MBA vs. MHA – Opinions from Healthcare Executives

I very much value the Master’s Degree but I understand the variability in the kinds of degrees people pursue. I am open to MBA or MHA and while a top school says much about the person’s drive, ambition and ability, others from smaller schools can be just as bright and ready to tackle the job. I take education into context with the person’s overall abilities, attitude and experience. I evaluate “the whole package” versus just one aspect of the person’s background. I do value top schools which is why I did my Master’s at the University of Michigan but I don’t consider myself a “degree snob” either. What matters is that the person had the initiative to get a degree and wants to excel.

The MBA degree provides greater education in global business and entrepreneurship compared to the MHA degree.  I wish that I had the option of a joint MBA/MHA program when I went through, which some schools offer. Alumni networks may be useful in some cases. The particular university may be more of a factor on the negative side if it is just an internet-based diploma mill.  Experience will be more important for anyone other than a new graduate, who all you have to go by is their education.

I look at both the type of degree and whether it was an "on-line" degree or traditional classroom program, in addition to the candidate's experience. I'm finding, based on people of interviewed and subsequently employed, the RN with the MBA is a highly valued combination. It would also depend on the level of management in the organization or amount of experience the individual has regarding the MHA vs. MBA.  I wouldn't consider a recently graduated candidate with the MBA and no healthcare experience for a management job. The recently graduated MHA, I might consider for a mid-level management job, without healthcare experience as an assistant to a more seasoned manager.

In my experience in the field I haven't seen a discernable difference between the MHA or MBA, or which school you received your master's.  There have been individual, personal beliefs that one is "better" than the other but I never have hired based on any defined "criteria".  To me, it's always come down to the person and how well they present themselves, their maturity and knowledge, and ability to work with other people.

I have found that a Masters Degree in either discipline is acceptable.  Less emphasis is put on type of degree than on relevant experience.  More focus is put on the degree than on the school attended.  I have never had a comment or concern about the school I attended.

I hate to say it depends—but it depends.  I know when I was with Tenet that they specifically went after MBA grads from the more prestigious schools whether you had hospital experience or not.  I heard similar things from colleagues at HCA.  My MHA degree coming from UNC-Chapel Hill has meant a lot since I have spent the majority of my career in North Carolina, but elsewhere not as much.  10 years ago I would have said that the school mattered, but that has changed with the increase of online programs and programs targeted at working adults.  The future executive suites will be filled with MBA’s who got their degrees somewhere other than the traditional 2 year program.

As one of the few people that have both an MHA and an MBA I might be able to answer both questions. A professor friend of mine who taught in both schools gave me this answer when I asked the same question, "An MHA will open more doors in healthcare, but an MBA will get you through more doors."

An MHA from my program (St. Louis University) was more of an applied MBA.  SLU is a Catholic institution and has a real focus on mission.  I chose SLU because the majority of hospitals are Catholic based. Understanding their mission and culture is key to success in healthcare at these hospitals.

From my prospective, a master’s degree has a shelf life of 3-4 years.  After that, it is more important what you do with the degree than it is that you have the degrees.  This being said, I believe the most critical aspect is that the school they attend has strong interactions with a medical school.  To be successful, it is critical to understand physicians.  Having classes on the same campus as the physicians, working in the university hospital, socializing with residents and med students are all techniques for understanding the critical elements for being effective in healthcare management. This being said, SLU offered all these aspects and is a top five MHA program in the country (based on accreditation by the governing body for MHA's).  I would encourage people interested in a holistic learning experience to consider SLU.

Short answer is that the MBA and MHA are equivalent in value and the school you get it from is not really important with two exceptions,   One, if the school is Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Yale, etc. and two, if the person reviewing the resume and/or doing the interviewing went to the same school.

I’ve had folks who have either an MBA or an MHA tell me they are considering getting the other degree and I always advise them not to bother (if you’re going to invest that kind of time again you might as well just go on and get a PhD.).  By the way, I have both an MBA and MHA (I went through the Georgia State University dual degree program).

Most of the positions in Operations (COO) seem to prefer MHA’s over MBA’s.  My experience is being involved in a MHA program presently is that the business applications that you learn are geared to healthcare scenarios.  We are also using situations we are involved in with our jobs to show the relativity to future career applications.  There seems to be a lot of focus on the degree.  I have had one incident where the school attended was a big deal, but it was an Executive Program that is not very reputable (Phoenix MHA that is only 11 months). 

I think that there are generational differences in the perceptions of the value of both the schools and the degrees.

Baby Boomers (like me) see Finance as just one of the skill sets required for the eventual  CEO role and since healthcare financials/reimbursement systems are so different from other industries, the MBA with health focus, is still not as valuable.

Schools are important only if you attended one of the top tier schools, or conversely, if you completed an evening degree program at the local community college. However, they do often provide a subconscious link between alumni of the same programs.

Only once in 36 years did I run into the comment "your degree isn't really the one people are looking for".  My degree is the Master of Public Health.  The University of Pittsburgh has located the Program in Medical and Hospital Administration in the Department of Public Health Practices, Graduate School of Public Health.  I believe the program is accredited by the same agency as those that award the MHA.The recruiters seem more interested in the degree than the hospital Boards.  Hospital executives employing an assistant/associate may have a bit of concern that the individual with "the other type of degree" may know something they don't but it really isn't a major point.  Being familiary with the schools give an understanding of what the individual was exposed to in a particular graduate school which may have some importance since the different schools have the program in different departments hence different emphasis.  For example there are programs in the Graduate School of Business, Graduate School of Public Health, Graduate School of Hotel Management and I believe there remains at least one that is located in the School of Medicine. Perhaps the recruiters are more concerned about this than providers.  It has been my good fortune to serve as a CEO of a rural government owned medical-surgical hospital that was operated by a gubanatorially appointed Board of Trustees, three geographically dispersed community, small, medical-surgical hospitals, a for-profit LTAC and three Ambulatory Surgery Centers. Again, it seems that a Masters Degree in a related field is important but after that it is what have you accomplished ----- both of which are of interest in determining "what can you do for us?".

I found my MA in Health Care Administration a credential that may have differentiated me from someone who did have it. I have never had anyone inquire about the school or curriculum or compare it to an MBA..I do believe the MHA is more focused on health care and has greater applicability to the industry initially than new MBA`s who have the business skill but have to learn the industry.

I believe in most cases that an MBA and an MHA or interchangeable.  In my 32 years of experience in the field, it was only in the Military that the MHA carried more weight than an MBA.  As for the school, it depends on your experience.  The younger you are the more important the school you attended.  The more experienced you are, the less the school.  The degree plus experience will carry much more weight.

The MHA is highly preferred, especially, if a residency was required.  It seems that almost every college is offering some kind of MBA.  The school is very important.  Alumni seem to have a strong bias towards graduates from the same school.   

What I have seen is a trend toward the MBA versus MHA world.  Several of the MHA programs seem to be merging with the Business School and offering a combined MHA/MBA offering.

I taught in a MHA program that has now been absorbed by the business school and I believe the degree is now an MBA with a Healthcare Administration major.  Personally, I believe in today’s world, an MBA is better preparation if the student’s career plan is toward a larger network, for-profit or large physician practice.  The financial training is the biggest benefit within the MBA and is definitely needed in the larger organizations. 

As to the school issue, certain hospitals seem to hire from certain schools.  If a person has a particular desire to work for a particular organization, I would suggest they find a person within the administration that can give them the insight as to how new hires are done.  The Dallas market seems to like graduates from Washington University (Saint Louis) or Trinity in San Antonio.  This is probably due to their executive’s personal history.

My impression is that people focus more on the reputation of the program that you attended.  Otherwise, I think that the MBA is of equivalent value if the candidate has some (even modest) operating experience. If I were advising some young person who is contemplating going to graduate school, I would lean more toward the MBA but it would be a tossup if the MBA were at a program that was not well known versus a reputable MHA program.

I suspect that the school and the degree are more important earlier in your career than later.  Once you’ve built some experience, you’ll be judged more on your track record than your degree.

Some schools have more active alumni associations – which can be valuable in getting or finding a position.  Minnesota’s program is one that comes to mind relative to a strong alumni association.

Finally, MBA v. MHA.  Somewhat depends on what you want to do with your career and where you’re going.   In some cases there’s little difference between program content of either degree tract.  In other schools, MHAs are truly less “business-oriented” than an MBA program.  I suspect that which tract you take depends on your background.  I’d recommend candidates with a weak business background to take an MBA program.

The MBA is definitely in fashion these days. For instance, the CEO of Memorial/Hermann has said his system will only recruit MBA’s now, no MHA’s. The feeling seems to be that the MBA will give graduates a better business education, more quantitative, more marketing-oriented among other things. This dovetails with the notion that healthcare/hospital management is much more business-oriented these days, and on balance that’s true. As for the school, prestigious schools are favored by executive search types and I believe by a certain set of CEO’s. An MBA from Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, etc. will always be a plus. On the other hand, the MHA network is still very strong and schools such as Minnesota and MCV have very strong alumni groups. For a person interested in a career in hospital/healthcare management, the MBA is the way to go today. Duke has an interesting program, with a healthcare concentration within the business school. Hope this is helpful.

A master’s is the basic entry level requirement.  Unfortunately what school and what type of degree varies widely based on who the employer is.  I have seen those who the school itself makes the difference especially for MHA in the south, if you do not get a degree from Trinity you are not on the top of the list.  I have seen outstandingly intelligent people with on-line degrees but some feel that since they did not put in the time at a live college it is something less than qualified.  I wish there was a clean answer.  If you want a sure thing I would say an MBA (particularity because of the finance piece) from an accredited University and an on campus program, everything else is in the eye of the beholder?

I prefer the MHA but an MBA with a health concentration is as good.  I do look to see where it was earned as some schools are stronger than others.

I vote for MHA

From what I've seen we see mostly MHA degree seems more important than the school

I'm probably biased since I have an MBA, but I think it provides you a more rounded education and perspective perhaps than an MHA? Healthcare has and continues to evolve so quickly and the traditional "models" are continuing to be replaced by newer innovative structures etc. When you look at the developments in our industry such as physician syndicated companies, specialty facilities, private equity investment, technology levered service companies and the advent of consumer driven healthcare products, there are many business dynamics present that are not unique or limited to healthcare. Obviously, I haven't been through a recent MHA program, but it would seem on the surface an MBA is apt to prepare you for what you may encounter in the market place. Again, I'm sure both are well suited for the task, but that's my opinion. As for your other question, it will only help if you were fortunate to attend a top school, but I think for established executives, the degree is more important as a qualification, not the school, and then it will depend upon your track record and references. I hope this helps.

I am under the impression that once a person gets their first management job and performs well it really does not matter much.  A masters is your ticket to get an interview.

MBA will prepare you more for the “business arena”, which includes healthcare.  MHA has a primary focus and emphasis on the global healthcare industry. 

In my experience and with networking with others…nobody has once asked me about my degree or my education.  A Masters degree in either field is a differentiating factor and a requirement for entering any management or executive level position today.  Most of the time when I am networking or interviewing, the emphasis is on what I have accomplished. 

If I had an opportunity to “do it all over again” – I would probably do an MBA since I was already had a BS in Nursing.  I had a strong clinical background and experience.  The MBA would open more doors to the business world. 

This question is posed to me often. I have MBA, MHA & JD. The MBA IS by far much more valuable and more difficult degree in the didactic learning and more useful in the work application. Although Trinity (MHA) is one of the finest in the country; the MHA lacks the accounting, finance, economics and other quantitative curriculum required to manage the constantly changing healthcare environment. I would and do hire an MBA as opposed to an MHA.

From my 35+ yrs I have seen that the school plays a role for the first 5- 10 years out then drops off.  As for MBA vs. MHA, or in my case MHS, I think that the larger urban facilities would have use for their skills more so than smaller urban or rural facilities...hope this helps.

In the for profit industry an MBA carries more weight and the school is extremely important Trinity in Texas has an alumni network that is outstanding.

I have a MSM - which is Masters of Science in Management -- but I also have a degree in nursing which seems to help me by having the clinical side.  I have not noticed anyone asking about the school I attended.  Most people recognize the school and therefore, do not ask is what I think.

Real simple answer. MHA is an MBA light. It is for wimps who cant handle the more rigorous MBA programs with analytic training. School programs do matter.

I am biased towards an MBA.  It signals a rigorous course of study in a variety of disciplines, not only healthcare. MBA programs require one to think critically in a variety of situations, and to take on challenges outside one's comfort or interest zone.  Additionally, an MHA degree is often taught by healthcare practitioners not professional research based faculty so the discussions tend toward current day topics or individual bias of the faculty member which can limit the exposure or depth of knowledge transferred. 

As a hiring professional, I do look at the school as pedigree.  As admissions personnel look at selectivity of undergraduate institution as one criteria signifying seriousness of the student, so too do hiring professionals look at the school as a signal of depth of challenges pursued. Depending on the role (academic medicine v. community based v. other) one may benefit from a more academically challenging school as it sets the tone with the physicians or staff and adds credibility to the candidate.

You should know that I hold an MBA from the University of Chicago, was the Director of the Graduate School of Business and I am on faculty at Rush University Health Sciences College. 

I believe both degrees are considered to be equivalent.  The school you attend is only important for the first 2 or 3 years after you graduate.  Then it's your experience, skills, and accomplishments, and the fact you have a masters, as long as it's from a recognized university and not something like on-line, or one of the "get a masters in 6 weeks", that shows up in my inbox a few times a month.

I don’t put much relevance as to whether it is an MBA or MHA.  Such a degree from a ‘prestigious’ school might sway me favorably toward the candidate having obtained the degree from such a school, all else being equal (which is almost never is).  So, in a practical sense, the school doesn’t matter a lot.

In my 20+ years in healthcare administration, I have found that the MBA carries more weight and provides more flexibility for those entering the healthcare management ranks.  While some facilities may focus on the school attended, I have found that the MBA coupled with relevant healthcare experience to be the typical “ticket” for entry.  Hope that helps and have a great weekend.

My experience has been that, some years ago, where you went to school and which degree you had did have some importance. The more prestigious schools could sometimes make a difference, especially for relatively inexperienced people looking for that first or second (or even third) job. The type of degree, essentially MBA vs any other kind (for example, I happen to have a MPH - Public Health) has fluctuated as to which was most advantageous. I'm no longer sure that having an MBA confers the same cache as it did in the 90's. 

Much of this is also variable depending on the specific preferences, prejudices, and perceptions of the specific hiring manager - people give different weight to different factors. 

My own impression is that having a Masters of any sort is the main thing (the "union card") required to get a candidate "in the door". Where it has come from (unless it is a known schlock factory - mostly on-line places although not all of them by any means) is of relatively minor importance. A known and prestigious school adds a little, but isn't going to generate much traction in the absence of other aspects of a resume. The issue of MBA vs other type of degree is neutral. There are some advantages that my come with an MBA education but also some potential "red flags" as well. A lot will turn on the personalities of the hiring manager and the applicant. 

 

MHA is becomingly more important and provides a spring bed to CEO easier than MBA. If the organization is strongly focused on financial ops, then the MBA is a more applicable degree. I think the school attended is very important;: more for the alumni contacts than anything else. I saw with TRIAD how important UAB was and with CHS how important Trinity is, so school makes a difference.I focus more on degree and practical/applicable experience than school attended personally.

 

I think it depends on the circumstance of the job and the person. I've seen some Director types who've done a local, small college MBA or MHA who have been able to advance in their organization and it didn't seem to matter that it what degree it was or that it didn't come from a prestigious school.  But you would have to track those people longer term to see if they can make a jump to another organization and into more general leadership outside their field, such as nursing.  Within my organization, a multi-campus health system, there is a premium on the MSN because of our Magnet nursing accreditation status.  So I have a Sr. Director of Nursing who already has an MBA who is enrolled in an excellerated nursing degree program to get the tickets that a CNO needs for Magnet. And it doesn't seem to matter whether that nursing degree is from a traditional university night/weekend program or from one of the newwave on-line programs like University of Phoenix.

 

On the other hand, if someone is younger and doesn't have the clinical background, it seems really important to get the degree from a highly ranked program.  Whether it is an MHA or MBA doesn't seem to make as much difference.  Or you could make a case for either degree.  But a younger person not already working in healthcare needs something that distinguishes them from the pack.  In many respects, I feel sorry for them because it seems more difficult to break in these days than it did years ago.  Most of the entry level jobs are in performance improvement, quality assurance, etc in some staff function and they are competing with experienced people who have nursing or other clinical degrees.

 

In the end, I think the degree has to be tailored to address deficiencies that each person has in order to move to the next level.

 

I have an MBA.  My response would be it depends on what you are going in to.  I’m more on the business side, and I find the MBA much more applicable to giving a great marketing, strategy, and financial knowledge base. If you had more clinical interaction, it may make sense to go towards the MHA.

 

Having been through a program that awards BOTH MBA & MPH in Health Services Administration and seeing where many of my peers are who also went through this program my opinion about which degree you have may have some influence upon your first position coming out of school, if you don’t have any other business or healthcare experience.  Beyond the first job, your performance, reputation and networking skills will determine where you go in your career long term.

 

As for the school you attended this is a minor influence upon alumni preferring other alumni who might get an edge in a recruiting situation; however, again it will only get you in the door for an interview or a meeting.  Beyond that, the key items mentioned above seem to be the determining factors in career advancement.

 

The most significant element of these degrees is the "M". A Master's represents disciplined effort by the candidate. While "MHA" is a requirement for the interview, it is character and experience which results in a potential offer. I have found the type of degree helpful, if similar to that of the interviewer, and the particular school helpful if it is within the region of the opportunity. There is no substitute for a talented individual with a touch of common sense. So much for my opinion.

 

I do agree that the Masters Degree is a requirement in healthcare today.  Quite frankly, I have never encountered a situation where anyone focused on the designation of my degree versus its mere existence and I have an MS in Health Systems Management.  From a personal perspective, I feel that the basic coursework for all three designations is similar and provides the framework for future success.  More importantly, I believe that it is the focus on lifelong learning, obtaining certification in the field, and the area of healthcare in which you practice that drives the conversation.  Perhaps there are situations where an organization may prefer one designation over the other depending on the position being sought.  Again, at my level of experience (15+ years), it has never been an issue.

 

In my opinion it is having the degree that is important not the School that you attended. I have seen a trend on the west coast for preferring an MBA over an MHA. A lot of the MHA programs in the past did not provide enough financial management emphasis. With thinner margins, this has become a needed skill for executives.

 

Older President/CEO types look for MHAs from Michigan or Duke. Younger types are more interested in MBAs from the classic schools... Penn, Stanford... etc.  My graduate degree is from Johns Hopkins, and given the reputation of Hopkins for Medicine, it seemed to have more clout than it deserved.

 

In my opinion...  The longer it has been since you got your graduate degree, the less important it is that it is from a prestigious school, except when it happens to be from the same school as the decision maker in the hiring process, then you get a few 'feel good points.' Track record and record of results is main focus.

 

In today’s market, at the CEO & COO level, the more experienced you are, I think the MBA becomes at least as credible as the MHA to the Board, as they look more and more to the ability of the candidate to generate a positive bottom line for both for profit and not for profit organizations.

 

If you want to be a hospital administrator or COO, I would think having an MHA is best.  If you want to be a CEO I would think an MBA is better because of the more strategic business nature of the responsibilities.  If you want to be in other parts of healthcare, i.e. consulting, health plan management, practice management, I would opt for an MBA.  The one other area I would value an MHA over and MBA is in public policy positions related to the public sector.  As to school, where you go to school is always important, especially when the (prospective) employer has no first hand experience with your work.  Quickly that diminishes once you are in a position and demonstrating what you are capable of.

 

I am not aware of any particular focus on the school someone attended as a criteria, except some people may have some bias for their own program.  I don't think the degree matters, but from my own experience an MBA provides more general business education than an MHA.  I may be biased since I have a MBA.  I met the requirements for both degrees and have consistently used what I learned in my MBA classes as opposed to my MHA classes.

 

From a nursing perspective, the Master's Degree is essential for advanced nursing leadership positions  I know that many nurses have successfully negotiate  the administrative/leadership track with either anMBA, MHA or MSN.  I have not experienced any discussion about the school attended for nursing positions.  However, my degree is from a highly recognized and esteemed university, the University of Oklahoma.

 

I have been told that if you have a healthcare background that a MBA would be the degree to seek in that a MHA provides a lot of healthcare industry information.

 

I have my undergrad degree in Allied Health and then my MBA...I feel the MBA is more rounded than the MHA. Especially with my undergraduate degree in a health care field.

 

As one of the few people that have both an MHA and an MBA I might be able to answer both questions. A professor friend of mine who taught in both schools gave me this answer when I asked the same question, "An MHA will open more doors in healthcare, but an MBA will get you through more doors."

 

An MHA from my program (St. Louis University) was more of an applied MBA.  SLU is a Catholic institution and has a real focus on mission. I chose SLU because the majority of hospitals are Catholic based. Understanding their mission and culture is key to success in healthcare at these hospitals.

 

From my prospective, a masters degree has a shelf life of 3-4 years. 

After that, it is more important what you do with the degree than it is that you have the degrees.  This being said, I believe the most critical aspect is that the school they attend has strong interactions with a medical school.  To be successful, it is critical to understand physicians.  Having classes on the same campus as the physicians, working in the university hospital, socializing with residents and med students are all techniques for understanding the critical elements for being effective in healthcare management.

This being said, SLU offered all these aspects and is a top five MHA program in the country (based on accreditation by the governing body for MHA's).  I would encourage people interested in a wholistic learning experience to consider SLU.

 

By and large, I believe the MHA better prepares students to meet the increasing challenges of the healthcare industry. Most would agree that many of these challenges (i.e., 3rd party insurance, regulatory oversight, technological advances, health worker shortages) are relatively unique to health care. Therefore (and all things being equal) I tend to favor the MHA. That said, there's no substitute for proven success in previous work experience (or an internship or residency, if that's the only experience). This transcends the type of degree or from where it originated.

 

So far more emphasis has been placed on just having the degree rather than where it was obtained.  I think this will be the case generally.  The exception will be if the degree is from an Ivy League school.

 

I'd go for the MBA, particularly if a BA or BS in some science proceed it. The combination of JD, MBA is a good way to go also.

 

MBA with specialization in health services administration provides more career flexibility from what I have seen - that is also what my degree is in (of course).
Actual school appears to be irrelevant... but "matchbook" and online schools - "purchasing the degree" is not acceptable.

 

No one has ever questioned the school I got my MBA from. The focus has been on the degree and not the school.

 

It is the school and the candidate. . .top schools we look at are Trinty University (MHA) in San Antonio, Washington University (MHA) in St. Louis, UAB (MHA), Duke (MBA), University of Michigan (MBA), University of Texas (Austin) (MBA).

One of my roles is the program coordinator for our Administrative Residency program. The above schools are where I recruit. We have looked at other schools, however, we were disappointed in the candidates and the schools. The schools' curriculum was below standard for our thinking.

 

My experience is they focus on the degree rather than the school and view the MHA and MBA as equivalent within healthcare.