Applied Bachelor's Degree

Healthcare Administration & Innovation

Launch Your Career in Healthcare—One Year Earlier

Suffolk University's Applied Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration & Innovation is a new three-year undergraduate program designed for students who want a faster, more affordable path to a meaningful career in one of the nation's fastest-growing industries.

23%*

Projected job growth (2024-2034)
*7+ times the national 3% average—Learn more

Unlike traditional accelerated programs that compress four years of coursework into a more intense schedule, Suffolk’s applied bachelor’s degree is intentionally designed as a 94-credit undergraduate program that can be completed in three years.

Informed by industry trends, the program focuses on the practical skills healthcare organizations need most, while maintaining rigorous academic standards and learning outcomes.

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Fast-Track Your Future

Enter the workforce a year earlier and begin building your career—and your future—faster.

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Reduce Your Costs

Earn a degree from an accredited university while saving a full year of tuition and living expenses.

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Gain Real-World Experience

Every student completes a required internship and hands-on capstone project as part of the curriculum.

Learn Where Healthcare Happens

Suffolk sits at the heart of innovation in Boston.

When you study at Suffolk, you’ll learn in the center of one of the nation's leading healthcare ecosystems.

Our downtown Boston campus is only steps from:

  • major hospitals and healthcare systems
  • public health and government agencies
  • healthcare-focused nonprofits
  • innovative healthcare, biotechnology, and life sciences organizations

Boston will become your classroom, providing unparalleled opportunities to make professional connections, gain industry experience, and explore career pathways.

Your Future Faster

You’ll graduate ready to pursue opportunities across healthcare administration, operations, patient services, healthcare innovation, nonprofit management, and related fields. Potential entry-level roles include:

Healthcare operations analyst
Patient experience coordinator
Healthcare administrative coordinator
Compliance/regulatory affairs assistant
Healthcare consulting analyst
Health insurance coordinator
Healthcare data/business analyst
Healthcare project coordinator
Biotech start-up operations associate
Quality improvement coordinator
Healthcare implementation specialist
Practice coordinator (including community health settings)

From Classroom to Career—in Three Years

Approved by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education and the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), Suffolk University’s 94-credit applied bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration and innovation enables you to complete your degree in six semesters—without extra course loads or summer classes—while building the skills and experience that employers prize.

The program is purposefully designed, so you’ll achieve the same essential learning outcomes as students in our traditional bachelor's programs—while following a focused, career-aligned curriculum. Financial aid works the same as it does for any other degree, and you’ll still enjoy everything that makes student life at Suffolk memorable: living on campus, joining clubs, competing in athletics, exploring downtown Boston, and making lifelong connections.

Shorter Degree, Same Suffolk Experience

  Three-Year Degree Four-Year Degrees
Time to Graduation 3 Years (6 Semesters) 4 Years (8 Semesters)
Course Load Normal course load; no required summer classes
Costs Three years of tuition & room and board Four years of tuition & room and board
Financial Aid Options All financial aid options available
Experiential Learning Hands-on industry experience
Course Structure Prescribed major-specific, general education, and elective courses by semester (See curriculum) More flexible major-specific, general education, and elective courses
Campus Life Full access to clubs, athletics, and events
Study Abroad Summer terms only All terms


A New Approach

Boston is a top-tier global healthcare hub

Combining business fundamentals, healthcare-focused coursework, and hands-on learning, Suffolk University prepares you to lead with confidence—helping organizations deliver better care, improve patient outcomes, and serve communities more effectively.
 

Immersive Learning

Get hands-on experience here in Boston through Suffolk Unviersity

With guaranteed work-based experience and a capstone project focused on solving real-world challenges, healthcare administration and innovation students graduate with practical experience, a professional network, and a portfolio of work that demonstrates skills to employers.

Innovating Access

A close-up of a medical heartrate monitor.

Since 1906, Suffolk has been an innovator in education. We were founded as an evening law school, making degrees accessible to working Bostonians. Today, we are among the first universities to pilot three-year degrees in Massachusetts, leading the way for more affordable options in higher education.

FAQs

An applied bachelor’s degree is a bachelor’s degree intentionally designed to be completed in three years with 94 credits, rather than the traditional four years and 120+ credits. Unlike accelerated programs, which compress a traditional degree into a shorter time frame, an applied bachelor’s degree is purpose-built: a focused, career-aligned curriculum that meets the same rigorous learning outcomes as Suffolk’s traditional bachelor’s degree programs.

Applied bachelor’s degrees are being piloted in Massachusetts with the approval of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education and the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).

Yes! Suffolk’s tuition is the same for all undergraduate students. By completing a degree in three years instead of four, you’ll save around 25% of the total cost of your education, including any related housing and living expenses. You’ll also be able to pursue a career and begin earning a salary a year sooner.

Yes! You will be eligible for financial aid and scholarships throughout your three years at Suffolk University
Learn more about financial aid

Please note: As with a traditional bachelor’s degree, if you complete an applied bachelor’s degree and then return for a second undergraduate degree, you may not be eligible for certain types of aid only considered for first degrees.

Because applied bachelor's degrees are currently being piloted in Massachusetts, not all employers will be familiar with this type of degree and some may not recognize it. An increasing number of employers, however, cite hands-on experience as the most important qualification they look for in new hires. Healthcare administration and innovation students will graduate with directly applicable real-world experience, having built broad networks through faculty mentorship, coursework, internships, and work-based experiences.

Because graduate program requirements vary by institution and degree, students should check individual programs’ and institutions’ admission criteria.

The three-year applied bachelor’s degree is designed to create a faster pathway to degree completion. While students are not able to pursue a fall/spring semester study abroad program during the school year, they do have summers free to explore travel and summer terms abroad.
Learn more about international travel options

Yes! Interested students have the opportunity to apply to the University Honors Program.
Learn more about the Honors Program

Absolutely! All extracurricular opportunities—including our Division III athletics program and 100+ student organizations—are open to you.
Learn more about student life at Suffolk

Yes; in fact, it’s required! Applied bachelor’s students are guaranteed work-based experience before graduation.
Explore internships and other experiential offerings through the Career Center

Yes! Students wishing to experience on-campus living are welcome in our residence halls.
Learn more about living on campus

Because of this program’s highly focused six-semester structure, students in the three-year applied bachelor’s degree are unable to pursue a double major or add a minor.

Yes. Applied bachelor’s students may change their major to any bachelor's degree program Suffolk offers, just like any other Suffolk student. Because the applied degree shares learning outcomes with our traditional programs, much of your completed coursework may apply toward a four-year degree—particularly if you change majors early. Students with an interest in healthcare and business, for example, may find the 124-credit management major with a healthcare systems and innovation minor a natural fit.

As with any change of major, the coursework you've completed and when you make the change will determine how your credits apply and whether additional time is needed to graduate. Your academic advisor will work with you to map out the most efficient path.
Learn more about academic advising

Students can transfer into the program from another institution. The minimum residency requirement for students in this major is 34 credits. A maximum of two equivalent courses may be transferred from an outside institution and applied toward the major. As in other highly structured majors, transfer credits may not significantly shorten time to degree.

Transfer credits will be assessed in the same way they are for students in our traditional baccalaureate degrees.
Learn more about transferring to Suffolk

Yes! Suffolk reviews advanced credit for all undergraduate students by the same process.
Learn more about advanced credits

NECHE Disclosure

Suffolk University has launched an innovative option for students to obtain their applied bachelor’s degrees in three years with 94 credits. The University’s accreditor, the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), has approved this applied bachelor’s degree reduced-time and reduced-credit program in lieu of the standard program that takes four years to complete with 120 credits.

Given the novel nature of the program, students should be aware of the following:

  • While Suffolk is not the only NECHE-accredited program to receive approval to offer a three-year applied bachelor’s degree program, the norm for bachelor’s degrees remains a four-year, 120-credit program. Some employers and graduate programs may not consider this program equivalent to a traditional 120-credit program
  • Applied bachelor’s degree programs are best suited to students who are committed to a particular field or discipline, have a clear career objective, and/or are focused on pursuing near-term employment in their chosen industry as practitioners
  • To enable students to complete the applied bachelor’s degree program in less time and with fewer credits, this program will be highly structured with limited elective credits
  • Suffolk’s applied bachelor’s program is eligible for Title IV federal financial aid. Students who leave Suffolk, however, having completed an applied bachelor’s degree but later choose to return to Suffolk or attend another institution to complete additional undergraduate credits—either to earn a certificate of post-baccalaureate studies or a second bachelor’s degree—will not be eligible for federal grant aid and may have limited eligibility for other federal aid programs, as these are primarily reserved for first-time undergraduates. For more details, see Federal Subsidized & Unsubsidized Loans and Federal Pell Grants
  • Given that Suffolk’s applied bachelor’s degree program is designed to be completed within three years, students can expect to save a full year of tuition fees and related costs, including room and board, assuming they complete the program in the expected time frame
  • Some institutions may not accept Suffolk’s applied bachelor’s degree as an undergraduate credential sufficient for admission to graduate degree programs. It is critical that students confirm specific requirements with their institutions of choice
  • Suffolk’s applied bachelor’s program is currently only available for healthcare administration and innovation
  • Students may change their major to any bachelor’s degree program Suffolk offers. Depending on the coursework completed and the timing of the change, additional time may be needed to graduate. Credits earned at Suffolk apply toward Suffolk’s residency requirement

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