What do you learn in a bachelor's in healthcare administration?

Behind the nation's frontline healthcare workers is a powerful network of administrators who are integral to the success of the country's healthcare systems. The first step to becoming a part of this impactful team is earning a bachelor's degree in healthcare administration.

Discover what you'll learn in a bachelor's in healthcare administration program and find out what requirements you'll need to meet to graduate.

What to expect from a healthcare administration bachelor's program

A bachelor's in healthcare administration program aims to teach students how to support healthcare operations, both large and small. Generally, this includes equipping students with an understanding of how healthcare systems work, knowledge of how to navigate healthcare regulations, and practical strategies for interacting with patients and healthcare providers.

This degree program helps prepare students for jobs such as health services manager, clinic administrator, insurance specialist, administrative assistant, or manager of any health-related facility. The curriculum taught applies to both large healthcare settings like a hospital and smaller and more intimate settings like a local doctor's office.

Additionally, the skills you'll learn are highly transferrable to any management-related field, which gives the degree a high level of versatility.

Bachelor's in healthcare administration program curriculum

The curriculum associated with a bachelor's in healthcare administration program is a healthy mix of practical skills and supportive knowledge. Here are a few of the core courses offered in most programs:

• Organizational behavior: This class examines the behavior and interactions of patients, providers, and third parties within a traditional healthcare setting.
• Healthcare finance: As many healthcare administration jobs deal with financial elements like insurance, payment, and treatment costs, this course builds the framework needed to understand each.
• Healthcare marketing: In this course, students learn about healthcare as a business and the importance of driving new clients and retaining existing clients through marketing efforts.

Specializations and concentrations

As healthcare is a vastly expansive landscape, there are many ways in which students can specialize their degrees and areas of study to prepare for specific jobs after school. Here are a few common specializations available in multiple schools:

• Healthcare finance: This concentration focuses on elements of the healthcare industry, such as insurance, payments and billing, and Medicare and Medicaid.
• Healthcare laws: With this concentration, students focus on policies, laws, and regulations that affect healthcare for both patients and providers.
• Healthcare systems: Students focus on understanding and utilizing common healthcare systems, which handle scheduling, diagnosis, electronic health records, and medical billing.

Graduation requirements for a healthcare administration bachelor's degree

The graduation requirements for a bachelor's degree in healthcare administration start with earning around 120 credit hours, depending on the program. These credit hours are spread across general electives, core competency courses, and chosen electives.

Additionally, this degree program often emphasizes in-person internships to help students bridge the gap between book learning and the real world. These internships often take place in hospitals, doctor's offices, medical billing providers, or with local, state, or federal health agencies.

Explore bachelor's degrees in healthcare administration

Are you ready to dive deeper into the complex world of healthcare administration? Then check out edX's healthcare administration courses and programs and get started today.