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Major · Health Professions

Business of healthcare for the operations side of the system

Health Services Administration trains you in the policy, finance, and management mechanics that keep clinics, hospitals, and health systems running. About 1,283 degrees are awarded each year across 75 colleges, with bachelor’s completers earning a $58,487 five-year median while senior administrative roles tend to require a master’s.

Schools offering
75
Annual completions
1,283
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$58k

About this major

Health Services Administration applies policy analysis, public administration, and business management to running healthcare delivery — clinics, hospitals, insurers, and public health agencies. The CIP definition lists health systems planning, finance, operations management, economics of health care, organizational communication, marketing, human resources, and public health law as the core territory. Most programs feel closer to a business degree built around the healthcare sector than a clinical one: budgets, regulations, scheduling models, and quality metrics rather than anatomy or pharmacology.

The major fits students who are interested in healthcare but not in providing direct patient care. Comfort with numbers, policy text, and process design helps, since much of the daily work as a manager involves reading regulations, modeling staffing, and translating clinical workflows into operational decisions. The program rewards students who can navigate complex organizations and communicate across clinical, financial, and administrative audiences. An interest in how systems function — payer mix, reimbursement, compliance, accreditation — matters more than a specific clinical fascination.

On scale, 1,283 degrees are awarded each year across 75 colleges, with completions concentrated at Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale (147), Monroe University (109), and Rutgers-New Brunswick (107). Bachelor’s graduates typically land in roles like medical office manager, clinic supervisor, practice administrator, compliance coordinator, or operations analyst, with a five-year median of $58,487. The headline BLS occupation, Medical and Health Services Managers, reports a $117,960 median and 23.2% projected growth — figures that describe mid-career managers reached after years of operating experience, often paired with a graduate credential.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Medical and health services managers $118k +23.2% Bachelor's degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$58k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$44k

Bachelor's

$58k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if healthcare interests you on the systems and operations side rather than the bedside, if you’re comfortable working through regulations, payer rules, and budget spreadsheets to understand why a clinic runs the way it does, if the bachelor’s-level entry roles — medical office manager, clinic supervisor, practice administrator, compliance coordinator — sound like a reasonable first decade rather than a disappointment, if you can communicate fluently with clinicians, finance staff, and frontline workers, and if you’re open to a master’s (MHA, MPH, or healthcare MBA) as the credential that opens the larger hospital and system roles.

Think twice if your primary draw to healthcare is patient contact — this major routes you away from clinical work, not toward it. Reconsider also if you’re reading the $117,960 BLS Medical and Health Services Managers wage as an entry-level number; new graduates start closer to the $58,487 five-year median, with the climb taking years of supervisory experience and often a graduate degree. And if your interest is genuinely population health and policy rather than facility operations, the larger Public Health, General major (10,951 completions) is a closer fit than Health Services Administration, while Health/Health Care Administration/Management (13,592 completions) is the bigger sibling pipeline worth checking before you commit to this specific CIP.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Health Services Administration

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, FL 80 67 147
Monroe University Bronx, NY 0 109 109
Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ 0 107 107
CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York, NY 0 101 101
St Petersburg College St. Petersburg, FL 0 88 88
Bryant & Stratton College-Online Orchard Park, NY 37 33 70
Indiana University-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN 0 60 60
Eastern Florida State College Melbourne, FL 0 47 47
Florida National University-Main Campus Hialeah, FL 17 26 43
California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA 0 38 38
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Health/Health Care Administration/Management

13,592 completions/yr

Public Health, General

10,951 completions/yr

Public Health Education and Promotion

2,520 completions/yr

Community Health and Preventive Medicine

1,494 completions/yr

Fire Services Administration

1,474 completions/yr

Public Health, Other

1,457 completions/yr

Behavioral Aspects of Health

380 completions/yr

Environmental Health

320 completions/yr

Considering this direction?

We've taken a hard look at the debt, earnings trajectory, and degree-level tradeoffs for the Health Services Administration field. Read our verdict before you commit.

Is Health Services Administration worth it? Read verdict
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Health Services Administration majors actually study day-to-day?
Coursework draws from public administration, business management, and health policy: health systems planning, finance, human resources, marketing, organizational communication, and public health law. The program reads like a healthcare-flavored business degree rather than a clinical one — you spend more time on budgets, regulations, and process design than on patient care. Many programs require an internship in a hospital, clinic, insurer, or public health agency so the management vocabulary connects to a real operating environment.
Do I need a bachelor’s, or is an associate’s enough for Health Services Administration?
The earnings split tells a clear story. Associate’s completers report a $44,278 five-year median; bachelor’s completers report $58,487 — about $14,200 higher. Associate’s graduates typically land in medical office, billing, or front-line supervisory roles, while bachelor’s graduates qualify for clinic operations, practice administration, and analyst tracks. For senior hospital and system roles, even a bachelor’s often isn’t the ceiling — see the master’s question below.
What jobs do Health Services Administration graduates actually start in?
The BLS Medical and Health Services Managers occupation reports a $117,960 median wage and 23.2% projected growth, but that figure describes mid-career managers, not new graduates. Bachelor’s-level entry points look more like medical office manager, clinic supervisor, practice administrator at small or mid-sized practices, claims or billing supervisor, compliance coordinator, patient services lead, and health-IT or operations analyst. Wages at entry sit closer to the $58,487 five-year median in the data, with the climb to the BLS headline wage taking years of operating experience.
Will I need a master’s to run a hospital or large health system?
Usually, yes. Senior administrative roles at hospitals, large physician groups, insurers, and health systems increasingly require an MHA (Master of Health Administration), MPH, or MBA with a healthcare concentration. The bachelor’s in Health Services Administration is positioned as a foundation: it qualifies you for operations and supervisory work, and it’s a standard feeder into MHA programs. Treat the undergraduate degree as a first decade of credentials and experience, not the terminal step toward C-suite roles.
How does this major compare with Health Care Administration or Public Health?
The closest neighbor is Health/Health Care Administration/Management at 13,592 completions per year — roughly ten times this major’s scale and effectively the same career pipeline under a different CIP code. Public Health, General (10,951 completions) leans toward population health, epidemiology, and policy work in agencies and nonprofits rather than facility operations. Behavioral Aspects of Health (380) and Environmental Health (320) are narrower specializations. If your interest is running a clinic or hospital department, the administration majors are the closer fit; if it’s community health programs and policy, public health is.
Where are the strongest Health Services Administration programs?
Completions concentrate at a mix of large publics, regional privates, and online-heavy institutions. Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale leads at 147 completions (split across associate’s and bachelor’s), followed by Monroe University in the Bronx (109), Rutgers University-New Brunswick (107), CUNY Graduate School and University Center (101), and St Petersburg College (88). Bryant & Stratton College-Online, Indiana University-Indianapolis, and Cal State San Bernardino round out the top tier, reflecting how much of this market sits in regional public universities and online career-college programs rather than national-name flagships.