Study MBA in Healthcare Management

Healthcare is a career field that is in constant need of qualified workers. And as a qualified worker, you can receive excellent compensation. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the median pay of healthcare managers to be nearly $111,000 per year.

Moreover, the BLS notes that healthcare management is a rapidly growing field. The job outlook through the early part of the decade is for much faster than average growth. Combined with excellent pay and job opportunities from coast to coast, healthcare management is a prime field in which to pursue a career.

Though you can begin your career with just a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree is required to advance to higher-paying positions. You don’t have to quit your job to focus on getting your degree, either—the popular MBA programs listed below are all offered entirely online (and no GMAT is required!). Explore each program to see which is the best fit for your goals.

NO GMAT Online MBA in Healthcare Management [2025 Guide] - Best Accredited Easy Low GPA MBA in Healthcare Management

Online MBA in Healthcare Management NO GMAT

Listed below are some of the popular schools offering online MBA in Healthcare Management programs without the requirement of GMAT:

  • University of Mount Saint Vincent
  • University of Illinois–Springfield
  • West Liberty University
  • Concordia University St. Paul
  • Purdue Global
  • American Public University
  • Grand Canyon University
  • Southern New Hampshire University

University of Mount Saint Vincent

MBA in Healthcare Management

The Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Management from the University of Mount Saint Vincent is a 30-credit program composed completely of online classes. You can complete the program in as little as one calendar year, provided you take classes on a full-time basis.

The coursework is fast-paced yet packed with learning activities that prepare you for advancing your healthcare management career. By the end of the program, you will be able to:

  • Analyze the healthcare system to better understand how healthcare programs should be managed.
  • Evaluate the role of various healthcare organizations in healthcare delivery.
  • Explain how healthcare systems manage finances.
  • Identify risks within healthcare organizations.
  • Explain the role of healthcare-accrediting bodies.
  • Identify the expectations that various stakeholders have regarding the quality of healthcare.

You will acquire these and other skills by taking classes like Healthcare Administration. This introductory course offers an overview of the various issues you will face as an administrator. For example, you will discuss physician reimbursement, multi-provider systems, and stakeholder management, to name a few.

Likewise, the Healthcare Finance course provides an introduction to the financial practices of healthcare systems. More specifically, you will investigate the specific responsibilities you will have in a management role, such as business ventures in healthcare, integrated health systems, and managed care issues. You will supplement this course on finances with a Marketing for Healthcare Programs course that explores different methods to attract patients and generate support for healthcare programs and facilities.

A critical course for your development as a healthcare administrator is Law for Healthcare Professionals. This class explores the relevant U.S. laws that govern healthcare by examining relevant case law. Doing so gives you a basic understanding of how courts have viewed the actions of other healthcare managers, which informs you of how you should perform on the job.

Other essential coursework in this program includes the following:

  • The Healthcare System
  • Healthcare Policy
  • Data Analysis and Modeling for Managers
  • Operations and Production Management

You are further required to complete two capstone courses. The first course is Strategic Management, which integrates your learning from multiple classes and helps you form appropriate management strategies in light of relevant case reviews. This process includes the requirement that you develop an administrative strategy and evaluate how it would be implemented. Understanding how to create and execute an organizational strategy is crucial for healthcare managers because it helps the organization perform better, achieve its goals, and provide improved care to its patients as well.

The second capstone course—Competing in a Global Business Environment—informs you of the knowledge and skills required to be successful in an international healthcare management setting. You will complete tasks such as developing cultural literacy to enhance your ability to interact with stakeholders from around the country and the globe.

You do not need a business undergraduate degree to apply to this program (nor do you have to submit GMAT scores). However, if you lack a business degree, you must take three leveling courses as prerequisites:

  • Foundations of Accounting, Finance, and Economics
  • Foundations of Management, Human Resources, and Business Law
  • Foundations of Marketing and the Management of Information Systems

You can apply to the University of Mount Saint Vincent online. The application requirements are as follows:

  • Have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
  • Have a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 2.75 or above. You can still apply if you don’t meet the GPA threshold, but you must submit a statement of purpose that addresses important elements of your current work and future goals.
  • Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.

University of Illinois–Springfield

MBA in Healthcare Management

The University of Illinois–Springfield offers an online Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Management that’s accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The program requires you to complete 30 credits, which typically takes about one year of full-time studies.

This program has numerous focus areas, including the following:

  • Marketing
  • Organizational Behavior
  • Operations Management
  • Leadership
  • Interpersonal Communication

These and other topics will be explored in a comprehensive curriculum consisting of core coursework and an elective component. The core coursework accounts for the bulk of the credits needed to graduate. You will begin the core component by taking Information Technology Management, a three-credit course that explores the many technologies involved in collecting, storing, and maintaining healthcare data. You will discuss information architecture, data quality control, and legal considerations for information security, too.

You’re also required to take a class entitled Survey of the U.S. Healthcare System. As the name indicates, you will take a broad view of the nation’s healthcare industry and explore critical issues such as public health services, regulatory considerations, and healthcare law at the state and local levels. You will follow that class by taking Organizational Behavior, which discusses the impact that individuals and groups have on the wider behavior of healthcare organizations.

Business Strategy is another important core course. This class explores how organizations are formed, how their missions are determined, and how policies and strategies are implemented to ensure that the organization’s missions are achieved. You will gain numerous skills in this class, not the least of which is the ability to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of a healthcare organization.

Other core coursework will be completed in the following areas:

  • Managerial Finance
  • Production and Operations Management
  • Marketing Management
  • Management Accounting
  • Managing Healthcare Operations

The elective component requires you to complete one of two courses. You can choose Leadership and Consumer Insights, which examines how to create value based on patients’ needs and the greater legal, social, and economic environment around them. Alternatively, you can take Project Management in Healthcare, which discusses the processes involved in developing, implementing, evaluating, and reporting on a healthcare management project. You will also learn about concepts like cost management, resource management, and risk management.

Based on your undergraduate degree and your transcripts, you might be required to take two additional courses: Business Perspectives and Foundations of Business Decision Making. Both classes are basic business courses that examine topics like management, finance, and marketing, as well as accounting, microeconomics, and statistics. Typically, if you have an undergraduate degree in business or a closely related field, you do not have to take these two courses.

You can apply to the University of Illinois–Springfield online at any time. The program’s admissions requirements are as follows:

  • Have a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited college or university.
  • Have a 2.5 cumulative undergraduate GPA or higher.
  • Complete Business Perspectives and Fundamentals of Business Decision Making if necessary.
  • Submit official transcripts from each college or university you’ve attended.
  • No GMAT scores are required to apply, though you can choose to submit them if you believe they will help make your case for admission.

West Liberty University

MBA in Healthcare Management

At West Liberty University, you can complete an MBA in Healthcare Management that requires just ten classes (30 credits) to complete. Not only is this degree offered online, but you can also choose to take either accelerated or standard-format classes. If you choose the accelerated format, you can complete the program in just 12 months. However, the standard format requires 20 months to complete.

The program’s focus lies in two specific areas: business administration and healthcare management. This combination of study areas offers you insights into the practice of managing healthcare systems while also giving you a background in the trends, policies, and practices of modern healthcare-focused organizations.

Likewise, your studies will explore concepts such as the following:

  • Challenges that modern healthcare workers face, such as ethical considerations and social pressures.
  • Clinical information systems and how to manage patient data.
  • Current trends in informatics and how to use patient information to improve the delivery of medical care.

Your studies start with MBA business core courses. First up is an Information Technology Management course that explores modern issues related to technology’s role in healthcare. You will examine how to manage computer information systems and the methodologies of designing and developing bespoke systems for different types of healthcare settings, too.

Next, you will take Global Economics, which analyzes the various processes involved in international commerce. You will study trade theory, exchange rates, and legal issues. You will also explore current policy issues as well. This class is followed by Integrative Marketing Management, which discusses topics like product development and promotion, distribution, and pricing.

Yet another core course you’re required to take is Strategic Human Resource Management. This class helps you develop a better understanding of your role in using human capital in a healthcare setting. You will learn how to recruit talent, improve employee performance, and develop succession plans for critical members of the team. Additionally, you will learn how to provide learning and developmental opportunities for employees that help them perform better on the job and provide improved products and services to end users as well.

The final core component is a Strategic Management Capstone. This class requires you to use what you’ve learned in the other core courses to address a critical issue for a company. This integrative exercise not only gauges your progress as an MBA student, but it also helps you begin to apply what you’ve learned in preparation for graduating and starting your career.

Another 15 credits of healthcare management-specific classes are needed to finish this program. This portion of the curriculum starts with Healthcare Accounting and Cost Analysis. This class focuses on both internal and external decision-making processes and how accounting information can be used to drive decisions. More specifically, you will discuss third-party payments, tax issues, and cost accounting procedures. You will also explore the Medicare and Medicaid systems.

The Healthcare Information Systems Management class is another critical piece of your education. This course analyzes the essential record-keeping practices of medical and healthcare organizations. For example, you will learn how to properly file, number, retain, and secure patient records. Moreover, you will explore the situations in which patient information can be released.

Three more courses are needed to finish this degree:

  • Healthcare Economics Analysis
  • Healthcare Finance and Revenue Cycle
  • Healthcare Law and Ethics

In each course listed above, you will gain an appreciation of the business, legal, and ethical considerations you will have to make as a healthcare administrator. This includes studying the economic forces that affect the delivery of medical care, the financial decision-making processes relevant to healthcare organizations, and patient rights and liability issues in the healthcare field.

You must meet the following requirements to be considered for admission:

  • Have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
  • Have a 2.5 cumulative undergraduate GPA or higher.
  • Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
  • Complete the Peregrine MBA Inbound Assessment. The GMAT is not required.

Concordia University St. Paul

MBA in Healthcare Management

The Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Management from Concordia University St. Paul is a 36-credit program that requires about two years of full-time studies to complete. The program accepts transfer credits from accredited programs and universities, so you might be able to reduce the time needed to complete this degree if you’ve already finished some coursework.

This program was built with experiential learning in mind. You will gain industry-specific knowledge throughout the program and have opportunities to learn how to use relevant systems like EPIC and Cerner, which are two popular electronic medical record platforms. Furthermore, you will acquire additional industry-specific skills, such as ethical leadership, problem-solving and decision-making in healthcare organizations, and telehealth management, too.

The basic curriculum includes required courses and specialization courses. The required courses are generally broad business and management-focused classes that all MBA students are required to take. Some of the first classes you will complete include the following:

  • Integrated Marketing Communication
  • Managerial Research Methods and Design
  • Global Economics
  • Applied Business Ethics
  • Strategic Human Resource Management

Managerial Finance and Accounting is yet another required course that prepares you for your career as a healthcare manager. In this class, you will learn about the systems used for accounting and the accounting tools and concepts (e.g., financial statements, balance sheets, accounting cycles) that are used to manage an organization’s finances.

What’s more, Legal Environment for Managers is a required course that explores the legal considerations related to managing an organization. You will learn how to be vigilant for legal issues, problem-solve potential legal pitfalls, and minimize legal risk. You will also discuss issues like ethics and social responsibility and analyze their role in organizational management.

The Operations and Technology Management class examines issues like quality management, workforce management, and supply-chain management. These and other issues are important to understand so that more effective strategic management-related decisions can be made. Speaking of decision-making, the Tools for Managerial Decision Analysis class equips you to make data-informed decisions at the managerial level.

You will complete the required coursework by taking Strategic Leadership. In this class, you will learn about the essential theories of strategic thinking. You will learn how this concept of strategy can positively affect the outcome of an organization. Additionally, you will learn the various elements of strategic analysis and strategic planning, too.

Twelve credits of healthcare management classes are needed to complete this degree. These classes include the following:

  • Healthcare Policy, Reform, and Equity
  • Quality Practices
  • Emerging Trends in Healthcare Administration
  • Healthcare Informatics

Generally speaking, the courses listed above focus on improving the patient experience. For example, you will explore the impacts that universal health coverage might have on consumers. You will also examine how the quality of services delivered to patients is directly related to their assessment of customer service. Furthermore, you will discuss how data can be used to improve service delivery and patient outcomes in different healthcare settings.

The application to Concordia University St. Paul is available online. It is free to apply. Ensure you meet the following requirements when applying:

  • Have an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution.
  • Have a GPA of 3.0 or higher for all undergraduate work.
  • Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.

Related Reading