WESTERN GOVERNORS UNIVERSITY
MHA vs. MBA Healthcare Administration
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Lead Healthcare Forward. Choose the Path That Matches Your Vision
WGU offers two respected graduate degrees designed to prepare professionals for leadership in the evolving healthcare landscape.
- MBA in Healthcare Administration (MBAHA) for business professionals
- Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) for healthcare professionals.
PROGRAM
MBA in Healthcare Administration (MBAHA)
Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA)
SCHOOL
WGU School of Business
Leavitt School of Health
DESIGNED FOR
Aspiring executives entering or pivoting into healthcare
Experienced or aspiring healthcare professionals
HEALTHCARE EXPERIENCE REQUIRED?
No
No
PROGRAM DURATION
Designed to be completed in 1 year
Designed to be completed in 2 years, but can be accelerated to complete in 1 year.
TUITION
$4,805 per 6-month term
$4,995 per 6-month term
CREDENTIAL TYPE
Versatile business degree with healthcare applications. Broader leadership roles across industries, including healthcare
Versatile Healthcare Administration Degree with specific application to various roles with focus on healthcare analytics, healthcare management, ethics and compliance, and leadership.
PROGRAM
MBA in Healthcare Administration (MBAHA)
PROGRAM
Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA)
SCHOOL
WGU School of Business
SCHOOL
Leavitt School of Health
DESIGNED FOR
Aspiring executives entering or pivoting into healthcare
DESIGNED FOR
Experienced or aspiring healthcare professionals
HEALTHCARE EXPERIENCE REQUIRED?
No
HEALTHCARE EXPERIENCE REQUIRED?
No
PROGRAM DURATION
Designed to be completed in 1 year
PROGRAM DURATION
Designed to be completed in 2 years, but can be accelerated to complete in 1 year.
TUITION
$4,805 per 6-month term
TUITION
$4,995 per 6-month term
CREDENTIAL TYPE
Versatile business degree with healthcare applications. Broader leadership roles across industries, including healthcare
CREDENTIAL TYPE
Versatile Healthcare Administration Degree with specific application to various roles with focus on healthcare analytics, healthcare management, ethics and compliance, and leadership.
What is an MBAHA?
For professionals who want to lead the business of healthcare.
The MBA in Healthcare Administration is ideal for professionals early in their leadership journey or transitioning from other industries, and who aspire to strategic or executive roles in healthcare. It delivers a robust business education—covering finance, marketing, strategic management, and data analysis—while layering in healthcare-specific applications.
- Career mobility across industries, including healthcare, consulting, and corporate leadership.
- Focus on strategic thinking, growth, and business leadership in healthcare settings. Accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).
Common Job Titles
- Hospital CFO or COO
- Administrative Director
- Business Consultant (Healthcare or other sectors)
- Health Industry Strategist
What is an MHA?
For current or aspiring healthcare professionals advancing within healthcare systems or career changers with leadeship experience.
The MHA program offers a targeted curiculum focused on healthcare executive management, research, ethics, law, compliance, datat analytics, and patient outcomes.
- Designed for leadership within hospital systems, public health organizations, and patient-centered care environments.
- Focus on healthcare administration innovation, compliance, public policy, sustainability, and data analysis.
Common Job Titles
- Health System Vice President
- Behavioral Health Director
- Director of Community Health
- Hospital Administrator
Curriculum Highlights
While both programs build a foundation in leadership, operations, and financial strategy, they diverge in purpose: the MBAHA prepares you to lead through business innovation in healthcare settings and beyond, while the MHA equips you to drive impact from within healthcare systems, focusing on healthcare administration innovation, compliance, public policy, sustainability, and data analysis.
MBAHA: Business-Centric Healthcare Curriculum
- Managing Organizations and Leading People
- Operations Management
- Accreditation Audit
- Accounting for Decision Makers
- Financial Management
- Ethical Leadership
- Data-Driven Decision Making
- Marketing
- Service Line Development
- Global Economics for Managers
- MBA, Healthcare Management Capstone
Focus: Strategic planning, market competitiveness, and business innovation
MHA: Healthcare-System Leadership Curriculum
- Health Services Research
- Healthcare Management
- Healthcare Law and Ethics
- Data Analysis for Healthcare Decisions
- Transforming Healthcare Through Technology
- Healthcare Quality
- Risk Management and Compliance
- Healthcare Economics
- Resource Management and Performance
- MHA Capstone
Focus: Patient care innovation, compliance, integrated care models, and public health
Real World Impact
MBAHA
Students apply their skills in a capstone project simulating a high-level business problem in healthcare. The experience integrates strategy, financial acumen, and data analysis to mimic real executive decision-making.
MHA
Students collaborate directly with healthcare industry leaders to solve real challenges in healthcare delivery, community engagement, or quality improvement—demonstrating their ability to lead change and drive patient-centered outcomes.
Outstanding Return on Investment
Our curriculum is designed around the needs of today's workforce. It’s why 98% of WGU grads meet or exceed employer expectations, and why our students see an average salary increase of $22,200 just two years after graduating.*
*2023 Harris Poll of WGU graduates
Choose Your Path Forward
MBA in Healthcare Administration: A fast, flexible, and versatile business degree for those looking to lead from the boardroom. View the Career Guide.
Master of Healthcare Administration: A deep healthcare-focused degree for professionals ready to shape patient and healthcare system outcomes. View the Career Guide.
QUESTION
BEST FIT
Want to break into healthcare from another field?
MBAHA
Already in healthcare and want to lead healthcare systems?
MHA
Need a flexible, fast-track program?
MBAHA & MHA
Want a program built by and for healthcare insiders?
MHA
Looking for broad leadership skills applicable beyond healthcare?
MBAHA
QUESTION
BEST FIT
Want to break into healthcare from another field?
MBAHA
Already in healthcare and want to lead healthcare systems?
MHA
Need a flexible, fast-track program?
MBAHA & MHA
Want a program built by and for healthcare insiders?
MHA
Looking for broad leadership skills applicable beyond healthcare?
MBAHA
Programs at a Glance
Business
MBA Healthcare Administration
Shape the business of healthcare with an online MBA in Healthcare...
Shape the business of healthcare with an online MBA in Healthcare Administration.
- Time: WGU lets you set a schedule so you can finish your MBA in just one year.
- Tuition: $4,805 per 6-month term.
- Courses: 11 total courses in this program.
Skills for your résumé you will learn in this program include:
- Regulatory compliance
- Patient care improvement
- Data-driven decision making
- Accreditation Auditing
- Ethical Leadership
Healthcare is big business in today's complex economy. Steer your career with this specialty MBA.
Compare online business degrees
This program is not the only online business degree WGU offers that is designed to create leaders in the field of healthcare. Compare our health leadership degrees.
Health & Nursing
Master of Healthcare Administration
A master's focused on managing comprehensive, value-based care, directly...
A master's focused on managing comprehensive, value-based care, directly in line with innovations in health and healthcare.
- Time: 60% of grads finish within 21 months.
- Tuition: $4,995 per 6-month term.
- Courses: 12 total courses in this program.
Skills for your résumé that you will learn in this program:
- Collaborative Leadership
- Healthcare Models and Systems
- Healthcare Financial Management
- Enterprise Risk Management
- Healthcare Information Technology
Your rich experience in a health-related field can mean more when you bring a master's level of understanding to the problems that organizations need to solve.
Compare degrees
This program is not the only degree WGU offers designed to create leaders in the field of healthcare. Compare our health leadership degrees.
While the choice between getting your MBAHA or MHA graduate degrees can be a tough one, the good news is both will help you gain valuable management experience that can be applied immediately in a healthcare environment.
Why WGU?
Be Career Ready
Designed with input from industry leaders, our accredited programs give you the skills and credentials today’s employers need. That’s why 97% of employers said they’d hire another WGU grad.1
1: 2023 Harris Poll
Get and Keep the Job You Want to Have
85% of WGU graduates are employed in their degree fields—and 87% are employed full-time.2
2: 2023 Harris Poll
Save Money
Average annual tuition and fees for undergraduates at WGU are $8,300 compared to $12,375 at comparable institutions. For graduate students at WGU, the average annual tuition and fees are $8,856 compared to $14,663 at comparable institutions.3
3: Source: Analysis of IPEDS data, report year 2023
Work as You Need While Going to School
At WGU, you can complete courses, take tests, and graduate on your schedule. In fact, many of our students work full-time while earning their life-changing bachelor’s or master’s degrees.
"Take the time to invest in yourself and develop new skills and knowledge. Going back to school to get my B.A. and MBA was one of the best decisions I made. I have no regrets over my decision to invest in myself and further my education. Plus, I did not have any student debt after graduation with WGU keeping tuition so affordable."
—Sandra Barber
MBA
COST & TIME
An Affordable Master's Degree
By charging per term rather than per credit—and empowering students to accelerate through material they know well or learn quickly—WGU helps students control the ultimate cost of their degrees. The faster you complete your program, the less you pay for your degree.
WGU allowed me to continue doing the things I love, spending time with my family, and traveling for my job. Another major plus was that the competency-based system enabled me to focus my time in the areas I needed to learn to further my career.”
—Shonna Wessels
M.S. Management and Leadership
Prepared for Success on the Job
*From a 2023 Harris Poll of 300 employers of WGU graduates.
100% of employers said that WGU graduates were prepared for their jobs.*
97% of employers said that they would hire another WGU grad.*
98% of employers said WGU graduates met or exceeded expectations.*
