MHA Program Metrics

Metrics

[updated November 2023 to reflect data for the Fall 2023 cohort and prior academic years]

As part of its internal continuous quality assurance and performance monitoring processes and in response to reporting requirements to our accreditor, CAHME, and professional association (AUPHA), the UNC Charlotte MHA Program regularly monitors a number of program metrics.

Listed below are several measures that might be useful to students considering our program, along with any context needed to interpret this information within the UNC Charlotte environment.

Admission

Fall 2023 saw a return to our historical average of approximately 65 applications and an entering cohort of 25-30 students, marking an end to a two-year surge to well over 100 applications and an entering cohort of approximately 45 new students.

We have seen a sustained increase in the proportion of early careerists applying since we removed our GRE requirement at the start of the pandemic. We now ask applicants to address their quantitative, analytic, and verbal reasoning capacity within their admissions essay. The essay should provide context and perspective to our admissions committee as it completes a holistic review of the applicant’s portfolio, where strength in one area might offset weakness in another. This process places added emphasis on the applicant’s statement of purpose to 1) convince the committee that the program is appropriate given the applicant’s goals and objectives and 2) to convince the committee that the applicant can be successful in the program. As detailed further below, competitive applicants to the program typically have an undergraduate GPA above 3.0. 

For the cohort entering Fall 2023, 80% of all applicants (52/65) were offered admission resulting in an entering cohort of 25. Accepted applicants had a median undergraduate GPA of 3.41 with most reporting 3 or fewer years of post-baccalaureate work experience.

Completion

The UNC Charlotte MHA program is 51 semester credits, including a 3-credit internship typically taken during the summer.  Our Graduate School defines full-time as 9 credits per semester, with 12 credits being the maximum load.  Thus, the MHA program is nominally a 6-semester program.  However, the program can be –and typically is – completed in as little as two academic years (including summer), by taking the maximal load each semester. 

We provide students 2-year [intensive full-time], 3-year [normal full-time], and 4-year [half-time] plans of study.  Students individualize these plans with their academic advisors. Many students (approximately one-third) combine the MHA program with a graduate certificate or a second (dual) master’s degree. Some enter our program while completing their undergraduate degree at our university (early entry). Adding on these programs extends the expected time to completion by 1-4 semesters.  In all cases, 6 years is the maximal time to complete that our Graduate School affords master’s candidates. 

Of the 2022-23 graduating class (n=35)

• 86% were female
• 48% were racial/ethnic minorities (an additional 10% of the graduating cohort likely came from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds)
• 100% completed in the time expected for their specific program/plan of study
  • 15% of these graduates pursued a dual degree or add-on certificate
  • 10% of these graduates began as early-entry students
  • The median time to degree of these graduates was 21-months
  • The 80%ile of time to degree of these graduates was 33 months

The table below summarizes the progression of our students by cohorts since Fall 2013, breaking out the last 5 cohorts in greater detail.  We do not differentiate among our full-time two-year plan of students and those entering early or those pursuing add-on certificates/dual degrees or those pursuing a part-time approach, as those descriptors can change over the course of the program.  All graduates have done so within the normal time allotted for their program of study.

*Includes inactive; withdrawn, transferred to a different program, etc.

Employment

Graduates of the UNC Charlotte MHA Program are highly competitive.  Of the 2022-23 graduates (n =35):

• 89% reported employment in the field or continued training within three months of graduation
  • 37% are employed in clinical settings (hospital/health systems) other than in fellowships
  • 23% are involved in clinical practices (outside of hospitals)
  • 14% are employed in healthcare consulting settings
  •   9% work in governmental or voluntary agencies
• Reported (using broad ranges) a median starting salary of $55,750

*Of note, only a small number of respondents reported salaries as part of this year’s survey, likely understating the true median value.