Degree Guide

Healthcare Administration Degree: Every Level, From Associate to Doctorate

Which Healthcare Administration Degree Do You Need?

A healthcare administration degree runs from an associate's up to a doctorate, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics says most medical and health services managers need at least a bachelor's to get in, while some employers prefer a master's. The master's is where the choice gets wide: 452 verified programs at 312 schools, 294 of them offered online. Use the degree chooser if you're torn between an MHA, an MBA and an MS.

Researched and edited by Taylor Rupe · Updated September 28, 2026

A student in a white shirt writes notes beside an open laptop at a bare table — Photo: Mikhail Nilov / Pexels

Healthcare Administration Degree Levels and What Each One Gets You

A healthcare administration degree comes at four levels, and each one opens a different set of doors. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is clear about the main one: medical and health services managers typically need a bachelor’s degree to get in, some employers accept an associate’s, and others prefer a master’s. Work experience can sometimes stand in for part of the education.

So the real question isn’t “which degree is best.” It’s which degree matches the job you want next, and whether you already have the experience that some employers weigh as heavily as a diploma.

Degree level	What it qualifies you for	What you’ll need first
Associate	Support roles such as medical records work and medical office administration; the BLS says some employers accept an associate’s for manager jobs	High school diploma
Bachelor’s	The typical entry education for medical and health services managers, according to the BLS	High school diploma or an associate’s to transfer in
Master’s (MHA, MBA, MS, MPH, MPA)	The degree some employers prefer for manager jobs; 155 programs build in a residency, internship or practicum	A bachelor’s in any field, plus work experience for executive formats
Doctorate (DHA, PhD, DrPH, DBA)	Research-focused PhDs, or practice doctorates such as the DHA for working leaders	A master’s, and for executive doctorates, years of leadership experience

Associate Degree in Healthcare Administration

An associate degree gets you into a healthcare office, but it isn’t the usual route into management. It fits front-line administrative work, and the BLS numbers for those roles show what to expect.

Medical records specialists earned a 2025 median of $51,140 a year. The BLS says they typically need a postsecondary certificate, while some jobs ask for an associate’s or bachelor’s. Medical secretaries and administrative assistants earned a median of $45,930 in May 2025, and the BLS notes they may need extra training in industry-specific terminology.

The honest trade-off: the BLS says some employers accept an associate’s for health services manager jobs, but a bachelor’s is the typical entry point. If management is the goal, treat the associate’s as the first half of a bachelor’s and pick a school whose credits transfer.

Bachelor’s Degree in Healthcare Administration or Management

The bachelor’s is the degree the BLS names as the typical entry-level education for medical and health services managers. It’s also the one most searchers mean when they type “healthcare management degree.”

According to the BLS, common majors include health administration, nursing and business, and programs mix management with healthcare topics such as medical terminology, hospital organization and health information systems. That mix matters, because employers may also want work experience in an administrative or clinical role in a hospital or other healthcare facility.

A bachelor’s in healthcare administration isn’t your only path to a master’s later. Some programs set their own rules, though: Samford’s online MHA wants a bachelor’s in a health or business field, or any bachelor’s plus current or prior healthcare experience. If you’re still choosing a major, weigh how soon it gets you working in a healthcare setting.

Master’s Degrees: MHA, MBA, MS and the Rest

This is the level where you have the most choice and where the degree title starts to shape your career. There are 452 verified master’s programs at 312 schools in 48 states, and they fall into five families. The table on this page breaks them down by type.

MHA and equivalents (MHA, MHSA, MSHA): 216 programs at 167 schools, a median of 42 credits, and 122 covered by CAHME. This is the degree built for hospital and health system leadership, and 102 of these programs require a residency, internship or practicum.
Healthcare MBA: 126 programs at 111 schools, a median of 36 credits, with only 8 covered by CAHME. You get a full business core with a healthcare concentration. See the MBA in healthcare management list.
MS in healthcare administration or management: 94 programs at 88 schools, a median of 36 credits. See the MS in healthcare administration list.
MPH and MPA with a management focus: 9 MPH programs and 7 MPA programs, small groups that pair management with public health or public administration coursework.

If you’re weighing the two big options, the MHA vs MBA guide compares them line by line, and the MHA vs MPH guide covers the public health route.

Online Healthcare Administration Degree Options

Online is now the most common way to earn the master’s. Of the 452 programs, 294 offer an online format, 147 run on campus and 98 are hybrid (some programs offer more than one). Among MHA-type degrees, 126 of 216 run online.

Online doesn’t mean you skip the field work. Some programs keep in-person pieces: MUSC’s online Master in Health Administration ends with a 6-credit practicum you can complete at your own workplace, while other online programs build in short campus immersions. Check what the program asks of you in person before you enroll.

For the full list, see online MHA programs. If speed matters, the accelerated MHA programs page shows the ones built to finish sooner.

Master's Degree Types Compared

Degree type	Programs	Online	CAHME	Median credits	Median est. tuition
MHA and equivalent	216	126	122	42	$29,000
MS or MA in healthcare administration or management	94	67	9	36	$23,400
MBA with a healthcare concentration	126	93	8	36	$26,640
MPA with a health concentration	7	4	1	42	$53,970
MPH in health management or policy	9	4	3	42	$25,620

452 programs verified on schools' own pages, September 2026. 46 doctoral programs (DHA, PhD and DrPH in health administration or policy) are listed on school profiles.

What a Healthcare Administration Master’s Costs

Cost is where programs differ most. Across 283 programs with an estimated tuition (published per-credit rate times credits, before fees), the range runs from $8,460 to $125,510, with a median of $27,000. Per-credit rates run from $230 to $2,887, with a median of $698.

By family, the MHA median estimate is $29,000, the MS median is $23,400, and the healthcare MBA median is $26,640. MPA programs, a group of just 7, carry a median estimate of $53,970.

Two things can move the price more than the degree title. Public schools may quote a resident rate well below the nonresident rate, and executive formats for experienced managers carry their own pricing. The most affordable online MHA programs list sorts by estimated tuition, and the MHA cost calculator lets you plug in your own credits and rate.

Admission Requirements for a Master’s

You need a bachelor’s to start a master’s. After that, the big variables are tests, experience and field work.

Tests: 202 of the 452 programs don’t require the GRE or GMAT. The MHA programs with no GRE list shows them.

Experience: Early-career programs admit you straight from a bachelor’s. Executive programs don’t. UAB’s executive-format MSHA asks that you’re working full time in health care, with five years of clinical or management experience preferred. The executive MHA programs list covers the rest, and MHA requirements goes through every admission item in detail.

Residencies: 155 programs require a residency, internship or practicum. At the long end, UAB’s residential MSHA runs 21 months of coursework plus a required 9 to 12 month paid administrative residency.

Doctoral Degrees in Healthcare Administration

The doctorate is the smallest level: 46 programs at 43 schools that also offer a master’s. They split into distinct types, and the name tells you who the program is for.

DHA (Doctor of Health Administration): 17 of the 46 listings. These are practice doctorates for working leaders. CU Denver calls its version an Executive Doctorate in Health Administration. MUSC offers the DHA in both hybrid and online formats, and the University of North Florida and Rutgers run hybrid DHAs.

PhD: another 17 listings, and the titles lean toward research: Health Services Research at George Mason and Old Dominion, Health Policy and Management at Johns Hopkins and Yale. A PhD trains you to study health systems, not only run them.

DrPH and DBA: Loma Linda and East Tennessee State offer a Doctor of Public Health in policy and management. Six schools, including Liberty and Concordia University-Chicago, offer a Doctor of Business Administration with a healthcare focus.

Of the 46 doctorates, 16 list an online format and 5 list hybrid. Capella and Walden both run online DHAs.

Healthcare Administration Degree Jobs and Pay

The BLS lists the day-to-day work: setting goals for efficiency and quality of care, keeping the facility compliant with regulations, managing finances and billing, hiring and supervising staff, building work schedules and keeping records. Titles range from clinical manager to health information manager to nursing home administrator.

Pay for medical and health services managers (BLS, May 2025) has a wide spread: a median of $123,860, with the bottom 10% earning $73,390 or less and the top 10% earning $224,340 or more. About 597,080 people held the job. The BLS reports that pay by occupation, not by degree, so an MHA, MBA or MS graduate in the same manager job sits on the same scale.

Two licensing points matter. All states require a license for nursing home administrators, with requirements that vary by state. See the nursing home administrator license guide. And certification isn’t required for other manager roles, though some managers earn one, such as the FACHE covered on the FACHE certification page. The careers guide walks through the paths in more detail.

How to Choose the Right Degree Level

You have no degree yet: start with a bachelor’s in healthcare administration, business or a clinical field. It’s the typical entry education for manager jobs.
You have an associate’s: pick a bachelor’s that accepts your credits, and look for a job in a hospital or clinic office while you study, since employers may weigh that experience.
You have a bachelor’s and under three years of experience: look at early-career MHA programs with a residency. There are 155 programs that build in a residency, internship or practicum.
You’re already a manager or clinician with five or more years: an executive MHA or MBA fits your schedule and your experience.
You want a CAHME-accredited program: CAHME accredits graduate healthcare management programs, and 143 master’s programs here are covered. Use the CAHME checker or the CAHME-accredited MHA list.
You want to teach or research: a PhD is the research doctorate, and a DHA is the practice doctorate.

When you’re ready to compare programs side by side, the program matcher filters all 452 by format, cost, tests and residency, and the full MHA programs list ranks them. Wondering whether the master’s pays off at all? Read is an MHA worth it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Become a Hospital Administrator With a Bachelor's Degree?

Yes. The BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for medical and health services managers, though requirements vary by facility and some employers prefer a master's. Employers may also want experience in an administrative or clinical role in a hospital or other healthcare facility.

Is an Associate Degree in Healthcare Administration Worth It?

It gets you into support roles such as medical records work, where the BLS reports a 2025 median of $51,140. The BLS says some employers accept an associate's for health services manager jobs, but a bachelor's is the typical entry point, so plan on the associate's as a first step.

How Many Credits Is a Master's in Healthcare Administration?

The median across 452 verified master's programs is 39 credits. MHA-type programs run a little longer, with a median of 42 credits, while healthcare MBAs and MS degrees sit at a median of 36.

What Does a Healthcare Administration Master's Cost?

Estimated tuition (published per-credit rate times credits, before fees) ranges from $8,460 to $125,510 across 283 programs, with a median of $27,000. Per-credit rates run from $230 to $2,887.

Do You Need a Doctorate to Run a Hospital?

No. The BLS names a bachelor's as the typical entry education and says some employers prefer a master's. The 46 doctoral programs at 43 schools on this list split between research PhDs and practice doctorates such as the DHA, several of them executive formats for working leaders.

Is a Healthcare Administration Degree Online as Good as One on Campus?

It can be. Accreditation, cost and field work separate programs more than format does, and online programs such as MUSC's online Master in Health Administration are covered by CAHME. Check the specific program's CAHME status rather than judging by format.