Master of Public Health – Health Management
Summary
The Master of Public Health in Health Management prepares students for high-impact careers in health care organizations.
The degree provides students with a rigorous foundation in public health as well as specialized skills in management, finance, accounting, and strategy. The MPH in Health Management is offered in two variants—45-credit and 65-credit—to fit the needs of students with different educational goals and experience.
About
The Master of Public Health 45-credit degree provides established professionals and medical students with specialized knowledge and skills to advance their career in public health.
The MPH in Health Management prepares students for leadership and management careers in the unique environment of health care.
Students take coursework that provides practical managerial skills, including accounting, finance, operations, marketing, quality improvement, leadership and people management, and strategy. Students learn to improve organizational performance leveraging the frameworks and knowledge obtained through coursework, field experience, and engagement with classmates from around the world, with a wide range of professional experience.
Graduates go on to fill management and leadership roles in health care organizations, including health delivery systems, health insurance plans, consulting firms, and start-ups. Others have pursued successful careers in government and academic medicine.
On Campus (Fall start) • Full-time (1 year) • Part-time (2 years)
Curriculum
MPH core requirements:
- ID 100: Foundations for Public Health
- ID 201: Core Principles of Biostatistics and Epidemiology for Public Health Practice
- MPH 101: Qualitative Methods for Public Health
- MPH 102: Health Systems
- MPH 103: Leadership and Communication
- MPH 104: Social, Behavioral, and Structural Determinants of Health
- MPH 105: Public Health Policy and Politics
Applied practice experience and integrative learning experience:
- HPM 946: Applied Practice Experience and Integrative Learning Experience for Health Management
Field of study requirements:
- HPM 539: Management Science for a New Era
- Finance and accounting courses
- Innovation course
- Strategy course
- Health care quality course
- HPM 509: Disability Policy in the U.S.
- HPM 561: Loneliness and Public Health
- HPM 562: Narrative Leadership – Using Storytelling to Mobilize Collective Action in Public Health
Competencies
- Explain and use financial data to assess financial health and make managerial decisions for a health care unit, organization, or system
- Critically evaluate organizational and team structures, processes, and climates to initiate and sustain performance
- Apply appropriate frameworks and analysis in the development of an organizational strategy
- Explain the imperatives to improve health quality and apply methods of quality improvement to address a quality problem
- Create an action plan to address an unmet public health need by applying key concepts and skills of innovation and entrepreneurship
Our Community
Committed, Accomplished, Collaborative
As a Harvard Chan MPH student, you will work in a collaborative classroom environment alongside talented students from around the world and from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds. You will take advantage of the extraordinary resources of Harvard University and Boston’s Longwood Medical Area—home to Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and other world-class health facilities. You will meet global leaders and work with world-renowned faculty members. And when you graduate, you will benefit from Harvard’s unparalleled global network of alumni leaders.
Career Outcomes
An MPH degree opens an extraordinary number of pathways to a meaningful career. Graduates of the MPH program are trained to pursue careers in a variety of industries:
- Academic medicine
- Biotech/pharma
- Consulting
- Government
- Health care management
- Hospital/health care delivery
- Non-profit/Non-government organizations
- Private practice
- Private sector institutions
- Public health agencies
- University/research
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants for the MPH 45-credit degree program in Health Management must have one of the following:
- A bachelor’s degree, plus five or more years of relevant health experience.
- A master’s degree in a health-related field—for example, MSN, MSW, MBA—plus at least two years of relevant health experience.
- A prior doctoral degree—for example, MD, DO, DMD, DDS, PhD, SD, JD—or equivalent.
- Completed the primary clinical year of medical or dental school. For more information, visit Joint/Combined Degrees.
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
- Standardized 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.