60 years of pioneering health management education

Welcome to the Division of Health Management, home of the nationally recognized and top ranked Saint Louis University (SLU) Master of Health Administration (MHA) Program.  The MHA Program at SLU, a pioneer in graduate health management education, has been preparing leaders in the field since 1947.  Saint Louis University MHA graduates occupy senior management positions in health and hospital systems, insurance and managed care companies, academic medical centers, physician practices, consulting, and other business sectors of health care.

The SLU MHA Program provides students with the finest quality in health management education, evidenced by the program’s achievement of the highest level of accreditation possible from the Commission on Accreditation of Health Management Education (CAHME)—reaccredited for seven years in both 1997 and again in 2004.  The SLU MHA Program has been continuously accredited since the Commission was founded in 1968.

The MHA curriculum consists of 60 credit hours and is designed to provide students with the comprehensive set of competencies needed to prepare them for careers in health management.  The SLU MHA Competency Model, now recognized as one of three national models for competency-based health management education, places emphasis on leadership, critical thinking, communication, management, science and analysis, and political and community development.  Highly recognized and fully accredited dual degree programs are available with SLU’s School of Law (MHA/JD), Cook School of Business (MHA/MBA), and Doisy College of Health Sciences (MHA/BS-HIM).

The SLU MHA stands out in the field because of:

• Excellence in teaching, consistent with the Jesuit philosophy and tradition of providing the highest quality education
• A large (13) and nationally renowned full time faculty, who are leaders in the fields of health services research, management and policy, have practical training and experience in health management, and who are sought after consultants and advisers to the health care industry
• Strategic use of a select number of highly qualified adjunct faculty, who have the breadth of experience and depth of knowledge that make them uniquely qualified to teach specific content within the MHA curriculum
• The SLU MHA Internship Program, nationally recognized as the most serious effort by any MHA Program to provide graduate health management students with paid, full-time internships in the field
• A carefully designed curriculum that culminates in several integrative experiences during the final semester of study
• The SLU MHA Placement Program, a comprehensive package of professional development, recruitment and placement activities designed to assure success for MHA graduates in securing a health management fellowship or entry level position
• Top ranked, nationally recognized dual degree programs with SLU’s School of Law (MHA/JD), Cook School of Business (MHA/MBA) and Doisy College of Health Sciences (MHA/BS in Health Information Management)
• An active and dedicated alumni network 1,800 strong who are leaders in the field and provide mentoring, internship opportunities and career assistance to SLU MHA students and new graduates
• Its home in Missouri’s only fully accredited (by the Council on Education for Public Health) school of public health—one of only 38 schools of public health in the United States
• Its location in St. Louis—one of the nation’s most dynamic health care markets, home to four major health and hospital systems, two academic medical centers, some of the country’s best physicians, and a unique model for safety net services for the underserved and uninsured
• A focus on professional ethics, ethical decision-making in health care, and social justice—consistent with the Catholic identity of Saint Louis University

We hope you will continue to explore the exciting field of health care management.  As you consider your options for graduate programs in health management, please let us know if we can provide you with additional information or assist you in any way. 

Never before has the future of the SLU MHA Program looked so bright:

• Our applications have doubled during the past three years
• The Fall 2006 entering cohort is the most qualified in the Program’s 60-year history
• Our Competency Model is being adopted by other accredited MHA programs across the nation
• In 2007, we will launch a capital campaign to celebrate our 60^th Anniversary, raise additional scholarship funds for students, and take the final steps necessary to move the SLU MHA Program toward national preeminence

Best wishes,

Dan Gentry, Ph.D., MHA (dgentry@slu.edu)
Health Management Division Head &
MHA Program Director