Master of Science – Health Policy and Management

About

As a student in the Master of Science degree in Health Policy and Management, you will learn to: 

• develop advanced thinking and problem-solving skills needed to address a wide variety of challenges throughout the health care delivery, public policy, and public health systems;
• critically evaluate and apply appropriate biostatistical techniques for data arising from evaluation of public health problems (e.g., basic probability theory and common distributions, effect measure estimation, continuous and categorical data analysis, parametric and non-parametric hypothesis tests, confidence intervals and p-values, correlation and basic regression techniques, and power/sample size calculations); 
• apply economic concepts to analyze and critique health care and public health policies; 
• evaluate and draw policy implications from health decision science studies, including cost-effectiveness analyses; 
• explain the imperatives to improve health quality and apply methods of quality improvement to address a quality problem; 
• design and produce a health policy analysis or research study that results in a manuscript of publishable quality. 

On Campus (Fall start) • Full-time (1 year) • Part-time (2 years)

Curriculum

Competencies

1. Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate and apply appropriate biostatistical techniques for data arising from evaluation of public health problems. This includes basic probability theory and common distributions, effect measure estimation, continuous and categorical data analysis, parametric and non-parametric hypothesis tests, confidence intervals and p-values, correlation and basic regression techniques, and power/sample size calculations.
2. Apply economic concepts to analyze and critique health care and public health policies.
3. Critically evaluate and draw policy implications from health decision science studies, including cost-effectiveness analyses 

Our Community

The Department of Health Policy and Management (HPM) is committed to training and inspiring the next generation of health care leaders. Our students and faculty are passionate about making the world a better place by improving health and health care. We work on compelling and important problems, from making the delivery of care safer and more efficient, to expanding health insurance coverage and eliminating disparities, to designing and improving the performance of entire health systems. 

Our educational programs focus on helping students develop the critical thinking and applied problem-solving skills needed to address a wide variety of public health challenges. HPM students come from across the United States and from around the world.  They are academically accomplished, enthusiastic, and engaged.  All of our students have significant prior work experience and they enrich the classroom with their insights and perspectives. 

We believe that additional experiences beyond the classroom are an essential part of public health education, and our department’s strong ties to leading public health policymakers and practitioners provide students with opportunities to apply classroom learning to real-world public health management and policy problems in the US and abroad. 

Career Outcomes

A Master of Science 42.5-credit (SM-42.5) degree opens an extraordinary number of pathways to a meaningful career. Graduates of the SM-42.5 program are trained to pursue careers in a variety of industries: 

• Biotech/pharma 
• Health care organizations 
• National and international government agencies 
• Non-profit/NGO 
• Public and private sector enterprises 
• Research institutions 
• University/research 

Eligibility Criteria

This program is targeted towards significantly established research professionals. For most fields, applicants are required to have a doctoral degree and relevant work experience—contact admissions or the department for more detailed information.  

Application Requirements

All applications must be submitted through SOPHAS – the centralized application service for public health programs. In addition to the application, applicants must submit:

• Statement of purpose and objectives
• Official test scores (optional with guidance)
• Three letters of reference
• Resumé/curriculum vitae
• Post-secondary transcripts or mark sheets (World Education Services credential evaluation for applicants with degrees from outside of the United States.)
• English language proficiency (TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo English Test), if applicable

Application Deadline: December 1

Applicants may apply to only one degree program for either full- or part-time status. Applications are reviewed in their entirety and decisions are released via email in late February/early March. Decisions are not released until all application components are received.

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