Internship Information

All MHA students participate in a practicum experience as part of their curriculum.  Most students who are not working in full-time healthcare positions take their practicum during the summer between their first and second year in the Program.  A mentor is assigned to each student, and the mentor, advisor, and Practicum Coordinator work together to make sure that the student has a rewarding, real-world exposure to a health care organization.  More information is available in the practicum syllabus found here.

Students return from their practicum and present their experiences via presentations to all the students and faculty in the MHA Program.  These are held during the first weeks of the Fall semester.

Here is a partial list of practicum placements in recent years:

• The Methodist Hospital
• Methodist Specialty & Transplant Hospital
• Hendrick Medical Center
• College Station Medical Center
• Uvalde Memorial Hospital
• Children's Hospital Los Angeles
• Texas Departement of State Health Services
• Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center
• Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center
• Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center
• Scott & White
• Texas Health Resources
• New York Presbyterian
• East Texas Medical Center
• St. Joseph Health System
• M.D. Anderson
• Johns Hopkins
• Lone Star Circle of Care

Fellowship Placements

All eligible MHA Students are encouraged to compete for Administrative Fellowships as part of their post-graduate experience.  These fellowships are very important in the development of future hospital and medical group practice leaders in the health system.  Preparation for Administrative Fellowships begins during the second semester of the first year and continues through the Fall and Spring semesters of the second year.

An Administrative Fellowship can be thought of as an extension of one’s learning experience. After graduating, these positions allow for individuals to work within an organization to hone the skills they have learned during their graduate studies.

• They are well planned, with enough flexibility to allow fellows to develop their own learning opportunities consistent with their needs and that of the organization.

• They include a high degree of involvement by the preceptor.  

• They offer a number of ways that the fellow can take part in active, hands-on, substantive projects that foster development of verbal, interpersonal and analytical skills.

• They expose fellows to management decision-making processes and board of trustee activities also is important and integral to the fellowship. 

• Fellows are able to observe effective leadership and develop leadership skills. 

• Fellows learn to work independently as their management skills grow and develop.

• Fellows are treated as professionals and colleagues, not as students or interns. 

• Fellows are able to integrate healthcare management theory and application. 

• The fellowships offer maximum and effective use of the fellow’s time. 

• There are measurable growth and development objectives for fellows, as well as timely, candid, outcome-oriented evaluations by the preceptor and other leaders in the organization. 

• They expose fellows to the operational, strategic and financial challenges at all levels of the organization.

Texas A&M MHA graduates have been very successful competing for Administrative Fellowships.  For example, the graduating class of 2011 had 75% success rate for those students eligible for these fellowships.

Here is a list of Administrative Fellowships that MHA Program graduates have received:

• M.D. Anderson
• Valley Baptist
• University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)
• Scott & White
• Catholic Healthcare West
• The Methodist Hospital
• VA Medical Center
• The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB)
• East Texas Medical Center
• Palmetto Health System
• Oschner Health System
• Lone Star Circle of Care

Job Placement

Those graduates who are not already employed by an organization prior to graduation, or decide not to seek employment, are employed within three months post graduation. 

Here is a partial list of organizations that employ our graduates:

• Scott & White 
• Methodist Willowbrook Hospital
• Hillcrest Baptist Hospital
• The Methodist Hospital System
• Advocate Christ Medical Center
• New York Presbyterian Healthcare System
• St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital
• El Campo Memorial Hospital
• VA Gulf Coast Veterans Healthcare System
• St. Joseph Health System
• College Station Medical Center
• The Physicians Centre
• Memorial Hermann