At this time, the Department of Health Services Administration is not processing applications for admissions.

Chair
    John J. Hedl Jr., Ph.D. 

As is the case for most major corporations, the management of hospitals and other health-care facilities is dominated by individuals with business education.  And clearly, the health industry is dynamic in many ways.

Health care administrators plan, organize, coordinate, and supervise many segments of health-care delivery.  They may also be concerned with community outreach, policy making, government agencies and regulations, and negotiating.

Settings for health services are varied.  Heath care administrators work in hospitals, group medical practices, health maintenance organizations, clinics and outpatient facilities, nursing and personal-care facilities, home health-care agencies, and medical and dental laboratories.  Opportunities also exist in medical sales, health insurance and auditing, and health-care consulting.

The B.S. degree program in Health Services Administration is targeted to qualified individuals who desire to:
 

• Prepare themselves to move into administration;
• Accelerate career mobility within administration;
• Enhance their performance in a newly acquired administrative position.

To prepare graduates for these entry- or mid-level management positions, the broad-based curriculum draws on faculty from many facets of health-care delivery.  Four major areas are health-care systems, management theory and practice, economics and health-care finance, and quantitative skills.

To meet the diverse needs of students in health administration, the B.S. degree is divided into two tracks: General and Long-Term Care Administration.  The General track prepares individuals for health management positions for the array of settings listed previously.  The Long-Term Care track is designed to prepare individuals for the administration of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities and venues. 

The HSA department also offers 36-Hour Postbaccalaureate Certificate for persons who already hold a degree and seek to become licensed as nursing facility administrators.  This program consists of six courses in long-term care administration and field practicum.  This meets all the requirements of the Texas Board of Nursing Facility Administrators.  Prerequisites for this program are an undergraduate degree from an accredited university and a GPA of 2.5 or higher.

All of the department's curricular offerings are available to the working professional.  Classes are held in the evenings, Monday through Thursday each week. The Department of Health Services Administration requires a minimum GPA of 2.50 on a four-point system for entry in either the degree or certificate programs.

Previous graduates have secured a variety of positions in health care with over 50 percent pursuing some area of graduate study.