Philadelphia is dominated by the healthcare industry. In fact, in 2013, health care accounted for 22 percent of the jobs in the city, or about 146,000 jobs and $6.7 billion in annual salary. It makes healthcare far and away the city’s largest employment sector. And it makes sense considering Philadelphia’s largest employers include the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Temple University Hospital, Independence Blue Cross and Pennsylvania Health, just to name a few.
As for the healthcare management MBA in Philadelphia, there are plenty of opportunities to earn a graduate degree and a job in the city. The truth is that hospitals employ more workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher than any other industry, making MBAs vital. So, where should you obtain your MBA if you want to enter the healthcare industry?
We’ve outlined the top five programs for a healthcare management MBA in the Philadelphia metro.
Haub School of Business – Saint Joseph’s University
At the Haub School of Business, there is a unique opportunity for a pharmaceutical & healthcare marketing MBA for executives. The program is specially designed for working professionals in the pharma, biotech, medical device, diagnostics and healthcare sectors. The goal of the program is to help students think strategically regarding ever-changing health policies and regulations, patients, new products and more. The program is part-time with online and classroom formats. To complete the degree, students must complete 24 two-credit courses and can graduate as quickly as 12 months or as long as six years.
Beyond the specialized healthcare MBA, students at Haub can also decide to concentrate their full-time MBA experience in health and medical services administration. The concentration is designed to prepare students for management positions in both profit and not-for-profit health enterprises. The concentration includes five courses covering such topics as health care marketing and coding, coverage and reimbursement pricing.
Fox School of Business – Temple University
The Fox School of Business is home to the Department of Risk, Insurance & Healthcare Management. Within this department, students have an opportunity to learn from and work with a large variety of full-time faculty, each of whom has obtained prominence in their respective fields. As for the healthcare management program, it’s a member of the Associate of University Programs in Health Administration, and the MBA is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation Healthcare Management Education (CAHME).
The MBA in health sector management at Fox is designed to prepare healthcare professionals, as well as those new to the field, for leadership positions in the healthcare industry. The program offers both part-time and full-time options and can be completed in three years. Even more impressive, 100 percent of graduates were employed within three months of graduation.
The Wharton School – University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School has a Health Care Management Department, which is responsible for an MBA program as well as a dual degree MD/MBA and MSN/MBA program. The dual degree programs are for students in the nursing and healthcare administration program who are either pursuing a Masters or Ph.D. in nursing and want to expand their knowledge of health economics and management with an MBA in healthcare management.
Outside of the dual degree programs, 11 percent of MBAs at Wharton went on to a career in the healthcare industry, thanks in large part to the healthcare management MBA major. The major requires MBAs to take five courses specific to the healthcare field. A few of the possible courses include the health services system, medical devices and comparative health care systems.
If the MBA in healthcare management isn’t enough, Wharton is also home to the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. The institute is dedicated to catalyzing and facilitating research collaborations and educational programs to integrate knowledge and shape policy in the health system. The institute has been around since 1967, two years after Congress enacted medicare.
Rutgers School of Business, Camden
The Rutgers School also offers a customized MBA in healthcare. The MBA in healthcare curriculum requires students to complete five courses worth 15 credits. Courses include health care finance, health care policy and health economics.
Students at Rutgers can also decide to focus their healthcare management MBA in a slightly different direction with the pharmaceutical management MBA. This concentration requires students to complete six courses and 18 credits. Courses include legal, regulatory and ethical issues in the pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical marketing research and U.S. healthcare system & pharmaceutical managed markets. If that’s not enough, students can also participate in the Pharmaceutical Management Club.
Lerner College – University of Delaware
Lerner College understands that opportunities in the healthcare industry are only going to continue to grow. That’s why for its MBA program they offer a concentration in healthcare management. Their concentration focuses on providing opportunities to healthcare professionals as well as those new to the field. It covers such topics as healthcare reform, population-based care, informatics, e-service delivery and patient experience. To earn the concentration students are required to complete three courses for a total of nine credits.
Beyond the MBA concentration in healthcare management, the college also offers an MBA major in healthcare management. The difference between the concentration and the major is the depth of study. The major requires students to complete five courses and 15 credits within the healthcare field. The courses include population health informatics, e-service management in healthcare and policy and finance for healthcare delivery.