Potomac College offers a Certificate in Health Systems Management that can be completed in a matter of months, depending on the student's schedule. The coursework covers administration skills, management fundamentals, billing and some background on health care systems. Everything can be completed on-line, but students must first have at least an associate degree in any discipline before enrollment.
The Georgetown School of Nursing and Health Studies offers both bachelor and master's degrees in health systems administration. The bachelor program is divided into a management track and a policy track, with the management track geared for students who want to pursue careers in administration. The four-year degree requires a core college curriculum as well as courses in health economics, epidemiology, statistics, health services research, disease prevention and several management courses such as accounting, managerial ethics, organization theory, management systems and marketing. The master's program takes two years to complete and requires courses in health policy, organizational leadership, health care management statistics, financial management and health economics.
Students of Howard University can study for a bachelor in Health Management Sciences at the school's Allied Health Sciences division. During the first two years of the program, the curriculum covers prerequisite courses in the sciences and humanities. During their junior and senior years, students take multidisciplinary courses in business management, public health and health care management. The curriculum is designed to prepare students to assume management roles in such organizations as hospitals, long term care facilities, managed care organizations, health insurance agencies, and health departments. Students are expected to work at an internship for at least one semester at a health care institution, for which they garner three credit hours.
The School of Public Health and Health Services at George Washington University offers a number of health-related graduate school degrees including a Master of Health Services Administration. The program focuses on skills related to health systems management, including hospital management and administration in long-term care facilities. Students take 50 credits in courses that incorporate business and medical informatics training, knowledge of health care systems, law and policy and decision making; they are also expected to obtain field experience in an internship. Courses include health economics, health law for managers, advocacy and human resources management.