There is one public healthcare administration program in Iowa. Of the
6 healthcare administration programs in Iowa ranked here,
Iowa State University is the only one at a public institution, and it
is also the one with the state's best completion record. That makes the shortlist
unusually simple and the fallback unusually important.
One Public Program, and It Is Also the Strongest
Iowa State University charges
$9,252 a year in state and sits at an
institution graduating 75% of its first-time
students, the highest rate attached to any ranked program in Iowa.
It is also the cheapest program on this page. The remaining 5 are private, averaging
$34,734 a year and 52% completion.
When the cheapest option and the best-performing option are the same
institution, a ranking has less work to do than usual. The honest summary of
Iowa is that the first question is admission rather than selection, and the
second question only arises if the answer to the first is no.
If it is no, the comparison worth making is wider than this page. Iowa pays
$21,920 below the national median, so committing
$138,936 to four years of private tuition here buys
into one of the weaker wage markets in the country. An accredited online
program based in another state costs an Iowa resident no more than it costs
anyone else, and the 5th-from-bottom wage position is the
same either way.
1 Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration
Mercy College of Health Sciences
Fully online
Des Moines, IA
$17,664 in-state tuition66% graduation rate100% admit rate65.1 score
Mercy College of Health Sciences combines online Healthcare Administration B.S. coursework with a 45-hour final-term practicum.
The degree requires 120 credits overall, including a 45-credit major. Required subjects include healthcare economics, human resources, management, biostatistics, information resources, finance, leadership, and legal and ethical issues. The plan also includes research methods and a capstone.
Students choose electives from long-term care, hospitals, ambulatory services, project management and leadership. Faculty and an enrollment coach help with finding a practicum site. Required courses and general education are online, and the program has fall, spring and summer entry points.
- 120-credit B.S.
- Online coursework
- 45-hour practicum
- Fall, spring and summer starts
View Mercy College of Health Sciences's Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration
2 Healthcare Management, B.S.
Iowa State
On campus
Ames, IA
$9,252 in-state tuition75% graduation rate89% admit rate63.5 score
Iowa State's Healthcare Management B.S. includes a 24-credit major and an experiential requirement that can be met through an internship, co-op or approved independent study.
The Ivy College of Business plan requires at least 122 credits overall. Healthcare courses examine the U.S. industry, economics, quality management, finance, law and regulation, and information systems, building on the broader business foundation.
Electives can address negotiation, human resources, supply management, health communication or public policy. Students using the co-op option take additional elective coursework to reach the major's credit requirement. Independent study is not offered every term, so its availability needs to be planned with an adviser.
- 122-credit B.S. minimum
- 24-credit healthcare major
- Experiential learning requirement
- Business and healthcare electives
View Iowa State's Healthcare Management, B.S.
3 Health Sciences B.S., Health Care Administration
Drake
On campus
Des Moines, IA
$51,444 in-state tuition74% graduation rate64% admit rate51.1 score
Drake combines a Health Care Administration track within its Health Sciences B.S. with a senior internship and guided research sequence.
The on-campus track brings business study into a science-based degree. Drake's plan for students entering in fall 2024 or later totals 120 credits and includes anatomy, physiology, accounting, organizational behavior, marketing and U.S. health care policy.
The senior-year plan pairs two internship courses with two guided research courses. Students also study research evaluation, health literacy and ethics. Electives include general education requirements and room for further study in a professional interest area.
- Health Sciences B.S., administration track
- Senior internship sequence
- Guided research
- On-campus program
View Drake's Health Sciences B.S., Health Care Administration
4 Bachelor of Arts in Health Care Management
Waldorf
Fully online
Forest City, IA
$24,514 in-state tuition21% graduation rate77% admit rate48 score
Waldorf's online Health Care Management B.A. focuses on healthcare quality and efficiency, with coursework in reimbursement, informatics and strategic planning.
The 120-credit degree includes a 30-credit required major block. Courses cover medical terminology, community health, epidemiology, healthcare law, finance and current issues. Professional elective examples include project management, comparative systems, long-term care, research methods and risk management.
The university specifies at least 36 upper-division credits, a C or better in major coursework and a minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA for work completed at Waldorf. The program uses a coursework-based format without a required clinical or field experience.
- Online B.A.
- 120 credits
- 30-credit required major block
- Coursework-based format
View Waldorf's Bachelor of Arts in Health Care Management
5 Health Care Administration (2023-24 catalog)
Mount Mercy
On campus
Cedar Rapids, IA
$39,878 in-state tuition58% graduation rate83% admit rate46.2 score
Mount Mercy's 2023-24 Health Care Administration curriculum paired business courses with a required health care internship or practicum.
The historical catalog lists 47 to 48.5 credits in the major, including law and compliance, informatics, patient care quality and financial issues in health care organizations. Students chose biology and economics courses and two electives from subjects such as health literacy, policy, psychology and medical sociology.
The internship placed students alongside professionals in their area of interest. The catalog required a C or better in Health Services major courses and prerequisites, plus a 2.0 overall GPA. These requirements describe the 2023-24 program; the separate Health Care Leadership completion major has different requirements.
- Historical 2023-24 curriculum
- Required internship or practicum
- Health care law and informatics
- Business and health services coursework
View Mount Mercy's Health Care Administration (2023-24 catalog)
6 Health Care Administration (2024-25 LIFE catalog)
University of Dubuque
On campus
Dubuque, IA
$40,170 in-state tuition40% graduation rate89% admit rate38 score
Dubuque's 2024-25 LIFE catalog describes a Health Care Administration completion major for credentialed allied health professionals.
The historical program plan lists a 36-credit major covering health informatics, regulation, health care economics, human resources and community health. Its senior seminar applies research to a community problem, need or opportunity.
Admission requirements included an allied health associate degree, professional licensure, certification or registration, and a 2.5 college GPA. Applicants with a professional credential but no associate degree received individual review. The catalog required the final 30 degree credits at Dubuque; these details describe its 2024-25 offering.
- Historical 2024-25 catalog
- Allied health completion pathway
- 36-credit major
- Community-focused senior seminar
View University of Dubuque's Health Care Administration (2024-25 LIFE catalog)
How We Scored Iowa's Healthcare Administration Programs
Graduation rate carries 40% of the score, in-state tuition 25%, delivery
flexibility 20% and admission selectivity 15%. Every input is federal IPEDS data
or the school's own program page, and a program has to report both a graduation
rate and a tuition figure, and still be enrolling new students, to be ranked at
all. Weights are never renormalized
around a missing factor, because that turns non-disclosure into an advantage. The
same model runs on every state page, with no editorial override and no paid
placement. The full weighting, and the factors left out deliberately, are in the
ranking methodology (version 1.0).
No accreditation factor appears at this level. CAHME accredits healthcare
management programs at master's level only, so no bachelor's degree anywhere
carries it, and an undergraduate program claiming otherwise is describing
something that does not exist. Where a school states AUPHA certification on its
own page, that is reported on the program rather than scored.