Master of Health Administration/Juris Doctor Dual Degree, M.H.A./J.D.

Cost

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure they are enrolled in the prescribed courses and to pay tuition and fees at the time designated by the Bursar's Office. Details regarding tuition/fee charges and collection are available from the Bursar's Office.

Admissions

The Hudson College of Public Health at the University of Oklahoma Health is the only CEPH- accredited school of public health in Oklahoma. Our accredited programs focus on applied public health, and our graduates emerge as healthcare leaders with a strong foundation in various disciplines. Explore our programs and start your journey toward a rewarding career in public health 

At OU's Hudson College of Public Health, admission opens the door to a dynamic academic journey. Our accredited programs, backed by cutting-edge research and hands-on experiences, nurture future health leaders. Explore the intersection of theory and practice in public health at OU, where your potential meets purpose. 

To learn more about the application process, please visit the application information on the Hudson College of Public Health webpage. 

Curriculum

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses
HAP 5183	Organizational Theory and Behavior	3
HAP 5203	Health Economics	3
HAP 5303	Health Policy and Politics	3
HAP 5453	U.S. Health Care Systems	3
HAP 5543	Marketing of Health Services	3
HAP 5563	Human Resources Management in Health Services Organizations	3
HAP 5613	Financial Management of Health Service Organization	3
HAP 5623	Health Forecasting and Budgeting	3
HAP 5643	Quantitative Methods in Health Administration	3
HAP 5733	Managed Care and Integrated Systems	3
HAP 5863	Strategic Management in Health Services Organization 1	3
HAP 5873	Health Information Systems	3
HAP 5883	Health Care Quality Management	3
HAP 5950	Field Work in Health Administration	1-4
HAP 5973	Seminar in Health Administration	3
HAP 7103	Managerial Epi 1	3
HAP 7913	Professional Communication Skills	3
Additional Degree Requirements
Internship in Health Administration
Written and Oral Defense of Internship Experience
Interprofessional Education Requirement
Performance Expectations
Total Hours		49-52

J.D. Requirements

• Successfully complete all required courses (all first-year courses, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, 5 menu courses, and 6 hours of Experiential Learning courses).
• Successfully complete one rigorous writing course during the second or third year of law study under the direct supervision of a faculty member
• Successfully complete the Health Law course (3 hours). Additional health law-related courses are strongly recommended.
• Successfully complete at least 60 hours at the College of Law
• Successfully complete additional work sufficient to total 81 semester hours
• Attain a cumulative grade point average of at least a 5.00 (C) in all work taken in the College of Law and a grade of C on all work taken at other approved law schools
• Complete all degree requirements within five years of initial enrollment

Internship Requirements for M.H.A. and M.H.A.-J.D. Students

All MHA students must complete an internship in Health Administration. Completion of the internship is a required component of HAP 5950 Field Work in Health Administration. Students will usually schedule the internship upon successful completion of 30 credit hours. If a student does not have a 3.0 GPA, has received lower than a “B” letter grade in any course, or is on academic probation, the internship may be scheduled at a later date which may delay graduation.

It is recommended that the internship include 10 to 12 weeks of field experience. The student is required to spend a minimum of 400 hours in the field and submit weekly activity and internship logs detailing tasks, projects, and meetings, to the faculty advisor.

The student's faculty advisor will serve as the student's internship advisor and will discuss site selection and assist with the preparation of the work plan by the student.

The student must complete a written summary of the internship. The summary should exhibit the student's development of the program competencies, the application of the classroom didactic learning to the internship assignments and experiences, and clear presentation of the projects, assignments and learning opportunities that occurred during the internship.

The student must present a scholarly poster in the Fall semester, following the internship, at a date and time as determined each year by the MHA Program Director on an annual basis. The poster should explain the internship and make a persuasive argument of competency mastery.

Students must submit a Request to Present Internship form prior to the poster presentation. The student must successfully present the poster and a written summary of the internship. The poster and written summary should exhibit the student's development of the program competencies, the application of the classroom didactic learning to the internship assignments and experiences, and clear presentation of the projects, assignments and learning opportunities that occurred during the internship. The internship defense will be administered by a panel of three or more faculty members, including the Program Director, and chaired by the student's faculty advisor. The student is required to submit the poster and written summary, and any slides, exhibits, attachments, or related documents to the faculty members at least seven calendar days prior to the scheduled date of the poster presentation. If this is not done, the student’s faculty advisor will cancel the student’s poster presentation, and the student must reschedule it at a later date.

If the student does not pass the internship poster presentation and written summary, a report must be submitted by the chair of the student's committee to the Office of Student Services indicating what remedial steps the student may take to successfully complete the internship poster presentation and written summary. This report must also outline the student's deficiencies. A student who fails a second time will no longer be eligible for a master's degree in the academic program.

Additional detailed information about the internship and required forms are available in Canvas and the Office of Student Services.

Prerequisites

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution
• Grade point average of 3.0 or above calculated using the upper-division coursework of the bachelor’s degree.
• Proof of language proficiency for international applicants: TOEFL score of 100 or above.
• Currently enrolled as OU Law student or will complete law school at OU prior to or concurrent with graduation as an MHA student.

Performance Expectations for M.H.A. and M.H.A.-J.D. Students

The successful student must demonstrate achievement of competencies in the following subject areas. These competencies are in accordance with requirements of the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) and are available on the department's web site at: http://publichealth.ouhsc.edu/Prospective-Students/MHA-Health-Administration- Policy#999911072-program-competencies. Each course syllabus also includes the specific competencies addressed in that course.

The CAHME-accredited MHA Program has been developed around the mastery of competencies necessary to be successful in health care administrative positions. The competencies of the Program are based on and aligned with the Program's mission, vision and values. After completion of the MHA Program, a student will have the ability to demonstrate:

Competencies

Competencies	Descriptions	Competency Level
Communication and interpersonal relations
1. Communication skills	Uses effective verbal and written communication strategies in formal and informal situations, speaking and writing clearly and persuasively	Advanced
2. Relationship management	Develops & maintains collaborative relationships, supports inclusive environments	Intermediate
3. Facilitation and negotiation	Facilitates group dynamics and creates/leads teams	Intermediate
Critical thinking and problem solving
4. Analytical thinking	Develops complex plans or analyses using systems thinking approaches	Intermediate
5. Project management	Develops and manages projects effectively, prepares a detailed project plan	Intermediate
6. Process & quality improvement	Evaluates organization structure and design, analyzes and designs processes to improve care quality and patient experience	Intermediate
7. Performance measurement	Analyzes quantitative/qualitative clinical and non-clinical performance measures and uses these measures in administrative decision-making	Intermediate
8. Change leadership	Promotes & manages change, promotes continuous organizational learning	Intermediate
Business skills & knowledge
9. Financial skills	Understands and evaluates financial and accounting information, develops and manages budgets	Intermediate
10. Health information management	Recognizes the potential of information systems in process & service improvement, champions information system implementation	Intermediate
11. Strategic planning & marketing	Conducts environmental scanning, develops strategic plans for the organization	Intermediate
12. Reimbursement and funding for health care services	Understands and evaluates reimbursement principles and techniques, funding, and payment systems and management	Intermediate
13. Economic analysis and application	Interprets and applies economic theory and concepts to administrative decision-making	Intermediate
Knowledge of the healthcare environment
14. Organizational awareness	Understands the formal and informal decision-making structures, culture, and power relationships in organizations	Intermediate
15. Human resources management	Understands employment management principles, policies, and laws in relation to hiring, promotion, and dismissal	Intermediate
16. Health law and policy	Interprets the impacts of legal, regulatory, and political environments on healthcare organizations	Intermediate
17. Population health management	Understands and applies the frameworks and tools to measure and manage population health to improve the health outcomes of the population	Intermediate
Professionalism and ethics
18. Personal & social responsibility	Acts honestly and ethically, ensures organizational integrity	Advanced
19. Personal & professional development	Pursues lifelong learning participating in continuing education and conducting regular self-assessments	Intermediate
20. Contributions to the community and profession	Demonstrates service leadership participating in community services and supporting/mentoring others	Beginner

Competency Assessment Progress

Student assessment of competency development is centered around connected themes:

1. student ownership,
2. a multi-faceted perspective,
3. multiple, frequent touchpoints, and
4. continuous quality improvement.

​Through the structure of multiple quantitative and qualitative measures of didactic and experiential learning opportunities, and multiple angles of perspective over multiple points in time, our students form a well-triangulated measure of their personal and professional development. Students may use this self-reflective process to identify stories and examples for personal portfolio, useful for interviewing, career planning, and continuous lifelong personal and professional development. To aid in the effective collection, analysis, and utilization of student assessments, students will complete the following:

• During the first semester of the program, students will take an objective pre- assessment covering the MHA competencies, e.g., Peregrine Healthcare Administration Academic Programmatic Assessment
• During faculty advising sessions each semester, students will:
  • Before the advising session:
    • Self-assess their competency development via the competency development tool in Canvas (“Competency Self-Assessment”)
    • Draft the Student Self-Reflection narrative (“Self-Reflection”)
  • During the advising session:
    • Review the Competency Self-Assessment with their faculty advisor
    • Review the Self-Reflection with their faculty advisor
• During the required course, HAP 7913 Professional Communication Skills, students will take diagnostic assessments:
  • Emotional and Social Competency, e.g., Emotional and Social Competency Inventory-University
  • Behavioral assessment, e.g., Social Style and Versatility multi-rater assessment
• As part of the required MHA Internship and the associated required course, HAP 5950 Field Work in Health Administration,  students will complete a variety of competency assessment activities, including:
  • Internship Poster Presentation
  • Internship Written Summary
• As part of the required Capstone course, HAP 5973 Seminar in Health Administration, students will receive assessment of their overall competency development by the instructor as they work through their capstone projects
• During the final semester of the program, students will:
  • Take an objective post-assessment covering the MHA competencies, e.g., Peregrine Healthcare Administration Academic Programmatic Assessment.