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Online master's degrees for healthcare professionals

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Online master's degrees for healthcare professionals

So, you want to earn a healthcare master’s, but there are so many options and many of the degrees sound like they’re offering similar curricula. Which degree is right for you? It depends on your reasons for pursuing the degree and your desired career outcome. Depending on your desired career path, A.T. Still University (ATSU) has a variety of master’s degrees for healthcare professionals to meet your education needs and career goals.

The Master of Health Sciences (MHSc) program prepares students with diverse professional, academic, and life experience backgrounds to establish a solid foundation in the health sciences and address the ongoing challenges in various fields of healthcare.

The Master of Health Administration (MHA) program provides students with the holistic knowledge needed to become innovative leaders and problem solvers to improve and influence healthcare administration systems.

Focusing specifically on developing health professions educators, the Master of Education in Health Professions (MEd) program is for those who desire to teach the next generation of health professionals.

The Master of Public Health (MPH) program prepares and empowers diverse graduates to take their influence and abilities to a new and highly professional level to create healthy communities. This program is for those who have a passion for people and communities, who want to improve health and wellbeing.

The Master of Public Health – Dental Emphasis (MPH-D) program prepares students for advanced positions in dental public health services and administration at community health centers, institutes of higher education, non-profit organizations and local, state, and national government agencies.

Read on to discover the nuances between ATSU’s College of Graduate Health Studies’ (ATSU-CGHS) graduate health master’s programs to determine which online degree is the right fit for you.

Master of Health
Sciences (MHSc)

Master of Health
Administration (MHA)

Master of Health Administration program

The Master of Health Administration program develops students into healthcare leaders who are prepared, competent, and driven to effect change and make a difference in the future of healthcare.

The health administration master’s degree curriculum is completed entirely online without a residential requirement and is recognized by the American College of Healthcare Executives’ Higher Education Network.

Curriculum encompasses 14 healthcare administration courses and a capstone project, totaling 42 credit hours. The capstone project provides opportunities for students to apply the theories and knowledge gained throughout the MHA program to develop a real-world solution to a problem focusing on the complexities of healthcare delivery systems, building alliances within and outside of the healthcare industry, and strategic decision-making.

MHA academic areas of focus include:

  • Healthcare leadership
  • Operations and project management
  • Financing of healthcare
  • Human resources management
  • Strategic planning and marketing
  • Healthcare law
  • Health information systems
  • Data analytics and decision making
  • Quality and safety in healthcare

MHA concentrations/specialty tracks

Students have the option to specialize in the traditional track, the Digital Health specialty track, or the Quality and Patient Safety specialty track.

Students in the Digital Health track develop skills and competencies for innovative interoperability of healthcare information systems, consumer digital health products, and the use of distance medicine.

Students in the Quality and Patient Safety track develop operational and leadership competencies to directly effect quality improvement and safety initiatives within the healthcare environment.

MHA career advancement

  • Hospital administrator
  • Practice manager
  • Clinical director
  • Long-term care administrator
  • Health services director
  • Corporate healthcare manager
  • Group practice administrator
  • Government healthcare consultant

Master of Health Sciences program

The Master of Health Sciences program is focused on building a solid foundation in the health sciences to prepare competent health professionals to address the ongoing challenges in various healthcare fields.

This online health sciences master’s consists of 33 credit hours of study and can be completed in as little as 1.5 years. The online program in health sciences provides professionals with the knowledge and skills required to excel in leadership and decision-making, ethics and health policy, informatics, project management, evidence-based practice, and research standards. Students will explore foundations of evidence-based practice to develop relevant and influential solutions that address challenges in health sciences. The MHSc curriculum promotes the application of research and evidence-based standards in professional practice through the completion of two foundational research courses.

MHSc academic areas of focus include:

  • Healthcare leadership and policy trends
  • Health administration and law
  • Patient safety and quality improvement
  • Health informatics
  • Population health
  • Evidence-based practice
  • Student chosen concentration

MHSc concentrations/specialty tracks

This degree can be customized to student interests by focusing on one of four concentration areas in global health, leadership and organizational behavior, fundamentals of education, or a generalist concentration.

MHSc career advancement

  • Population health
  • Evidence-based practice
  • Student chosen concentration
  • Population health
  • Evidence-based practice
  • Student chosen concentration

Master of Education in
Health Professions (MEd)

Master of Public
Health (MPH)

Master of Public Health program

The Master of Public Health program prepares diverse graduates to create healthy communities. This program is for those who have a passion for people and communities and want to improve health and wellbeing, work toward health equity and social justice, and improve health disparities in underserved and rural populations.

There is a substantial need and demand in the industry for health professionals with a Master of Public Health degree, as there is a significant shortage since so many public health professionals retired, quit, or left the profession after Covid-19. Further, more health administration managerial positions are now requiring an MPH for advancement due to a community health perspectives.

The online public health master’s is flexible with hands-on, applied, and authentic faculty-taught courses with small class sizes. Encompassing 42-45 credit hours of study, students can complete this online public health degree in less than two years. This program is CEPH accredited and does not require the GRE for admissions.

The MPH curriculum aims to empower students to take their influence and abilities to a new and highly professional level. Through the integration of highly contemporary public health industry resources, forward thinking strategies, and technological resources, students gain timeless knowledge on the foundation of the public health field. The entire curriculum is tied to the whole person, as public health is all about whole person and whole communities. Each course covers public health and the inequities in underserved populations, with a specific course focused on the underserved.

MPH academic areas of focus include:

  • Research in public health
  • Informatics and social media
  • Public health policy
  • Public health administration
  • Community health needs
  • Community-based programs

MPH concentrations/specialty tracks

Students can receive a certificate in Public Health Workforce, Public Health, or Emergency Preparedness & Disaster Response in conjunction with their MPH if they desire a "focal" point in their master’s in public health, or some students start with a certificate then decide to pursue the MPH. All courses in the certificate programs earn advanced standing for the MPH.

MPH career advancement

  • Assistant/associate professor in health education
  • Director of community health services
  • Health advocacy/policy/research
  • Health educator
  • Health education consultant
  • Public health information officer
  • Public health project manager
  • Public health management analyst
  • Biostatistician
  • Public health director
  • Health administrator
  • Health economist
  • Health commission
  • Epidemiologist
  • Nurse
  • Physician
  • Environmentalist/environment health scientist
  • Policy and advocacy specialist
  • Family health coordinator
  • Health and human services worker
  • Researcher

Master of Education in Health Professions program

The Master of Education in Health Professions program is for healthcare professionals who desire to educate new and current healthcare professionals. The purpose of the online MEd is to prepare health professions educators by advancing their knowledge and skills in teaching and learning, curriculum development, leadership and management, research methods, and assessment and evaluation.

Healthcare providers who need formal training in curriculum and instruction are a great fit for the Master of Education in Health Professions degree.

The online master's in health professions education consists of 30 credit hours of study and can be completed in five blocks, which is equivalent to 1.5 years. The program is asynchronous, enabling students to complete their master’s degree with maximum flexibility.

Notably, the health professions education program's curriculum includes a Teaching with Simulation course, which is many students’ first exposure to research and simulation. This is one of very few programs that includes a course on how to teach with simulation.

MEd academic areas of focus include:

  • Trends in health professions education
  • Educational program evaluation
  • Educational technologies
  • Teaching strategies
  • Instructional design
  • Student assessments

MEd career advancement

  • Professor at a college or university in a multitude of health professions
  • Manager of health education program
  • Health professions clinical educator
  • Manager/director of community health services

Master of Public Health –
Dental Emphasis (MPH-D)

Master of Public Health – Dental Emphasis program

The Master of Public Health – Dental Emphasis (MPH-D) program seamlessly integrates dental content within the core MPH curriculum. This dental public health online program is for those seeking advanced positions in dental public health services and administration at community health centers, institutes of higher education, non-profit organizations and local, state, and national government agencies. If you’re a dentist, dental hygienist, dental assistant, or working in the dental industry and interested in a career in dental public health services and administration, this is the program for you.

The MPH-D curriculum sets the standard for comprehensive dental public health education and training using evidence-based dentistry and best practices to develop leaders who are fully prepared to address society’s dental public health issues.

The online dental public health master’s is flexible with hands-on, applied, and authentic faculty-taught courses with small class sizes. Encompassing 42-45 credit hours of study, students can complete this online public health degree in less than two years.

MPH-D academic areas of focus include:

  • Dental public health
  • Public health administration
  • Dental healthcare policy and management
  • Community-based programs

MHSc career advancement

  • Public health dentist
  • Dental director in a community health center
  • Dental director for a local or state health department
  • Dental manager in a professional dental organization
  • Dental personnel in a federal health agency
  • Dental faculty in dental or dental hygiene school
  • Dental personnel for an insurance company
  • Epidemiologist
  • Manager in a community-based nonprofit
  • Public health administrator
  • Researcher

Which online graduate health program is for you?

When determining which health master’s degree to pursue, the decision comes down to your desired professional outcomes and motivations for pursuing a graduate degree. While earning a master’s degree involves dedication and hard work, it’s a fast-track way to advance into healthcare leadership and achieve your career goals. Healthcare is in high demand and in need of leaders. A master's degree from ATSU-CGHS will help position you for success.

So, what’s the difference between the MHSc, MHA, MEd, MPH, and MPH-D? Here is a quick comparison:

Degree Credit hours Concentrations Capstone Advance standing
MHSc 33 4 - DHSc
MHA 42 2 Yes DHA
MEd 30 - - EdD
MPH 42-45 2 - -
MPH-D 42-45 - - -