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Summary
The Master in Health Care Management (MHCM) program is designed exclusively for mid-career physicians and dentists who have leadership roles in health care organizations and want to acquire formal managerial and leadership skills.
About
A Master’s Degree Tailored to Physicians’ Specific Leadership Needs
Today, leading a health care organization takes more than the ability to treat patients. Providers in managerial roles need to balance financial responsibilities, competitive pressure, and human resource needs to streamline health care delivery.
The Master in Health Care Management program at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health gives participants the practical managerial skills they need to guide effective decision-making, understand the factors that cause organizational dysfunction, and develop and implement strategies to address them.
The curriculum combines traditional in-class lectures with Harvard Business School-style case method discussions and practical projects. This continuous learning model allows students to immediately apply new knowledge in their workplace, ensuring that they can benefit from and contribute to real-time work experiences.
The program allows participants to continue working full-time while pursuing the degree and interacting with peers from across the globe.
Low-residency (2 Summers • 2 Academic Years • 12 Campus Visits )
Curriculum
- HCM 701 | Organizational Behavior
- HCM 702 | Marketing
- HCM 704 | Managing Information in Health Care
- HCM 707 | Health Care Management Practicum
- HCM 708 | Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health
- HCM 709 | Communication Skills for Managers
- HCM 711 | Quality Improvement and Quantitative Methods
- HCM 712 | Transitioning to Physician Leadership
- HCM 719 | Financial Transactions and Analysis
- HCM 720 | Cost Accounting and Control Systems
- HCM 722 | Financial Management of Health Care Organizations
- HCM 731 | Competitive Strategy
- HCM 732 | Operations Management
- HCM 755 | Provider Payment Systems and Policy
- HCM 758 | Field Project in Quality Improvement
- HCM 777 | Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Health Care
- HCM 778 | Skills and Methods of Health Care Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
- HCM 782 | Innovative Problem Solving and Design Thinking for Health
The low-residency schedule requires being on campus 35 days per year over six campus visits, as follows. Dates are not subject to change.
For students starting July 2025:
Summer • July 2025 • Monday July 7 – Friday July 25, 2025
Academic Year • 2025 – 2026 weekend dates (Friday to Monday):
- September 26 – 29, 2025
- November 14 – 17, 2025
- January 9 – 12, 2026
- March 6 – 9, 2026
- May 1 – 4, 2026
The summer session is three weeks in July. Class days run morning to afternoon, Monday – Friday, with a lunch break. There will be a few late afternoon classes, and an evening social event. There are no required scheduled activities on the summer weekends.
Second Year Dates • Summer 2 and Academic Year 2 dates will be provided to matriculants.
- Duration: Two-year program
- Residency Requirements:
- Three weeks per summer on the Boston campus
- Five four-day weekends per year on the Boston campus
- Off-Campus Commitment:
- Average 10-15 hours per week for worksite projects and homework assignments
- New Perspectives for Effective Decision-Making: Gain leadership skills to enhance collaboration and address organizational dysfunction.
- Mastery of Business Concepts: Learn business vocabulary and skills applicable across healthcare organizations.
- Personal Growth: Engage in close interaction with faculty and peers.
- Immediate Organizational Impact: Apply coursework to real-world projects, yielding immediate benefits such as:
- Improving financial performance
- Implementing system-wide quality initiatives
- Reorganizing services to enhance accountability and market focus
Competencies
The ability to understand a situation, issue, or problem by breaking it into smaller pieces or addressing it in a systematic way.
The ability to understand and explain financial and accounting information, prepare and manage budgets, and make sound long-term investment decisions.
The ability to draw conclusions in light of public health, clinical, market, legal, regulatory, and payment trends, and to use these insights to develop a guiding, ethical vision for a healthcare organization.
The ability to energize stakeholders and sustain their commitment to changes in approaches, processes and strategies.
The ability to work cooperatively with others as part of a team or group, including demonstrating positive attitudes about the team, its members, and its ability to get its mission accomplished.
The ability to speak and write in a clear, logical, and grammatical manner in formal and informal situations, to prepare cogent business presentations, and meaningfully contribute to group discussion.
The ability to understand and learn the formal and informal decision-making structures and power relationships in an organization or industry (e.g. stakeholders, suppliers).
The ability to understand and use statistical and financial methods and metrics to set goals and measure clinical as well as organizational performance.
The ability to plan and execute an academic year project as well as manage a team.
The ability to see an accurate view of one’s own strengths and development needs, including one’s impact on others. A willingness to address needs through reflective, self-directed learning and trying new leadership approaches.
Our Community
Students in the Master in Health Care Management program are closely connected with their cohort, faculty, and program alumni to meet their educational and professional goals. The degree fosters a non-competitive cohort community for networking and support.
More broadly, the Harvard Chan School is committed to supporting our students. The School offers a wide variety of academic support services, including research support through the Countway Library of Medicine and academic coaching and tutoring for students seeking additional help with either an overall transition to graduate school or specific subject matter.
I had no idea how to lead a department. I decided to embark on a serious program where I could get everything I needed to lead a big health care system. Life-changing.
Shlomit Schaal, Class of 2020
EVP, Chief Physician Executive, Houston Methodist
Career Outcomes
The Master in Health Care Management (MHCM) degree advances and expands the skills necessary for leadership advancement or career promotion for physician and dental executives. Physicians and dentists in leadership roles are prepared to balance financial responsibilities and improve patient outcomes and quality. Graduates experience heightened impact and job satisfaction, while also safeguarding against burnout and deepening their understanding of the most fulfilling aspects of their professional roles.
Eligibility Criteria
The Master in Health Care Management (MHCM) program is targeted towards mid-career physicians and dentists who are in managerial positions and seeking education at the master’s degree level to become more effective in their positions.
Eligible MHCM applicants include:
- Medical directors of managed care plans and group practices.
- Clinical executives of hospitals, multi-hospital systems, community health centers, or pharmaceutical firms.
- Clinical leaders from organizations such as physician-hospital organizations, medical service organizations, and independent practice associations.
It is a program requirement that candidates possess an MD, DO, DMD, DDS degree or international equivalent; the Admissions Committee cannot waive this prerequisite.
Application Requirements
All applications must be submitted through SOPHAS – the centralized application for schools and programs of public health. SOPHAS is an online, common application service.
- Statement of purpose and objectives
- Official test scores (optional)
- Three letters of reference
- Resumé/curriculum vitae
- Post-secondary transcripts or mark sheets (World Education Services credential evaluation for applicants with degrees from outside of the United States.)
- English language proficiency (TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo English Test), if applicable
Priority Application Deadline: December 1
There are two application deadlines:
- December 1: Priority application deadline
- March 1: The final, space available application deadline
To ensure all application materials arrive on time, applicants are highly encouraged to submit to SOPHAS about a week prior. Prospective students may apply after the priority deadline on a space-available basis with prior permission from the program.
Contact
Perry Albert
Program Coordinator
617-432-0140
Colin Fleming
Assistant Director
617-432-7075
Email – mhcm@hsph.harvard.edu
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