Course Sequence
32-month Typical Course Sequence
Note: Not all elective courses will be available every year. Students may refer to the McMaster University’s Mosaic Student Centre course catalog for course availability.
FALL TERM | WINTER TERM | SUMMER TERM | |
---|---|---|---|
YEAR 1 | HM700 / Health Systems and Policy *
(3 units/half course) |
HM705 / Evaluating Sources of Evidence for Management and Evaluation
(3 units/half course) |
HM706 / Strategic Healthcare Management Foundations
(3 units/half course) |
YEAR 2 | HM707 / Accounting and Financial Foundations for Healthcare Management
(3 units/half course) |
Course List B Elective
(Requires a 3 unit/half course) |
HM708 / Leadership in Health Organizations *
(3 units/half course) |
YEAR 3 | Course List B Elective
(Requires a 3 unit/half course) |
Course List B Elective
(Requires a 3 unit/half course) |
* Mandatory participation in residency.
Expandable List
24-month Course Sequence Option
(Subject to approval)
In Year 2, you can request to take additional electives, beyond the typical three courses (one course per term in an academic year) to complete your degree sooner. Please reach out to the program office for the form and criteria at least 2 months prior to your start of Year 2 for course planning purposes and to initiate the approval process.
Note: Not all elective courses will be available every year. Students may refer to the McMaster University’s Mosaic Student Centre course catalog for course availability.
FALL TERM | WINTER TERM | SUMMER TERM | |
---|---|---|---|
YEAR 1 | HM700 / Health Systems and Policy *
(3 units/half course) |
HM705 / Evaluating Sources of Evidence for Management and Evaluation
(3 units/half course) |
HM706 / Strategic Healthcare Management Foundations
(3 units/half course) |
YEAR 2 | HM707 / Accounting and Financial Foundations for Healthcare Management
(3 units/half course) And Course List B Elective (Requires a 3 unit/half course) |
Course List B Elective
(Requires a 3 unit/half course) And Course List B Elective (Requires a 3 unit/half course) |
HM708 / Leadership in Health Organizations *
(3 units/half course) |
* Mandatory participation in residency.
Course Descriptions
Course List A
HLTHMGT 700 /
Health Systems and Policy
This course is the introductory course for the Master of Health Management program. It will provide students with an understanding how the Canadian health care system is organized as well as how services are financed and delivered. This will be done through an assessment of the Canada Health Act and various pieces of related provincial healthcare legislation. Discussions will include an exploration of the for-profit and not-for-profit mix of services within Canada. In addition, students will be exposed to the principles of evidence-based decision-making and various health policy analysis tools. Current issues and trends in health policy (both within Canada and internationally) will serve as cases to which students apply those tools.
HLTHMGT 705 /
Evaluating Sources of Evidence for Management and Evaluation
This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills to understand and critically evaluate sources of evidence used to support decision making within a healthcare environment. Students will develop knowledge about the principles of evidence-based decision-making, searching the literature, and critically reviewing research methods and analyses. The course emphasizes the development of skills to apprise, synthesize and communicate evidence in order to use it within management decision-making.
HLTHMGT 706 / Strategic Health Management Foundations
This course will provide students with the knowledge and skills to understand strategic management principles, theoretical perspectives and practices, and to apply them in the health care industry, in both for-profit and not-for profit organizations in the delivery of health care services, tangible products and social marketing programs. Students will become familiar with the strategic management process in the development, implementation and evaluation of strategic plans, programs and activities for: human resources management, marketing to various segments and target markets, and, communications tools and strategies.
HLTHMGT 707 / Accounting & Financial Foundations for Healthcare Management
Through this course, students will gain knowledge about the fundamental concepts and practical issues related to accounting and finance and their uses in planning, decision making and control in the management of health care organizations. Skills in the basics of financial management and managerial accounting, budgeting and forecasting, including statistical applications, will be developed through discussion, case studies and course assignments.
HLTHMGT 708 / Leadership in Health Organizations
This course explores principles, practices, trends and issues of leadership in health organizations. Current theories of leadership with attention to styles, practices, tasks and models will be covered. Participants will be encouraged to reflect on and analyze their own leadership experiences in light of theories studied. Through the interplay of theory and practical application, participants will gain a deeper appreciation for the requirements, responsibilities, and consequences of effective leadership. The course encourages professional and personal development through action learning that is relevant and transferable to organizations.
Course List B
Some courses may not be available every year. Students may refer to McMaster University’s Mosaic Student Centre course catalog for course availability.
HLTHMGT 730 / Scholarly Paper
This full course is designed as an opportunity for Master of Health Management students to demonstrate, in writing, their ability to integrate ideas that reflect current knowledge in areas of health management practice, education, research, and/or policy. The scholarly paper is to demonstrate integrative thinking at a general and abstract level. A student will identify a topic, and in consultation with a faculty advisor with expertise in the area, develop a proposal that is individualized to the student’s area of interest. The student will then develop the paper under the guidance of the faculty advisor. The paper must be 25 to 30 pages, excluding references and appendices. The paper does not typically involve the collection or analysis of primary data or the conduct of research with subjects. It is a scholarly essay, not a thesis.
HLTHMGT 731 / Economic Evaluation in Healthcare
Economic evaluation of healthcare strategies is becoming more pervasive in our current healthcare environment, but how do we know if the analyses have been undertaken properly. This course is designed to introduce basic economic theory and methods for economic evaluation and expose healthcare managers to real life applications of these methods (e.g. for drugs, devices, surgical procedures and public health initiatives).
HLTHMGT 732 / Strategic Writing in Health Management
With advanced writing skills healthcare managers can inform and influence readers for specific purposes that ultimately advance the strategic plans of their organizations. Through this course, students will learn to write proficiently and produce reader-focused documents that are well organized, accurate, clear, unambiguous and defensible. By developing processes for creating, revising and evaluating documents, students will become more fluent and efficient in their writing.
HLTHMGT 733 / Knowledge Translation in Healthcare Practice and Management
This course is designed for healthcare practitioners and managers who want to acquire an understanding of knowledge translation (KT) and be able to apply KT principles to practice and health management. The course emphasizes understanding what KT is, the relationship between KT and evidence-based practice, the dominant theories, models and frameworks that are used in KT, how knowledge synthesis is achieved, and various tools and resources useful for knowledge translation.
HLTHMGT 734 / Quality and Safety in Healthcare
Improving quality and enhancing patient safety has become a preoccupation within most healthcare systems around the world. Despite this, there continues to be high levels of healthcare errors and inadequate understanding of the fundamentals of quality management and patient safety. This course is designed to expose healthcare managers to the major principles, theories and approaches to quality management by analyzing practical real-life examples.
HLTHMGT 735 / Selected Topics in Healthcare Management and Leadership
This seminar course will expand upon some of the selected concepts around health management and leadership introduced in MHM program. This is an opportunity for those students interested in exploring topics in more detail through the use of small group problem-based learning and facilitated by subject matter experts for each topic.
HLTHMGT 736 / Work Organization and Health
This online, problem-based course addresses the political, economic, health system and workplace factors that contribute to workplace environments and the health of workers. Sessions initially incorporate broad based problems that will develop specific content knowledge nature of work environments, stressors, health systems and legislation and then move on to problems that target specific types of health issues requiring students to integrate knowledge across different disciplines.
Residency
The Master of Health Management program is offered primarily asynchronously online with two short, mandatory, residency periods (2-3 days each). Students can expect one in-person residency in the fall of year 1 and one real-time, virtual residency in the spring of year 2.
Information Box Group
The mandatory residencies will occur in the Fall and Spring terms to coincide with your HM700 / Health Systems and Policy and HM708 / Leadership in Health Organization courses, respectively. Through small group work, discussions and presentations, students participate in activities which complement online coursework. The residency periods also provide opportunities to understand other aspects such as but not limited to elective courses available, program resources, library resources, current event topic workshops and academic writing to promote success in the program.
Continue for more on the goals, requirements and expectations of the residencies along with the scheduled dates for the upcoming academic years.
Goal # 1 - Grow Community
To build community within a cohort and among alumni, staff and faculty
Goal #2 - Gain Skills
To develop student skills (oral communication, leadership, research) and literacies (information, media, emotional) that are linked to MHM program competencies
Goal #3 - Apply Gained Knowledge
To utilize program and course related information during face to face and real-time virtual discussions and interactions.
Expandable List
- All students must attend and prepare for minimal distractions regardless of the mode of delivery: in-person (fall year 1) or virtual (spring year 2).
- Visa students will require a study permit to attend an in-person residency, but a study permit is not required for a virtual residency. Assistance is available through the McMaster International Student Services
- The location or platform used will be decided closer to the event date. An in-person location can be expected on or near a McMaster campus, but typically at the Ron Joyce Center, Burlington, or the Main Campus, Hamilton.
- The fall and spring residencies are planned for the first weekend of October and May, respectively. (Exception: Should the weekend fall on either the Canadian Thanksgiving or Mother’s Day weekend, new dates will be selected by the program).
Academic Year | Fall Term Residency | Spring Term Residency |
2023-24 | October 13-15, 2023 | May 24-25, 2024 |
2024-25 | October 4-6, 2024 | TBD |
2025-26 | October 3-5, 2025 | TBD |
Please note: All in-person events are subject to evolving guidance and mandates from the province of Ontario and McMaster’s commitment to the health, safety and well-being of our University community. Should there become a need to pivot from a planned in-person event to virtual, the Program will make efforts to provide students with suitable notice, as permitted by the relevant event.
Degree Requirements
All courses must be completed with at least a B- standing for ‘grade letter’ courses or ‘Pass’ for Pass/Fail courses.
A. Completion of all five mandatory half courses from Course List A.
Course List A
Course Code / Name | Credits | Fall Term | Winter Term | Spring/Summer Term |
|
1 Half / 3 Units (including completion of the Fall Residency) |
x | ||
|
1 Half / 3 Units | x | ||
|
1 Half / 3 Units | x | ||
|
1 Half / 3 Units | x | ||
|
1 Half / 3 Units (including completion of the Spring Residency) |
x |
B. Completion of three half courses from Course List B.
Some of these courses are not available every year. Students may refer to McMaster University’s Mosaic Student Centre course catalog for course availability. Typical availability is listed below.
Course List B
Courses from List B are typically offered in the below terms, however, please refer to the McMaster University’s Mosaic Student Centre course catalog to confirm course availability.
Course Code / Name | Credits | Fall Term | Winter Term | Spring/Summer Term |
|
2 Half / 6 Units (this course runs two semesters and counts as two half courses) |
x | x | |
|
1 Half / 3 Units | x | ||
|
1 Half / 3 Units | x | ||
|
1 Half / 3 Units | x | ||
|
1 Half / 3 Units | x | ||
|
1 Half / 3 Units | x | ||
|
1 Half / 3 Units | x |
C. School of Graduate Studies requires all McMaster graduate students to successfully complete two specific online modules to be deemed clear to graduate:
- SGS101 Academic Research Integrity and Ethics
- SGS201 Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Training