BC introduces accelerated MHA pathway for undergraduates
Boston College students will now be able to earn significant credit toward a Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) degree while still completing their bachelor’s degree, thanks to a collaboration between the University's Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good (GPHCG) and the Woods College of Advancing Studies.
The new Accelerated MHA Pathway is designed to prepare students who are passionate about public health, healthcare innovation, and social justice to become the future of healthcare leadership, administrators say.
Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., director of the Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good (Gary Wayne Gilbert)
"Healthcare is a complex field," said Professor of Biology Philip Landrigan, M.D., a pediatrician, public health physician, and founding director of GPHCG. "Successful healthcare leaders must be knowledgeable in multiple areas that include medicine, nursing, administration, law, finance, population health, and politics. This program will give our students all of the technical skills they will need to meet and overcome the challenges of modern healthcare, and it will provide this technical training in a context that emphasizes formative education and prepares them for ethical, morally responsible leadership."
The Woods College MHA, which is fully online, has an industry-aligned curriculum developed in collaboration with healthcare professionals. The program readies leaders to drive ethical organizational change within a rapidly changing healthcare landscape—making this pathway especially valuable for BC's public health students, according to Landrigan.
"They will graduate from Boston College with sound foundational knowledge in population health, epidemiology, biostatistics, public health law, and public health ethics, and so will enter the healthcare field with a huge head start," he said.
Tristen Amador Ph.D., M.S.W., director of the Master of Healthcare Administration degree program.
GPHCG majors and minors can earn up to 14 graduate credits toward an MHA, facilitating their admission to the Woods College program after graduation, after which they may potentially complete their degree in as little as one year.
The accelerated pathway will help BC students to compete successfully in one of the nation's fastest-growing fields. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects stronger-than-average job growth in healthcare administration through 2034, driven by factors such as care for an aging population and the advent of modern technologies, among others.
"Healthcare administration offers an exceptional range of career opportunities across virtually every healthcare setting and specialty,” said MHA Program Director Tristen Amador. “Our MHA students and alumni are in high demand, working within complex, rapidly evolving health systems nationwide—leading organizations, serving diverse populations, and driving innovations that strengthen care delivery and improve health outcomes.
“Even more exciting for students,” Amador added, “is the opportunity to pursue careers with purpose—improving lives, transforming health systems, and making a meaningful, lasting impact on the health of individuals, families, and communities.”
For more information about the Accelerated MHA Pathway, email tristen.amador@bc.edu. Additional information about the Master of Healthcare Administration degree is available on the program website.