Health Administration and Management

Cornell students collaborate in the lab.

If you’re a current student at Cornell, schedule your appointment with the Associate Director of Dimensions to get started planning your future career in health administration and management.

Prepare for graduate programs in health administration

Choose a major

  • Biochemistry and molecular biology
  • Psychology
  • Biology
  • Economics and business

These majors are good choices and are our most popular for pre-health administration and management since they help satisfy most prerequisites for such programs. However, you may consider another major instead. You strengthen your application if you double major in biochemistry and molecular biology with another major outside of the natural sciences because it sets you apart from other applicants.

What courses should I take?

Many Master of Health Administration (MHA) programs do not have prerequisites. Programs look for students of varied backgrounds, interests, and majors. Meet with the Associate Director of Dimensions to review potential courses.

Take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

Most MHA programs require the GRE (administered by the Educational Testing Service) for admission. Dimensions provides resources and 1:1 professional support when you are preparing for the GRE, which consists of verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing sections, and lasts approximately four hours.

Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)

Some MHA programs will accept GMAT scores in place of the GRE. This can limit your options, however, so you should make certain all of your schools of interest accept the GMA. The GMAT contains sections in verbal, quantitative, integrated reasoning and analytical writing, and lasts approximately 3.5 hours.

Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)

A few MHA programs will accept MCAT scores in place of the GRE. This can seriously limit your options if you are looking at many programs that will not accept it.

Apply to healthcare administration and management graduate programs

Before you begin to apply to MHA programs, meet with the Dimensions Associate Director to plan out the steps necessary for applying.

You will also meet with Cornell’s Health Professions Committee. Cornell’s Health Professions Committee will review your application in its entirety and author a committee letter of recommendation.

If you’re interested in learning more about Cornell’s pre-health administration program, let us know.

Additional resources