There are about 3,370 healthcare management posts in
the whole of Rhode Island, and the private colleges among the
5 healthcare administration programs in Rhode Island charge an
average of $52,229 a year. Before comparing programs it is
worth being clear that this degree is not primarily an investment in the local
market.
A Very Small Market and Some Very Large Fees
Rhode Island's programs are good on the measure this site can check. Completion
runs from 48% to 86%, which is a
stronger floor than most states manage. The difficulty is not quality.
It is scale and price together. 3,370 posts exist in
the state, and four years at the private average comes to roughly
$208,916, about
1.8 times the median salary those
posts pay. A reader intending to live and work in Rhode Island specifically is
buying into a market with limited room, at a price set by colleges whose
catchment is regional or national rather than local.
The realistic framing is therefore regional. Providence, Rhode Island, is inside commuting
distance of a much larger Massachusetts market, and the
Massachusetts page covers
that side including the cheapest ranked program in the country. Nothing about
studying here is a mistake; it is just worth deciding whether the plan is a
Rhode Island career or a New England one, because the fee is the same either way
and only one of those has depth.
1 Health Services Administration major, Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies (2018–19 catalog)
University of Rhode Island
Fully online
Kingston, RI
$14,630 in-state tuition73% graduation rate72% admit rate73.3 score
URI's 2018–19 catalog describes a Health Services Administration major within the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies, with an 18-credit area of emphasis.
The historical curriculum combined 30 credits of major courses with an emphasis students could design around their interests or satisfy through an existing minor. It addressed financial accounting, health economics, community health, medical ethics and health policy alongside the organization of health services.
The required major courses included an introductory health services practicum. The catalog described this route for both newcomers and students already working in health care, including allied health associate-degree graduates continuing their education. These requirements describe the catalog's interdisciplinary program based in Providence, Rhode Island.
- Historical 2018–19 B.I.S. curriculum
- 30-credit major course block
- 18-credit area of emphasis
- Introductory health services practicum
View University of Rhode Island's Health Services Administration major, Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies (2018–19 catalog)
2 Healthcare Administration Major
Salve Regina
Fully online
Newport, RI
$49,300 in-state tuition77% graduation rate68% admit rate62.5 score
Majors can add a healthcare quality certification from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement alongside the degree, and the required capstone ends in a pitch competition.
Salve Regina teaches healthcare administration inside the Jean and David W. Wallace Department of Business and Economics, which is accredited by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education. The curriculum is deliberately interdisciplinary, integrating business coursework with healthcare, nursing, social work and sociology, and framing the whole around ethical leadership in the university's mercy tradition. It covers the social, regulatory, ethical and economic issues attached to health risk, prevention, policy and services, and treats global health, access to care and disease prevention as part of the core rather than as electives.
Two requirements shape the final years. An internship in the field is required of every major. The capstone runs each semester as a team exercise in which students identify a business opportunity, write mission and vision statements, run a SWOT analysis and market research, and build marketing, staffing and operations strategies, then present the plan formally; the strongest teams go on to Seahawk Tank, where they pitch to a panel of judges for cash prizes. Students can also earn a certification in healthcare quality from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement while enrolled, and qualified undergraduates can begin a master's in business administration or healthcare administration in their senior year.
- Institute for Healthcare Improvement quality certification available alongside the degree
- Internship required of every major
- Capstone business plan feeding the Seahawk Tank pitch competition
- Master's coursework can begin in the senior year
View Salve Regina's Healthcare Administration Major
3 BS in Health Policy and Management
Providence
On campus
Providence, RI
$62,520 in-state tuition86% graduation rate51% admit rate53.8 score
Providence’s Health Policy and Management major requires a 120-hour field experience with faculty and workplace supervision.
The BS combines study of the American healthcare system with epidemiology, financial management, health law, and policy analysis. Its class-of-2030 advising plan includes seven required HPM courses, three HPM electives, and the college’s liberal arts core. Students finish with both Field Experience and Senior Seminar.
For the placement, students work with the field experience coordinator to contact organizations and agree on a site. A signed learning agreement defines their responsibilities and supervision. Hospitals, nursing homes, government agencies, and public health nonprofits are among the settings the department describes.
- 120-hour field experience
- Health policy and management
- Senior seminar
View Providence's BS in Health Policy and Management
4 BS in Healthcare Administration
Rhode Island
On campus
Providence, RI
$9,765 in-state tuition48% graduation rate92% admit rate52.1 score
Rhode Island College’s Healthcare Administration BS brings together business coursework, an internship, and a strategic management seminar.
Students study healthcare organizations, policy, quality improvement, and ethical and legal issues alongside management, human resources, marketing, and information systems. The 2024–25 catalog lists a four-credit Healthcare Administration internship and the Seminar in Strategic Health Care Management.
The plan also calls for three courses from designated elective categories. Students can focus those choices in one area, such as aging studies or human resource management, though the catalog permits choices across categories. This BS is separate from the healthcare administration minor offered to students in other majors.
- Four-credit internship
- Strategic management seminar
- Interdisciplinary business curriculum
View Rhode Island's BS in Healthcare Administration
5 BGS in Health Care Administration
Roger Williams
On campus
Bristol, RI
$44,867 in-state tuition69% graduation rate88% admit rate48 score
RWU’s 2014–15 catalog describes a Health Care Administration BGS with a 24-credit major and substantial elective space.
The historical School of Continuing Studies program required 120 credits overall. Its major included six required courses covering public health, healthcare ethics, administration, policy, and research methods, plus two Social and Health Services electives. A 30-credit liberal arts core and 66 additional elective credits completed the plan.
The catalog described the program for people working in healthcare administration and those seeking entry to the field. These are the requirements of that dated bachelor’s program; RWU’s separately listed Health Services Administration certificate and graduate Public Administration program have their own requirements.
- Historical 2014–15 BGS
- 24-credit major
- 120-credit degree plan
View Roger Williams's BGS in Health Care Administration
How We Scored Rhode Island'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.