25 Best Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration 2020
These are the top 24 schools by median salary one year after college for students who graduate with a bachelor's degree in healthcare administration. Baptist Health System School of Health Professions tops the list with a starting salary of $72,800. Concordia University-Chicago has the lowest median debt, at $18,168. Healthcare administration majors at the rest of the schools on the list had median starting salaries in the $45,000-$60,500 range.
Tuition, median salaries, and median debt were reported by the U.S. Department of Education in November 2019. View our methodology for more details about these rankings or read more about the top-ranked schools.
2020 Best Colleges Highlights
Learn more about the top colleges for a Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration degree. You can also read student reviews of each school by clicking on the stars. Although student reviews were not used as a ranking factor in this list, we provide ratings and reviews so students can consider the experience of alumni in their decision-making process.
Baptist Health System School of Health Professions offers a Bachelor of Health Sciences in Health Care Administration. It’s taught through Baptist College, which is affiliated with the Baptist Memorial Healthcare Corporation in a unique partnership.
The degree has two options: a four-year program and a three-year accelerated option. The three-year option has the same requirements of 48 credits in the major and 122 overall but requires a heavier course load per term.
The degree focuses on best practices in health care management, communications, and teamwork. Students will be prepared for entry-level positions in a wide range of health care settings.
Courses include Research for Health Professionals, Health Administration Information Systems, Operation Management in Health Care, and Principles of Health Care Management and Leadership. The curriculum reflects the college’s strong Baptist orientation of Christian service. There is also a 19-month online degree completion in this major.
Baptist College is located in Memphis, Tennessee.
Visit Baptist Health System School of Health Professions' website.
The University of St Francis has a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Health Care Management. The degree is offered through University of St Francis’s College of Business and Health Administration, which has a range of programs in health care.
Students will receive a thorough grounding in business fundamentals, including accounting, finance, IT, HR, and business ethics. The program focuses on health care basics and stresses communication and networking skills. Students will learn about healthcare systems, care delivery, management issues in healthcare, legal aspects, problem-solving, analytics, and dealing with a rapidly evolving health care industry.
University of St Francis is a Catholic and Franciscan university. Franciscan values characterize the curriculum. Students may enroll in the MBA or MS as undergraduates and finish a combined BBA/MS or BBA/MBA in five years. There is also an online degree completion in this major.
Courses include Strategic Management in Health Care, Health Economics and Policy, Health Information Analytics, and Health Care Ethics and Marketing. Internships are strongly encouraged.
St. Francis is located in Joliet, Illinois, in the Chicago metro region.
University of Connecticut offers a Bachelor of Business Administration in Health Care Management through its School of Business. The program is located in the Healthcare and Insurance Studies department, which offers a number of related undergraduate and graduate programs. Dating to 1976, this is one of the earliest programs of its kind.
The program requires a substantial core of business courses, which includes marketing, finance, accounting, human resources, and data analysis. Students will acquire an overview of medical technology and ethics through courses about fundamental business concepts and methods, insurance, health care, and care delivery systems. Students can use electives to more precisely shape their programs. Graduates are generalists who can work in most aspects of the industry.
The program’s courses include Introduction to Healthcare Management, Health Law and Policies, Health Care Industry Management, and Health and Social Insurance. Internships are required, and generally follow the end of a student’s junior year. Students are encouraged to explore options, such as study abroad. Employment rates for graduates are nearly 100%.
UConn is located in Storrs, Connecticut.
The University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire features a Bachelor of Business Administration in Health Care Administration. This program is sharply focused on long-term senior care. Graduates are eligible to sit for the licensure exam for Nursing Home Administrators.
The program focuses on preparing students for careers in hospitals, assisted care facilities, group homes and hospice settings. Emphasis is on the post-acute care continuum of institutions and services. Students will learn core business practices, communications skills, and learn about the provision of extended eldercare. They will be able to effectively manage nursing homes, ALFs and similar facilities.
Coursework includes Residential Service Management, Fundamentals of Healthcare Finance, Leadership and Management Practices in Health Services. The degree has a unique feature: a requirement for a 50-week practicum at an affiliated health care facility. These are paid, and affiliates are in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The program is very successful: 100% of recent graduates are employed or in graduate studies.
UW-Eau Claire is located in the western part of the state, not far from the Minneapolis metropolitan area.
Capella University offers an entirely online Bachelor of Science in Health Care Administration Program through its School of Nursing and Health Sciences. The degree program offers two areas for specialization: Health Information Management and Health Care Administration Leadership. Both require 180 total quarter credits and can be completed via a traditional quarter system or via FlexPath, a flexible format that allows students to complete coursework at their own pace.
Courses in the Health Information Management track include Information Security, Privacy, and Ethics in Health Care, Electronic Health Records and Health Information Systems, and Statistical Analysis for Health Information Management.
The Health Care Administration Leadership track includes courses such as Present and Future State Developments within the United States Health Care System, Managing Population Health, and Strategic Leadership and Workforce Planning in Health Care.
Both tracks allow students to enroll in the Accelerated Master’s Pathway, which allows bachelor's-level students to take master's-level coursework during their undergraduate education. The degree program culminates in a capstone project.