Are there 100 Percent Online Healthcare MBA Programs?

The short answer is yes! There are fully online healthcare master’s of business administration (MBA) programs for those wanting to enter healthcare business leadership, as well as options for current healthcare professionals desiring to advance their careers.

Online healthcare MBA degree programs are ideal for a wide range of applicants. Program cohorts for healthcare MBA programs include people with no prior professional experience in healthcare, current healthcare professionals with two to four years of experience, and individuals with substantial professional healthcare experience. Due to the recent expansion of healthcare availability and an aging population in the United States, many universities are offering healthcare MBA degrees to meet the growing demand for highly-trained and well-educated healthcare professionals.

The flexible nature of online degree programs allows students to complete their coursework from anywhere with an Internet connection. Several healthcare MBA programs are designed with the needs of full-time working professionals in mind, empowering students to maintain their current careers, attend to family responsibilities, and avoid relocating in order to complete a degree program.

Online healthcare MBA programs use web-based platforms and tools to deliver curriculum and connect students and professors, creating both synchronous and asynchronous educational communities. Students and professors may interact using group video conferencing, discussion boards, chat rooms. Written course materials and video-based lectures can be shared via learning management systems and are available for download. Individual professors may hold office hours via email, video conferencing, or live chat. Whether a course is held in real-time or asynchronous time is up to the instructor; some programs require both asynchronous participation and scheduled live interaction for their online classroom environments.

Healthcare MBA programs vary in their academic requirements and delivery formats but also have shared features. Many programs require a culminating capstone project grounded in observation and experience gained through practicums. Ultimately, these are issue-based projects which propose research-based solutions to observed issues with the goal of improving operational functionality at healthcare facilities.

Fully online healthcare MBA programs are unique in that the curriculum is 100 percent web-based, compared to hybrid online courses which also require on-campus visits at regularly scheduled intervals. The benefit of a fully online MBA program is that it enables students to complete an educational degree program while attending to their other professional and family responsibilities from the convenience of their homes.

The core curriculum of most programs is augmented with elective courses, allowing students to focus on an area of healthcare interest. Some programs offer specializations such as long-term care or health informatics, giving students the opportunity to choose a course of study that will best prepare them for the types of healthcare organizations they choose to work for after graduation.

Purdue Global

The 76-credit MBA with a concentration in healthcare management offered at Purdue Global is fully online.

Sixty credit-hours are devoted to business topics such as business communication; measurement and decision-making; financial management; designing, improving, and implementing processes; strategic management; and leadership strategies for a changing world, and others. The healthcare management concentration adds 16 credit-hours in subjects that include leadership and management in healthcare; healthcare financial management; healthcare operations and quality assessment; and healthcare law and ethics.

Students are required to verify address and residency, undergo a background check, have a bachelor’s degree, transcripts, and 2.5 GPA. GMAT/GRE scores and experience are not required.

• Location: West Lafayette, IN
• Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission, Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)
• Program length: 2.5 years

University of Illinois Springfield

The University of Illinois Springfield offers an accelerated MBA in healthcare management online. The 30-credit program has multiple start dates to accommodate students.

The curriculum emphasizes the way marketing, organizational behavior, leadership, and operations management combine to support healthcare and medical organizations. Coursework includes information technology management; survey of U.S. healthcare system; business strategy; managerial finance; production and operations management; organizational behavior; marketing management; management accounting; managing healthcare operations; and an elective. Graduates are prepared for a variety of positions in the healthcare industry.

Admission requirements include a bachelor’s degree with a minimum 2.5 GPA and transcripts. Students with a non-business degree may be required to complete prerequisite business coursework. GMAT scores and experience are not required.

Students may choose to complete the graduate certificate in healthcare management rather than the MBA program. Coursework for a fully online certificate program includes survey of U.S. healthcare system, managing healthcare operations, and an elective, for a total of nine credit hours.

• Location: Springfield, IL
• Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission, Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
• Program length: Certificate six months, MBA 12 months

Benedictine University

Benedictine University offers a fully online dual master of business administration/master of public health (MPH/MBA) degree. Depending on the student’s prior business credits, the program includes 21 to 24 courses, for a total of 64 credit-hours. Students are required to complete a supervised internship which involves 240 hours of field experience.

Core coursework includes topics such as managerial accounting for decision makers; managerial economics; techniques in financial decision making; human resources and talent management; and operations management, among others. The MPH coursework includes introduction to public health; introduction to biostatistics; introduction to epidemiology; public health systems, law, and policy; leadership and management in health organizations; and community health analysis, and others, including electives.

Students may take two courses per session to complete the program in as little as one year, or they may choose to take one course per session. BenU offers six start dates throughout the year.

Admission requirements include a bachelor’s degree, 3.0 GPA, transcripts, letters of recommendation, resume, and a career path essay. GMAT scores are not required. Experience is not required, but preferred.

• Location: Lisle, IL
• Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission, Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)
• Program length: 3 to 3.5 years

Southern New Hampshire University

One of the most affordable healthcare MBA programs in the nation, Southern New Hampshire University’s program is fully online and can be completed in just over a year. The 36-credit MBA in healthcare management is designed to provide students with an understanding of the business of healthcare, grounded in a foundation of healthcare issues, trends, and practices.

With a multidisciplinary curriculum with instruction in accounting, finance, leadership, marketing, economics, operations, and information technology, students in this program are exposed to relevant social, ethical, and organizational challenges faced by healthcare institutions today and learn best practices for how to apply their knowledge to solve institutional problems related to the industry.

Courses are taught by healthcare professionals with relevant real-world experience and students take two courses per ten-week term. Course content is available 24 hours per day online and allows students to learn at their own pace. Students are supported by a team of academic and career advisors specific to the healthcare MBA program.

• Location: Hooksett, NH
• Accreditation: New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)
• Program length: 15 months

Brenau University

The healthcare management MBA at Brenau University is a 33-credit degree program that takes place over 15 courses. Graduates from this program earn master’s degrees in business administration with a major in healthcare management. Students can choose to learn at one of the campuses or complete this degree program entirely online.

Valuable management skills are emphasized in this program and students can expect to learn management tools and techniques, approaches to achieving organizational goals and objectives, and systematic problem-solving methods to enhance individual and organizational performance.

This healthcare MBA program is geared towards registered nurses, medical technologists, and medical professionals who want to pursue leadership opportunities. Application prerequisites include official college transcripts, a resume, a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) from all college transcripts, and a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university.

• Location: Gainesville, GA
• Accreditation: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)
• Program length: 16 to 24 months

University of South Dakota – Beacom School of Business

The 39- to 45-credit online and on-campus health services administration MBA program at the University of South Dakota’s Beacom School of Business aims to develop leaders to excel in the field of healthcare administration or pursue future doctoral studies. The instructional core emphasizes decision-making, problem-solving, and understanding the role of business and society, as well as developing leadership abilities and social responsibility. A 12-credit health services administration option is available as an add-on specialization to the online MBA program.

Accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International, the University of South Dakota’s program stands out as one of the accredited business schools with this prestigious ranking; less than 5 percent of business schools worldwide have this designation. The online MBA program aims to prepare future leaders for professional roles in health services administration.

• Location: Vermillion, SD
• Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission, Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
• Program length: 14 to 24 months

Creighton University – Executive MBA in Healthcare

The executive healthcare MBA is explicitly geared toward physicians and mid-career healthcare executives seeking an MBA in their field of practice. In addition, individuals who manage departments, private practices, and other entrepreneurial endeavors would best fit the executive MBA program. There are four moral pillars of the Creighton program:

• Formulate a leadership model by incorporating business knowledge, philosophy, and skill sets
• Decision-making by thinking critically
• Professional communication
• Use of knowledge and business ethics for leadership of others

This 42-credit program is offered online and in-person and includes four four-day on-campus residencies. Courses include executive leadership and organizational behavior, introduction to healthcare management, finance for healthcare managers, management for human resources in healthcare, healthcare accounting, health policy and economics, an independent study elective, and a final capstone.

Admissions for the MBA at Creighton University require a bachelor’s degree in a related field; five years of management experience or clinical practice within the area; professional and or undergraduate GPA of 3.0; transcripts submitted from all educational institutions; resume; statement of purpose letter; three professional letters of reference; minimum TOEFL score of 577 paper-based test or 90 internet-based test; and finally a FAFSA or evidence of financial responsibility.

• Location: Omaha, NE
• Accreditation: Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME); Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
• Program length: 16 months

Florida International University

The Chapman Graduate School of Business Florida International University offers a fully online healthcare MBA for professionals who desire to apply their business skills in the healthcare industry. In 2022, the program was the silver recipient of the George and Regi Herzlinger Innovation Education Award, highlighting healthcare management programs emphasizing innovation and leadership.

This program teaches courses by executives who manage healthcare organizations—weaving together the healthcare and business disciplines. The unique curriculum includes 15 courses in organizational behavior; legal environments of business; marketing management; operations management; corporate finance; managerial decision-making in health economics; strategic management; healthcare fraud and abuse law and regulation; and lean six sigma. In addition, students are required to complete three residencies offered on-campus or online.

To be considered for admission, applicants must submit official transcripts; a GPA of 3.0 or higher; a notarized copy of previous degrees; a resume; a statement of purpose letter; and two letters of recommendation. GMAT or GRE test scores are not required. Healthcare experience is a plus, but is not required.

• Location: Miami, FL
• Accreditation: Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME); Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
• Program length: 18 months

Clarkson University Capital Region Campus – MBA in Healthcare Management

Clarkson University’s David D. Reh School of Business offers a hybrid healthcare management MBA that prepares graduates to navigate the complexities of healthcare services. Students in this hybrid program build a road map between health-related facilities and health management. As a result, one in five of their alums has become a CEO, owner, president, or senior executive of a successful company.

Graduates of the program boast positions within traditional hospital settings, technology, consulting firms, medical practices, and healthcare policy development institutions. Students can pursue coursework that meets their individual needs by providing a hybrid option of a whole or part-time schedule, either online or in-person classes and evening classes at its campus in Schenectady, New York.

The coursework includes 42 credits, seven core classes, seven advanced classes, and two electives. Full-time students complete the program in less than two years, while part-time students complete the program within two to four years. Students can waive some courses to reduce the program’s completion time. The seven core credits include but are not limited to health operations, healthcare marketing, and statistical methods for data analytics. Some advanced coursework includes legal aspects of healthcare, health economics, healthcare finance, managerial epidemiology, and healthcare finance. Elective courses include group practice administration and the Swiss healthcare study abroad program.

An internship is required for students without prior healthcare experience to gain work experience. This can be completed in the summer between the first and second year of the graduate program.

The admissions process for Clarkson University includes a three-step process: completing an accessible online application; submitting a collection of items that have: collegiate transcripts, optional GRE or GMAT scores (check the website for required score values), two to three letters of reference, TOEFL or IELTS test scores, personal statement, resume, an application fee; and finally, standardized test scores such as the GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, and IELTS.

• Location: Schenectady, NY
• Accreditation: Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME), Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
• Program length: 18 to 26 months

University of Colorado Denver – Executive MBA in Healthcare

The University of Colorado Denver boasts the oldest CAHME-accredited program in the Rocky Mountain region that is health and business-focused. It is the highest-ranked program for professionals seeking an MBA within their specialty. The 48-credit hybrid program allows working professionals the flexibility to continue with their careers while earning their degrees through the program.

The core classes include 39 credits and cover management accounting, global health business, economics, healthcare marketing, and corporate finance. The electives comprise six hours of coursework and include transformational leadership, international health, quantitative methods, and managing physician relationships. The health capstone course is completed within the final semester of the program and involves a case-based evaluation of two healthcare systems.

The hybrid component of the program requires students to meet on campus for one week or two times per year. The coursework completed during that time is held between 8 AM to 5 PM and comprises discussions, traditional lectures, and group practice. The off-campus component of the model is completed through the e-learning tool Canvas, and the online part includes discussions, presentations, and course assignments.

The University of Colorado Denver application process includes an online application, three letters of recommendation, official transcripts, a self-evaluation essay, a current resume, and an interview. A minimum of five years of work experience in a health-related organization is required for admission, but the GMAT and previous business education is not required.

• Location: Denver, CO
• Accreditation: Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME); Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
• Program length: 16 months

University of Miami-Coral Gables – Executive MBA in Health Management & Policy

The Herbert School of Business at the University of Miami-Coral Gables offers a hybrid executive MBA program in health management and policy. Students can complete the 21-month program in under two years and meet in person for one three-day weekend per month. The program is designed for working professionals, and is one of few CAHME-accredited hybrid programs.

The 42-credit curriculum includes core courses in financial reporting and control in the healthcare industry; management of digital transformation; fundamentals of finance; public policy and health; selected topics (ethics of health care); prescriptive analytics; behavioral and organizational systems; innovative business strategies for future leaders and many more. The program’s mission is “to develop innovative ideas and principled leaders that transform global business and society.”

Admissions requirements for this executive MBA program include a completed application; a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university; official transcripts; a resume; a personal statement; two to three letters of reference; a TOEFL score of 94 or higher, or IELTS scores of seven or above.

• Location: Coral Gables, FL
• Accreditation: Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME), Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
• Program length: 21 months

Rachel Becker

Writer

Rachel Becker is a freelance writer who enjoys life in the PNW. She holds a master's degree in education and taught in elementary classrooms for twelve years. When she is not running around after two toddlers, she makes time for daily movement, running two blogs, and reading.