Offered Online and On Campus in Tucson or Phoenix
In this certificate program, students will master competencies in the areas of strategic planning and marketing, health budgeting and finance, health care economics and policy, quality improvement and health systems delivery.
Who Should Attend?
Specially designed for health care professionals and those looking to enter the health care field, the Graduate Certificate in Health Administration is a flexible program developed for working individuals who wish to advance their career by expanding their skills through a university-based program. It is designed specifically to support individuals who aim to advance their career in the public health, governmental and healthcare sectors.
Admission Criteria Application Deadlines How to Apply
About the Program
The Health Administration Certificate curriculum is comprised of specifically targeted courses, with a goal to graduate highly qualified health care administrators. The unique combination of public health and health care administration classes in this accredited curriculum will provide students with the tools they need to understand the multifaceted administrative and business aspects of 21st century health care. This program is for working health professionals and graduate students an opportunity to advance their health administration training. Upon completion of the certificate program, students will have knowledge and skills in the following areas: strategic planning, budgeting and finance, health care economics and policy, health care quality and safety, and health services administration.
Curriculum
The graduate certificate in Health Administration consists of 4 required courses (12 units) and 1 elective (3 units) for a total of 15 units.
Required Core Courses (12 units)
PHPM 507 Health Care Economics and Policy
3 units//Spring
Health policy is examined from an economic perspective. Basic economic theories and their relationships to the structure and function of the United States health care system are explored. Alternative health care systems and heath care reforms are also evaluated.
PHPM 558 Health Care Marketing
3 units//Fall
This course provides an overview and applications of health care marketing theories and methods for health care and public health organizations. Graduate level requirements include a 20-page paper describing a marketing plan and the process used to complete it.
PHPM 561 Introduction to Health Care Quality and Safety
3 units//Spring
This course provides an overview of health care quality and safety. Students are introduced to the history; definitions; practices; and the broader political, financial, and ethical contexts of healthcare quality and safety.
PHPM 569 Fundamentals of Health Budgeting and Financial Management
3 units//Fall
This course will offer a current approach to the fundamentals of budgeting and financial management, with an emphasis on non-profit health care organizations, in particular the community health sector.
Selective Courses (3 units)
PHPM 562 Health Services Administration
3 units//Fall
This course provides a foundation in Health Services Administration. The course introduces the student to the structure and functions of the U.S. Health Care System. The health care system in the community and its environment are examined to determine how they impact Health Services Administration. Topics to be covered include: overview of the U.S. Health Care System (private and public sectors), interface between Public Health and U.S. Health Care System, various health care delivery structures, health care workforce, health care resources, types of health services, financing of health services and health care coverage, meeting the health care needs of special populations, and critical issues in health services. The student will conduct a community health system analysis.
PHPM 641 Health Systems Delivery
3 units//Spring
This course will introduce students to the organizational structure of large complex health care organizations, compare them to other international health care systems and illustrate how regulatory and legal requirements contribute to administrative and management challenges.
Time Commitment
The time needed to complete the certificate requirements largely depends on a student’s existing commitments at entry to the program and especially the support the student has from his/her supervisor or employer to participate in the program. Students are strongly encouraged to secure sufficient support to complete the program within one to two years.
In general, most students should plan to devote between 9-12 hours a week to complete each full-semester course and twice that for each accelerated 7-week course.
Learning Objectives
- Analyze the organization, financing, and delivery of health services, and public health systems in the US.
- Analyze quality improvement practices as a means to improve health outcomes.
- Apply the tools and methods used by Health Care Organizations to assess financial health.
- Apply legal frameworks to analyze public health problems.
- Evaluate the administrative practices and processes required to operate health care organizations.
Additional Information
For more information contact the Graduate Certificate Coordinator: coph-certificate@arizona.edu
