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Accelerate Your Career in Health Care

MS in Health Care Innovation

The MS in Health Care Innovation is no longer accepting applications as the program is undergoing curricular redesign. The Opus College of Business is working to launch a new portfolio of specialized master of science programs in Fall of 2024.

Explore the Dynamic Field of Health Care

As health care businesses and organizations look to disrupt the status quo and respond to the changing climate of the industry, the need for innovative thinking is growing quickly. Learn how to influence the direction of the health care industry from the inside out with a Master of Science (MS) in Health Care Innovation from St. Thomas.

In our experiential learning model, you’ll work closely with a health care industry expert and mentor throughout the year-long program. The program will give you health care knowledge and the opportunity to work on projects that are health care related, giving you more of an edge when applying to health care roles.

Draw from Minnesota's Pioneering Health Care Industry

Minnesota is “the Silicon Valley of health care.” Our state is home to numerous health care startups, nonprofits, large corporations, and innovation centers within major companies. We collaborated with local senior health care industry executives to learn what they are looking for in graduates and used that information to develop our one-of-a-kind program.

Get ready to transform health care to emphasize customer value, innovation and lean execution from the St. Thomas MS in Health Care Innovation program.

Program Overview

  • Format & Schedule
  • Admission Requirements
  • Content Topics
  • Applied Learning
  • Career Impact

    • Format & Schedule

    Designed for the working professional, our unique hybrid curriculum allows face-to-face contact with your peers and faculty to build relationships while allowing flexibility to maintain your professional and clinical employment.

    While completing this one-year, 31.5-credit program, you can expect to:

    • Learn online and on-campus for ultimate flexibility
    • Meet in-person on 8 Saturdays total throughout the 12 month program
    • Learn alongside a small cohort of peers
    • Connect with a mentor within health care that represents your future career goals

    Admission Requirements

    • Bachelors degree
    • Application form and essays
    • Admissions interview
    • Two letters of recommendation

    Content Topics

    Throughout the program, you’ll explore the business topics through a health care lens and health care topics through a business lens.
    • Health Care Core. Understand the interconnected health care system from multiple perspectives and learn how to lead in terms of value, resources and innovation.
    • High Performance Health Care. Focus on creating customer value-based health care, delivering innovation, and executing in a lean and effective manner.
    • Business skills. Speak the language of healthcare and business while making yourself a marketable candidate for future opportunities.

    Applied Learning

    Learn from professionals in the health care industry in a program with an interactive approach to health care innovation. The program follows an applied learning approach, allowing you to collaborate with your peers on real-world business cases. Additional opportunities for applied learning include:

    • Mentorship – Students work with a health care industry expert who serves as a mentor throughout the program and helps you take a deeper dive into your career.

    Career Impact

    Establish yourself as a forward-thinking leader ready to navigate the changing health care climate with our MS in Health Care Innovation curriculum.

    Format & Schedule

    Designed for the working professional, our unique hybrid curriculum allows face-to-face contact with your peers and faculty to build relationships while allowing flexibility to maintain your professional and clinical employment.

    While completing this one-year, 31.5-credit program, you can expect to:

    • Learn online and on-campus for ultimate flexibility
    • Meet in-person on 8 Saturdays total throughout the 12 month program
    • Learn alongside a small cohort of peers
    • Connect with a mentor within health care that represents your future career goals

    Admission Requirements

    • Bachelors degree
    • Application form and essays
    • Admissions interview
    • Two letters of recommendation

    Content Topics

    Throughout the program, you’ll explore the business topics through a health care lens and health care topics through a business lens.
    • Health Care Core. Understand the interconnected health care system from multiple perspectives and learn how to lead in terms of value, resources and innovation.
    • High Performance Health Care. Focus on creating customer value-based health care, delivering innovation, and executing in a lean and effective manner.
    • Business skills. Speak the language of healthcare and business while making yourself a marketable candidate for future opportunities.

    Applied Learning

    Learn from professionals in the health care industry in a program with an interactive approach to health care innovation. The program follows an applied learning approach, allowing you to collaborate with your peers on real-world business cases. Additional opportunities for applied learning include:

    • Mentorship – Students work with a health care industry expert who serves as a mentor throughout the program and helps you take a deeper dive into your career.

    Career Impact

    Establish yourself as a forward-thinking leader ready to navigate the changing health care climate with our MS in Health Care Innovation curriculum.
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    Ben is using his master's degree to improve health and housing equity at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
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    Featured Courses

    Overview of Health Care Systems

    Get an accurate understanding of the various components of the health care system (providers, consumers, payers and third parties) and how they interrelate. Learn about issues, motivations and incentives that influence all parts of the system. Gain an understanding of the political and social environment in which they operate.

    Financial Literacy in the Health Care Industry

    Learn and apply the fundamental finance tools and concepts essential for a manager, with emphasis on the health care sector. Explore topics including: value maximization and the finance model of the organization, evaluating financial results, the basics of time value of money, financial decision-making criteria, and budgeting basics. Learn an analytical framework that can be consistently applied to make financial decisions.

    Innovation and Corporate Entrepreneurship

    Designed for entrepreneurs, managers and consultants interested in creating and reinforcing entrepreneurial responses within established organizations, this course examines how managers affect the nature and rate of innovation through organizational culture, structure, communication, rewards and control systems. Emphasis is placed on how individuals initiate, launch and manage ventures within organizational settings.

    Seeing is Believing

    Get in Touch

    The St. Thomas Opus College of Business is an incredible place to learn, meet inspiring peers and mentors, and build a strong career path. Don’t just take our word for it—experience St. Thomas firsthand. Visit a class, attend an info session, or chat with the admissions team.