Master of Health Administration Granted Accreditation

The Tuck-Geisel program is the only MHA to be delivered jointly by a top-ranked business school and Ivy League medical school.

Programs that earn accreditation undergo an extensive self-study process and peer review to ensure alignment with standards designed to prepare graduates for leadership roles in healthcare organizations.

“Accreditation is the latest testament to the transformative educational experience that the Dartmouth MHA offers students,” says Katherine Milligan, associate dean of Healthcare Management Education at Dartmouth. “We’re preparing the next wave of healthcare leaders who believe in better patient outcomes with an innovative curriculum that combines renowned business and healthcare expertise. Recognition from CAHME is a pivotal step to ensuring that our program continues to have maximum impact.”

Since 2024, the Dartmouth MHA has equipped up-and-coming health administrators with the leadership and management skills they need to better their communities. As the only MHA to be delivered jointly by a business school and a medical school, the program offers students a curriculum that blends business and healthcare competencies, giving them the expertise needed to understand the priorities of every stakeholder in the healthcare system.

“We are grateful to the staff, faculty, learning designers, and students who have worked together to create this unique program,” says Tuck professor Robert Shumsky, faculty co-director. “We are proud of the results. The rigorous and innovative curriculum, and the program’s personal touch, will continue to attract the highest caliber of students who are dedicated to transforming healthcare and improving health for all.”

Intentionally designed to provide students flexibility, the program is delivered through a hybrid structure with online learning punctuated by intensive on-campus sessions. MHA offers candidates further customization with the option of completing the program via the standard two-year track, or an intensive one-year track for those looking to accelerate their career advancement. 

Meet MHA Alumni and Students Leading across Health Care

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Joanne Kim

Looking back at where you were professionally before entering the MHA program, what changed most in how you think about your career path or your ability to lead in health care?
Prior to joining the Dartmouth MHA program, I spent a few years at McKinsey & Company, where I gained exposure to a wide range of industries, including health care and health tech. I strongly believed that to become an effective health care leader, I needed to strengthen my knowledge base and my network of thought partners.

Having tangibly felt the value of being on the ground, I intend to become a leader who is “at the scene” and who walks alongside our frontline workers and patients to understand what matters most and how best to get there, together.

Can you point to a moment, project, or decision in your current role where you found yourself applying something from the MHA program in an impactful way?
I found myself relying on our accounting, negotiations, and strategic planning courses to guide how Vega Health would structure our contracts and SOWs.

Drawing on our strategic planning course, I have drafted every contract beginning with a letter of how we aspire to support our clients, and why partnership matters so deeply at Vega Health. Such details have made all the difference, not only in how we communicate with our prospective customers but in how each team member approaches our work.

What part of your work in health care feels most meaningful to you now, and why?
I am confident that there is an opportunity to transform how our health care organizations leverage the latest innovative technologies.

For example, by implementing an AI-enabled prior authorization solution, we have the opportunity to reduce avoidable write-offs and claims denials while also ensuring that patients are able to receive the care they need without delays or disruptions. It feels fulfilling that by powering even one use case we might have a real chance at moving the needle for our health care organizations so that they can do what they do best: deliver patient care.

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Read McNichols

Looking back at where you were professionally before entering the MHA program, what changed most in how you think about your career path or your ability to lead in health care?
I think what changed the most for me since entering the MHA program was the realization that I can make a difference on a larger scale. I spent six years working as a registered nurse in many different areas: hospitals, outpatient clinics, psychiatric units, and procedural centers. During this time, I focused on making a difference in the lives of my patients and ensuring that they left my care better than when they arrived. I was solely focused on helping the patients I encountered, as I thought this was the extent to which I could make a difference in health care.

Since entering the MHA program, I have learned how very wrong I was. I have learned what it takes to make larger-scale changes from administrative leadership, and how those changes can help both patients and systems.

Can you point to a moment, project, or decision in your current role where you found yourself applying something from the MHA program in an impactful way?
I have been able to offer solutions that have helped to improve throughput with a larger patient volume. The MHA program taught me how to spot bottlenecks and areas of operational improvement, how to communicate possible solutions to leaders in a professional way, and how to track quality improvement from these changes. 

What part of your work in health care feels most meaningful to you now, and why?
The aspect of my work in health care that is most meaningful to me now is seeing large-scale improvements in health care access. Throughout the MHA program, I was constantly reminded that improving access to high-quality, efficient health care is paramount in creating a healthier community. This has increased access for patients across the state, which improves chronic disease maintenance, preventive care, and the overall state of health of South Carolina residents. This is something I am so proud to be a part of.

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Will Popielaski

Looking back at where you were professionally before entering the MHA program, what changed most in how you think about your career path or your ability to lead in health care?
Before entering the MHA program, I was primarily focused on being dependable and executing the work directly in front of me. I now think much more intentionally about how operations, finance, culture, and patient experience are interconnected. The program also pushed me to think beyond managing tasks and toward leading people. I became more aware that strong leadership in health care is not just about making efficient decisions, but about building trust across teams, aligning people around a shared purpose, and creating environments where staff feel supported and empowered to do their best work.

Can you point to a moment, project, or decision in your current role where you found yourself applying something from the MHA program in an impactful way?
Through the MHA program, I became more aware of concepts like stakeholder alignment, process flow, and relational coordination. Instead of viewing the issue as simply “who gets the room,” I started approaching it from a broader operational perspective by considering competing priorities, patient impact, and how communication influenced workflow.

What part of your work in health care feels most meaningful to you now, and why?
What feels most meaningful to me now is improving the systems that shape the patient and staff experience every day.

As I transition into my role as a Finance and Operations Management Associate with Northwell Health, I’m excited by the opportunity to contribute on a broader organizational level. I’m especially interested in how operational and financial decision-making can improve both efficiency and the experience of frontline staff and patients.