Health Sector Management Graduate Credit Certificate Program

The School of Graduate Professional Studies at Penn State Great Valley offers a four-course (12- credit) Graduate Certificate program in Health Sector Management.

The program is designed to provide preparation for individuals who work or aspire to work in the health sector as administrators,  managers, physicians, nurses, pharmaceutical representatives and scientists, and other health sector organizations. The program is designed to respond to the needs of professionals in health care provider organizations, third-party payors, biopharmaceutical organizations, and other organizations whose business is focused on the health sector including information technology, medical devices, benefits management, clinical research organizations, and consulting firms. 

The curriculum emphasizes development of the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to understand and influence the dynamics of the health sector’s business environment. The curriculum’s broad focus considers business issues from the vantage points of multiple stakeholders to prepare students with a comprehensive understanding of the health sector. The program is designed to help students build a distinctive competence in health sector management that is relevant not only to managers and professionals employed by payor and provider organizations but also for those employed by biopharmaceutical, medical device, information technology, and other organizations that comprise the health sector. Required course work emphasizes the key dimensions of policy, financing, and organization in the health sector; critical analysis of current issues that health sector organizations face; as well as legal and ethical dimensions of decision making in the health sector. The cost, quality, access paradigm serves as an over-arching framework for study of current issues in the health sector including commercialization of biopharmaceuticals, information technology (IT) solutions, marketing, managing business processes, developing new ventures, regulation, and quality improvement. Content is grounded in research and best demonstrated practice and is both theoretical and applied, with an emphasis on practical application of knowledge gained.

This certificate program is attractive to individuals who desire advanced education in health sector management but who do not wish to pursue a master’s degree at this time, as well as those interested in pursuing specialized knowledge of health sector management concurrent with a graduate degree program. With program approval, the courses in this graduate certificate program may be applied to the Master of Business Administration program at Great Valley or, in the case of two courses in the certificate program (BUSAD 830 and BUSAD 834) to the Master of Leadership Development (M.L.D.) program, subject to restrictions outlined in GCAC-309 Transfer Credit. Certificate students who wish to have certificate courses applied towards a graduate degree must apply and be admitted to that degree program. Admission to the M.B.A. or M.L.D. graduate degree program is a separate step and is not guaranteed. This graduate certificate program also is valuable for individuals who already hold a master’s degree and wish to update or expand their knowledge and skills.

Effective Semester:  Spring 2017
Expiration Semester: Spring 2022

Admission Requirements

Applicants apply for admission to the program via the Graduate School application for admission. Requirements listed here are in addition to Graduate Council policies listed under GCAC-300 Admissions Policies. International applicants may be required to satisfy an English proficiency requirement; see GCAC-305 Admission Requirements for International Students for more information.

Applicants are expected to have achieved a 3.0 (B) or higher undergraduate grade point average. Applicants holding a master’s degree or doctoral degree should have attained at least a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 (B) in previous graduate work. Professional experience will be taken into consideration for admission.

Applicants are required to submit: 

• official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended;
• a current resume, and
• a statement of intent or career objective.

Admission decisions are made by a faculty committee and are based on the quality of the applicant’s credentials in relation to those of other applicants. Evaluation criteria include professional and academic accomplishments. Upon approval, certificate program students will enroll in course work on a nondegree basis. Students must complete each course with a grade of B or better in order to receive the certificate. Note that admission as a nondegree graduate student neither guarantees nor implies subsequent admission to a degree program. Nondegree students are not eligible to receive fellowships or graduate assistantships.

Students who are already enrolled at Penn State in a master’s degree program must make a new, separate online application to the certificate program. Certificate program courses will only apply to their master’s program with adviser approval and subject to restrictions outlined in GCAC-309 Transfer Credit. Courses applied to the student’s master’s degree program must be completed with a grade of “B” or better.

Certificate Requirements

Requirements listed here are in addition to requirements listed in Graduate Council policy GCAC-212 Postbaccalaureate Credit Certificate Programs.

The graduate certificate program in health sector management requires a total of four 3-credit courses (12 graduate credits) as outlined below. Students completing each of the four 3-credit courses with a grade of B or better will be eligible to receive a graduate certificate.

Courses

Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 699 and 800 to 899. Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students. Courses below the 400 level may not. A graduate student may register for or audit these courses in order to make up deficiencies or to fill in gaps in previous education but not to meet requirements for an advanced degree.

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the key dimensions of the health sector from the perspective of multiple stakeholders.
2. Critically analyze contemporary issues that affect the health sector.
3. Critically evaluate and make ethical decisions with consideration for multiple stakeholders.
4. Demonstrate creative and pragmatic solutions to existing challenges facing the health sector industry.

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