MBA/Health

This specialized MBA degree prepares business leaders with focused skills in finance, accounting, strategic management, marketing, and information systems for the healthcare industry.

Business competencies are a must-have for health organizations in all sectors, including hospitals, community health centers, and large healthcare systems.

You’ll learn about the social, political, economic, and financial environments of the American healthcare system; and the tools, concepts and techniques of effective managerial decision-making, financial planning, and administrative control.

The MBA/Health degree has the same number of credits as the MBA.

The MBA portion of this specialized degree may be completed at our Boston campus, North Campus location, or fully online. The specialized portion must be completed on campus in Boston.

31– 55 credits (10– 18 courses)

MBA Required Introductory Course (1 Credit) 

• MBA-600 Effective Career Planning

  Credits:

  1.00

  Description:

  A hands-on behavioral simulation run in teams, this course highlights the interpersonal dynamics that occur between people as they address strategic and operating issues; issues that often involve departmental interdependencies, power relationships, and judgment. MBA 600 emphasizes experiential learning through doing. Working in teams, students assume different roles in the organization. Each role contains extensive information on past business decisions and correspondence on current issues, problem symptoms, and decision situations.

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Required

MBA Core Courses* (24 Credits)

• MBA-610 Organizational Behavior

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course explores human behavior and the overall functioning of organizational structures on three levels: the individual, the group, and the organization. Theoretical bases of behavior are used to provide understanding of peoples attitudes, motives, and behaviors in group and organizational settings as they relate to leadership, motivation, power, perceptions, group dynamics, communication, diversity, organizational culture, and decision making.

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Core

• MBA-622 Operations & Data Analysis

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course covers topics of operations management in the services, manufacturing and distribution industries while introducing statistics and quantitative analytic tools relevant to all functional areas. Applications include supply chain management, total quality management, forecasting, inventory planning and control, project planning and management, risk analysis, process design, and human resources issues in a global economy. Analytic tools for these applications include descriptive statistics and graphics, uncertainty assessment, inferences from samples, decision analysis and models, simulation, and regression analysis.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Core

• MBA-630 Economic Analysis for Managers

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course develops the basic tools for microeconomic and macroeconomic analysis with emphasis on business decision-making and the impact of economic policy on organizational performance and competitiveness with respect to global business.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Core

• MBA-640 Corporate Financial Reporting and Control

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  Explores the structure and information content of the three principal financial statements of profit-directed companies, namely the income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows. Students learn skills in how to use accounting information to analyze the performance and financial condition of a company, facilitate decision-making, planning and budgeting, and performance appraisal in a managerial context. Students with no prior background in accounting complete a programmed instruction in the mechanics of double entry accounting at the start of the course.

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Core

• MBA-650 Value Based Financial Management

  Prerequisites:

  MBA 620, MBA 630, MBA 640

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course introduces the basic principles of corporate finance. The main focus is on fundamental principles such as time value of money, asset valuation, and risk and return tradeoff. Topics to be covered also include cost of capital, capital budgeting, and capital structure.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Core

• MBA-660 Marketing: the Challenge of Managing Value

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  Marketing is changing - constantly driven by dramatic technology developments, globalization, and evolving consumption values, practices, and lifestyles. This course covers Marketing themes, theories, and trends that are critical for superior business performance in the 21st century. In this course, we will examine current marketing theory as it is being shaped by forward thinking academics and new developments in todyas business practices. This course provides students with a strong foundation in marketing principles and practices required in upper level elective courses.

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Core

• MBA-670 Information Management for Competitive Advantage

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course focuses on exploiting information systems (IS) and information technology (IT) for a competitive advantage. It explores the impact of IS and IT on the internal and external environments of organizations. It examines decisions needed for effective deployment of IS and IT, such as IT infrastructures selection, valuation of IT business models, and analysis of the operational benefits and risks. The course also introduces students to the opportunities and challenges of managing technology activities to meet the needs of business executives, IT executives, users, and IT partners.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Core

• MBA-680 Managing in the Ethical & Legal Environment

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course explores multidisciplinary analytical techniques and case analysis as strategic management tools to assist executives in successful navigation of an increasingly complex, evolving, and highly competitive business environment in which ethical, legal, economic, and regulatory forces are continuously reshaping the global marketplace both to create and limit competitive opportunities.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Core

* May be waived.

Global Requirements (3 Credits) prerequisites: all MBA core courses except MBA 670 and MBA 680

• MBA-780 Managing in Global Environment

  Prerequisites:

  All MBA core courses except MBA 670 and MBA 680 Students seeking special permission to take MBA 780 (concurrent with pre-req, above capacity, etc) should contact the MBA Programs office at 617-573-8306

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course introduces the student to the fundamentals of the global business environment and the cross-cultural factors that affect management practice in this environment. Topics covered include: economic environment, free trade and regional integration, foreign direct investment, exchange rate determination and relevant government policies; the decision to go international; the multinational firm and its business functions.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Required

Health Core Courses (15 Credits/7 Courses)

• HLTH-701 Health Systems I

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course presents an overview of the origins, components, organization, and operation of the health system in the United States. It is an introduction to the major health issues and institutions, including the settings in which health services are delivered, providers of these services, and the public and private payers for services.

  Type:

  MBA Health

• HLTH-702 Health Systems II

  Prerequisites:

  HLTH-701;

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course provides an overview of more advanced topics in health economics and current controversies in the professional health administration literature. Among other topics, we will examine economic behavior in the health services and insurance markets, analyze publicly supported medical programs, and assess the economics of government regulation.

  Type:

  MBA Health

• HLTH-826 Healthcare Financial Management

  Prerequisites:

  HLTH-701;

  Credits:

  1.50

  Description:

  This course serves as an introduction to the financial management of healthcare organizations. Using financial information for decision making is the essence of this course. Students will gain a perspective on the critical factors related to managing a healthcare organization in a marketplace that is demanding cost effective services. Focused attention will be given to managerial accounting, cost allocation, budgeting, and variance analysis.

  Type:

  MBA Health

• HLTH-831 Performance Improvement and Patient Safety

  Prerequisites:

  HLTH-701;

  Credits:

  1.50

  Description:

  The production of health care is a service of significant personal and social consequence and high on the agenda of every healthcare executive. Todays consumer actively seeks evidence about the quality of care they can anticipate while payers are offering financial incentives to providers who can demonstrate superior patient outcomes. This seven-week course will focus on the complexities and processes of assuring quality performance in healthcare organizations.

  Type:

  MBA Health

• HLTH-840 Global Health Needs & Organizations

  Prerequisites:

  HLTH-701;

  Credits:

  1.50

  Description:

  Reviews global health needs, including those related to infectious and chronic diseases, injuries, behavioral health, women, children, and families, and complex emergencies such as natural disasters and war. Case studies stimulate discussion of ways to address these needs. Student papers identify needs and evaluate healthcare organization and financing in selected countries.

  Type:

  MBA International Business,MBA Health

• HLTH-841 Global Health Policy

  Prerequisites:

  Take HLTH-701 and HLTH-840;

  Credits:

  1.50

  Description:

  Builds on HLTH 840 with a review of global health systems and organizations. In class and student issue papers, the course covers critical health-related policy issues such as world trade, poverty, population growth, the nutritional crisis, the water wars, and environmental issues/global climate change. The course closes by examining the challenges of how to prioritize scarce resources and mobilize together to save civilization.

  Type:

  MBA International Business,MBA Health

• HLTH-816 Healthcare Human Resources Management

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  The growing healthcare field is the most labor intensive employer in the United States. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the theories, requirements and practices associated with managing human resources in healthcare organizations. The course covers both strategic and operational aspects of human resources planning and management, and it devotes particular attention to the issues that make human resources management in healthcare so challenging. Perhaps most important, the course guides students in developing practical knowledge and skills to prepare them- as healthcare leaders and managers- to successfully address human resource issues. The course will draw from a range of theoretical material and practical situations, using a variety of learning approaches and featuring guest speakers from healthcare organizations who share their experiences and perspectives from the field of human resources. The course focuses on the following topics: The changing healthcare environment and its implications for human resources management, the use of strategic human resource management to gain a competitive edge in the healthcare industry, workforce design, legal and regulatory requirements, recruitment and retention, organizational development, performance management, compensation and benefits, managing with organized labor. and creating customer satisfying healthcare organizations.

Health Electives (6 Credits/2 Courses), MBA Elective (3 Credits/1 Course), Required Capstone (3 Credits) One elective (3 credits) must be in the International Business area. HLTH 840 and HLTH 841 can fulfill this requirement.

• HLTH-890 Healthcare Strategic Management

  Prerequisites:

  This course is the capstone of the MHA Program and should be taken in the last semester of coursework.

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  The success of any healthcare organization depends on the ability of its leaders and managers to continuously identify, evaluate and address the key issues and challenges facing the organization. This capstone course for Healthcare explores the essential elements of strategic management: the foundation (including Systems Thinking), strategic analysis, and strategy development and implementation. Using provocative case studies from healthcare and other fields, students conduct sophisticated internal assessments of organizational strengths and weaknesses as well as external assessments of opportunities and threats/challenges, identify strategic and operational issues, and develop strategies and action steps to address the issues. For the final project, each student develops a strategic plan for a healthcare organization or conducts a research project on a healthcare organization or strategic issue of particular interest (e.g., the nursing shortage). Fundamentally, this course focuses on applying strategic and systemic thinking in diagnosing organizational circumstances and developing strategies for what to do next. This course is the capstone of the MHA Program and should be taken in the last semester of coursework.

  Type:

  MBA Health

• MBA-800 Strategic Management

  Prerequisites:

  All MBA core courses and MBA 780 Students seeking special permission to take MBA 800 (concurrent with pre-req, above capacity, etc) should contact the MBA Programs office at 617-573-8306

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  In this course, students will develop a multi- functional general management perspective. Students will be required to integrate and apply knowledge and techniques learned in the core courses of the MBA program. Students will also learn about the principal concepts, frameworks, and techniques of strategic management, they will develop the capacity for strategic thinking, and they will examine the organizational and environ- mental contexts in which strategic management unfolds. Students will achieve these course objectives through a variety of learning activities, such as case studies, computer simulations, examinations, project reports, and experiential exercises.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Required

Core courses may be waived. Required MBA Courses (MBA 600, MBA 780 and MBA 800) cannot be waived.

To waive a Core Course a student must:

Successfully complete equivalent academic coursework at the undergraduate/graduate level in the seven years prior to MBA matriculation (“B”or better).

All waiver requests are evaluated upon a student’s acceptance into the MBA Program and are waived during the student’s first semester. A student receives credit for each course waived, thereby reducing the total number of courses for the MBA degree. You may also elect to take a proficiency exam to gain a waiver. Proficiency exams must be taken in the first semester. All MBA students must, however, complete a minimum of 31 credits (10 courses and MBA 600) in the Sawyer Business School.