedicated to improving people’s lives through excellence in education, research and creative work, service, and health care. As Kentucky's flagship institution, the university plays a critical leadership role by promoting diversity, inclusion, economic development and human well-being (https://pres.uky.edu/strategic-plan). 

The MHA Program aims to achieve our mission by integrating expert faculty-practitioner instruction, experiential learning, and service; engaging alumni and other stakeholders in continuous program improvement; and supporting student connections with the healthcare leadership practice community.

The MHA program’s vision is to achieve national recognition by attracting, educating, and preparing highly qualified students with diverse backgrounds to become the next generation of effective healthcare industry leaders in Kentucky and beyond.

(The University of Kentucky values serve as the basis for the Program values)

• Integrity
• Excellence
• Mutual respect and human dignity
• Diversity and inclusion
• A sense of community
• Civic engagement
• Social responsibility

• The MHA program admits students in the fall only

• Students progress through the program together, in a cohort

• The cohort model allows students to engage with a diverse group of students and experience the program together, building relationships that last a lifetime

• Smaller cohort sizes facilitate interactive and individualized instruction and advising

• 2018 Accreditation - 7 years

• CAHME Mentorship Circle

• Access to scholarships and awards

• Foundation in continuous quality improvement

• CAHME Accredited Program provide student access to:

  • Modern Healthcare and MGMA (Medical Group Management Association)

• Full time students have the opportunity to work in healthcare for all four semesters of the program

• Coaching from healthcare leaders

• Students apply classroom content

• See this page for details

• The University of Kentucky HealthCare is located on UK’s campus, just steps away from our classrooms

• CHI Saint Joseph Health

• Baptist Health Lexington

• VA Lexington Health Care

These are some of the care providers in Lexington.

Many of the courses in the program include instruction and input from industry experts. Leaders bring relevant experience and real-world examples to the courses, course concepts and gain valuable feedback.

• Teams of four breakdown, analyze, and build deliverables for a healthcare case provided by the sponsor

• The team crafts a presentation and then travels to the location to present to a panel of experts

• MHA students receive professional development mentoring that includes presentation/platform skills, decision-making, case analysis, communication skills, data visualization, and much more prior to the competition

• UK MHA attended the UAB and Ohio State Case Competitions last year

• UK MHA team placed 3rd at Ohio State (first year student only competition)

• Four times a year the program brings highly qualified and experienced leaders right to the UK MHA students

• Main Event: Honored guests provide a one hour talk on current healthcare topics

• Small Group Session – the MHA students gain exclusive access to the leader during a small group session where they can ask more in-depth questions

• Learn more about the series here

• First year students have the unique opportunity to engage with our healthcare colleagues in a collaborative environment with students from nursing, medicine, pharmacy, public health, health sciences and dentistry.

• Interprofessional Collaboration and Team Skills (iCATS)

• Leadership Legacy

• Deans' Interprofessional Honors Colloquium (DIHC)

• Leave the program knowing you can analyze real world problems, develop deliverables, present solutions, and interact with healthcare executives

• At the end of the Program students apply their coursework and practical experience by analyzing a case and presenting conclusions and recommendations to a panel of industry leaders

• The case, presentation, and question and answer provide an opportunity to assess student competency development and the skills a student has gained during the program

• MHA faculty represent a diverse breadth of experience, education, and research. Faculty members include respected experts on health systems governance and ethics, clinical management, health law, health economics, process improvement, human resources, organization development, electronic health records, and more

• Faculty members have careers that include healthcare leadership positions, clinical expertise, and academic research and teaching