By: The Capella University Editorial Team with Bradly Roh, PhD, DBA and Interim Dean and Vice President for the School of Business, Technology and Health Care Administration
Reading Time: 9 minutes
A Master of Health Administration (MHA) or an MBA in Health Care Management? If you’re looking to take the next step in your career, you’ve probably heard of both these degree programs.
But which one will fit your background and career goals, build the right skills and also fit into your busy life?
The MHA is health-first and operations-focused. The MBA in Health Care Management teaches core business skills and applies them to the patient care industry.
This key difference affects everything from the curriculum to the potential career paths that each degree can unlock.
Make an informed decision with expert insights from Ben Spedding, DHA, program director of the MHA program at Capella University, and Bradly E. Roh, PhD, DBA, interim dean of the School of Business, Technology, and Health Care Administration at Capella University.
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The MHA degree focuses exclusively on health care delivery, systems and policy. It trains leaders for operational and administrative roles within health care settings.
“The MHA is health care intensive,” says Dr. Spedding. “It’s designed as a program for someone coming from a health care or practitioner background.”
The MHA offers a comprehensive perspective on health care management and leadership. Its curriculum involves core business classes, focused on the health care industry. That means graduates of this program will have developed skills and experience heavily rooted in the business side of health care.
The online MHA at Capella University gives you the practical skills and strategic understanding needed to help improve health care delivery. It prepares health care professionals for leadership within their industry.
The curriculum blends leadership concepts with real-world health care systems, with a focus on patients, communities and professionals. Collaboration across disciplines is a big focus, as is team leadership.
During this program, you will learn how to:
At Capella, we help you apply learned skills in the real world through group experiences and a capstone project that you can conduct at your current workplace. More than 700 healthcare organizations support their employees by partnering with Capella University to offer access to discounted education programs. Employees at these organizations may be eligible for tuition savings and other education benefits.
The MHA program at Capella is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). This means you can gain knowledge and skills that align with current standards in the business of health care.
If you’re juggling work, family or other responsibilities, you can complete this program through Capella’s FlexPath learning format. This self-paced option allows you to fit coursework around your schedule. You set the deadlines and move on to the next course when you’re ready.
As a Capella student, you’re supported by experienced faculty and the Career Development Center, with resources designed to help you move steadily toward your career goals.
After graduation, an MHA will allow you to explore various roles in health care administration, including:
These are just a few examples of the roles you may be able to access as an MHA graduate. The exact roles available to you after that will depend on your experience and the organization’s specific education, licensure and certification requirements. These are examples intended to serve as a general guide. We encourage you to research requirements for your job target and career goals.
You can also join professional associations to network, gain insights and access new opportunities. Well-known options include the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and Association for Healthcare Administrative Professionals (AHCAP).
The MBA in Health Care Management has an overall business focus, with its core business courses covering skills transferable to any industry. The Health Care Management specialization prepares you to lead in the patient care industry, but through a business lens.
“The MBA is organized around foundational pillars of business operations, including analytics, leadership, accounting and finance,” says Dr. Roh.
“All MBA core courses are delivered by faculty practitioners representing a range of business disciplines, including but not limited to health care. While the health care specialization aligns with and overlaps aspects of the MHA curriculum, the MBA is more deeply grounded in business-focused competencies.”
Unlike an MHA, which starts with operations and policy, the MBA in Health Care Management begins with a strong foundation in business disciplines and then teaches you how to apply them in patient care.
In our ACBSP-accredited program, you’re exposed to essential business topics around leadership and business strategy. In the health care specialization, you dive deeper into the structure, regulation and strategic issues unique to the health care system.
During Capella’s MBA program, you learn career-focused skills from experts with years of experience. You’ll learn how to:
Overall, this degree is best suited for professionals who want business versatility with health care management expertise, rather than deep operational immersion in health care systems.
If you’re already working, Capella’s experiential learning options let you apply real projects from your workplace as part of your program. This program is also eligible for the FlexPath format, so that you can complete your degree at your own pace.
After graduation, you can explore career paths in business and health management, such as:
These are just a few of the options you can look into after graduation. Your specific career path and progression depend on your experience, skills and each organization’s individual requirements.
Networking with and learning from other MBA professionals is a great way to discover work opportunities. You can join business-focused organizations, like the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the American Management Association (AMA), where you’ll exchange ideas with people well versed in the industry. Health care management associations, like ACHE and AHCAP, are also great options.
The MHA and MBA both prepare you for health care leadership, but the differences between them play a major role in how you learn and the career paths you may pursue.
An MBA in Health Care Management is a business-focused degree. Patient care is treated as a specialized context for general management principles. By contrast, an MHA is designed for professionals who want to manage day-to-day operations at their health organizations.
While each degree is distinct, leaders in modern health care need both operational insight and business fluency. This has blurred some of the lines between the two degrees.
The gap between the MHA and MBA programs has narrowed in important ways, as Dr. Spedding explains, “An overlap has grown between the programs because of the ways health care has changed and is continuing to change.”
He notes that advances in technology, shifting reimbursement models, increased consumerism and new care delivery models have reshaped the health care industry and, thus, health care administration.
These changes have also affected how health care employers recruit and promote people, and, consequently, what is taught in the programs.
“Historically, health care executives were promoted or recruited from within the industry,” says Dr. Spedding. “Now recruitment is happening from outside health care to fill specific roles. So the MHA is evolving to fill more of those core business needs and can have more similarities with the MBA than it used to.”
Together, these shifts have pushed both MHA and MBA programs to evolve. So, choosing the right degree is less about labels or titles and more about which path makes the most sense for you.
The most critical factor in choosing between an MHA and an MBA in Health Care Management degree is your starting point and the direction you want to move in.
“The question for students is, ‘Where have you been, where are you going?’” says Dr. Spedding. “If you’re coming from a health care background, or you know for sure you want to be in health care administration going forward, the MHA is more health care intensive, so that’s going to be the direction to take.”
Dr. Roh agrees and notes, “The MBA program provides strong value across industries. For individuals who may be interested in health care but are not yet certain about their long-term career direction, beginning with the MBA offers a flexible and strategic starting point.”
Dr. Roh continues, “The degree prepares graduates to move across industries. With the health care management specialization, it also serves as a strong transition pathway for those without a health care background who are interested in entering the field.”
Ultimately, the decision depends on your career goals and learning requirements. If you want a long-term career in health care administration, then an MHA might be your best choice. If you want to transition to health care management and branch out to other industries in the future, then you could opt for the MBA.
Whether you’re drawn to health care leadership or excited about the intersection of health care and business, the right graduate program can set the foundation for meaningful, long-term growth.
Capella University’s online degree programs are designed to fit with your life, so you can continue working while making progress toward your goals. With the FlexPath learning format, you can move through your coursework at a pace that aligns with your professional and personal priorities.
Find the right master’s program for you with the help of our enrollment specialists today.
There is no objectively better option between the two degrees. It depends on your career goals. An MBA in Health Care Management offers broader business skills. An MHA is more focused on health care functions, operations, policy and care delivery.
The exact admission requirements depend on the institution you’re applying to, but generally, both require a bachelor’s degree. Additional requirements typically include GPA scores, personal statements or essays, letters of recommendation and GMAT or GRE scores. You can find Capella’s requirements for these master’s programs here.
You can pursue different health care careers in administration and leadership with an MHA degree. Example roles include health care manager, practice manager, care manager, director of rehabilitation or director of human resources. To get hired, you will need to meet each organization’s specific requirements for experience, licensure, qualifications and certifications.
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