Graduate Admission Requirements

Applicants must complete an application for admission to the Midwestern State University Graduate Programs.  In addition to completing MSU admission application materials, each applicant must also complete a separate application for admission to the Health Services Administration Program.  

The MHA program is open to students with varied educational backgrounds, and entrance into the MHA program is competitive.   The applicant must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution and meet the admission requirements for the program. Students may be either unconditionally or conditionally admitted.  If conditionally admitted additional leveling courses may be required.

All applicants are required to submit GRE scores as part of the application process, or scores from an equivalent exam approved by the program.  Students who have already obtained a graduate degree from a regionally accredited program – master’s or doctoral – are exempt from standards above and maybe admitted with unconditional status.

 Unconditional Admission Guidelines

Unconditional admission may be granted to an applicant who meets the general admission requirements of Midwestern State University graduate admission and who has met the department’s minimum competency requirements.  When reviewing an applicant the committee reviews A) the student's GPA and the coursework they have taken previously, B) work experience in a health related field and/or an undergraduate degree in a health related field and C) GRE scores.   Although minimum GRE scores have been established for unconditional admission, exceptions may be made based on work experience, or other qualifying situations (see below). 

1. GRE Scores Required for Unconditional/Full Admissions.

*Exceptions to the minimum score requirements may be made based on work experience, or other qualifying situations,  on a case to case basis at the discretion of the program’s admissions committee.

** When compared to other test takers.

*** a score of 3.5 or greater may substitute for a GRE Verbal Reasoning score of less than 50th percentile on a case by case basis.

2. A basic knowledge of Excel, Word, and PowerPoint to enable the student to adequately prepare assignments and effectively function within the Web-based instructional modes used in instruction; and
3. Undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better; and
4. Paid or voluntary work experience in the health field OR clinical training at the bachelor’s level.

Conditional Admission Guidelines

Applicants who do not meet the requirements of unconditional admission may be admitted conditionally.  The minimum GRE scores for conditional admission are shown in the table below.  As a general rule,

1. Conditional admission shall continue through the first 12 hours of graduate study.
2. If the conditional admission requires leveling courses, they must be completed in the first semester of attendance with a grade of B or better, unless the department agrees otherwise.
3. Upon successful completion of 12 semester credit hours of graduate courses with a grade point average of 3.2 and no grade lower than a B, the student’s records will be reviewed to determine eligibility for full admission status.
4. Any student removed from the program for academic reasons or rejected for admission to the MHA program may apply for a waiver according to directions below.

Conditional Admission Requirements

        Conditional admission may be granted to an applicant who meets the general admission requirements of Midwestern State University graduate admission and who has met the department’s minimum competency requirements for conditional admission including consideration of the following:

1. GRE Scores, see table below:

Conditional/Provisional GRE Admission Scores

*Exceptions to the minimum score requirements may be made based on work experience, or other qualifying situations, but exceptions are made on a case to case basis at the discretion of the program’s admissions committee.

** When compared to other test takers.

***An Analytical Writing Score of 3.5 or greater may substitute for a GRE Verbal Reasoning score of less than the 50th percentile.

2. A basic knowledge of Excel, Word, and PowerPoint to enable the student to adequately prepare assignments and effectively function within the Web-based instructional modes used in instruction;
3. Undergraduate GPA of 2.6 or better; and
4. Paid or voluntary work experience in the health field OR clinical training at the bachelor’s level OR work experience in a related field.

Application for Re-Admittance

        The department does recognize that in rare cases course grades may cause a student to be administratively dismissed from the program or who may have not met the requirements for provisional admission. In such cases, a student may apply to the department’s academic review committee for re-admission after he or she has been officially dismissed from the program or for reconsideration if not granted conditional admission. The student must submit a letter requesting readmission with supporting documentation of ability to perform satisfactory academic work. Also the student must submit a statement explaining why he did not perform up to departmental standards and how he intend to remedy this situation. Approval of the re-admission request will be based upon the student's written essay in his or her original application, the trend of undergraduate and graduate grades, professional work experience, letter of request, GRE analytical score, and consideration of letters of recommendation. Approval of a readmission request moves the student to conditional status with attendant requirements, which shall be evaluated based on a time schedule established by the department’s academic review committee. Students seeking reconsideration for provisional admission must write a letter to the committee explaining why their GRE and/or their undergraduate GPA did not meet the minimum program requirements and how they intend to work towards strengthening these identified areas of deficit.

Requirements for Academic Good Standing

Any student who receives two grades of C or less, or one F will be administratively removed from the program the term following the second C or D or the one F.  A student in the master’s or the graduate certificate programs may repeat one course in which a grade of C or lower has been earned with the approval of the department’s academic review committee. A 3.0 overall grade point average is required for graduation, and students must have a grade of B or better in all courses in the major.  Students who are seeking the graduate certificate must earn a grade of B or better in each of the courses to be awarded the certificate.