The Department of Health Services Policy and Management in the Arnold School of Public Health and Department of Political Science in the College of Arts and Sciences offer a coordinated program that leads to the Master of Public Health (MPH) in Health Services Policy and Management and the Master of Public Administration (MPA). Some courses fulfill requirements for both portions of the dual degree.  Through academic advisement, specific courses are chosen for each individual student to satisfy both sets of program requirements. The MPA requires 18 credit hours in core courses completed in the first year of study; the MPH has 16 hours of required sequenced core courses completed in the second year of study.

Requirements

Two courses (6 credit hours) from the MPA can be applied to the MPH program of study.  POLI 774 satisfies the HSPM Policy Elective Requirement and POLI 775 satisfies the required HSPM Management Course HSPM 730.

Completion of HSPM 788 satisfies the MPA internship requirement.  One HSPM Management Elective  (3 credit hours) approved by the advisor can be applied to the MPA program of study.  Thus the 39 credit hours required for the MPA and 45 credit hours required for the MPH can both be completed with a total of 72 credit hours.

The table below reflects the plan of study for a full-time student who begins the dual degree program with the MPA. This plan may be adjusted in consultation with HSPM and POLI advisors. 

Plan of Study Grid

First Year
Fall		Credit Hours
POLI 770	Perspectives on Public Administration	3
POLI 771	Public Data Analysis	3
POLI 773	Human Resources Administration in Government	3
POLI Elective 1		3
	Credit Hours	12
Spring
POLI 774	The Public Policy Process	3
POLI 775	Financial Administration	3
POLI 754	Public Accountability and Ethics	3
POLI Elective 1		3
	Credit Hours	12
Second Year
Fall
PUBH 725	Quantitative Methods for Public Health Practice II	3
PUBH 726	Qualitative Methods for Public Health Practice	3
HSPM 726	Applied Public Health Law for Administrators	3
HSPM Management Elective 1		3
	Credit Hours	12
Spring
PUBH 735	Practical Applications of Public Health Planning	4
PUBH 730	Public Health Systems, Policy, and Leadership	3
HSPM 712	Health Economics	3
HSPM Management Elective 1		3
	Credit Hours	13
Third Year
Fall
HSPM 727	Advancing Public Health Policy	3
HSPM 768	Health Services Administration II	3
POLI Elective 1		3
POLI Elective 1		3
	Credit Hours	12
Spring
POLI 753	Capstone Seminar in Public Administration	3
HSPM 788	Public Health Practice Experience 2	3
HSPM 796	Health Services Policy and Management MPH Capstone Course	2
PUBH 678	Transforming Health Care for the Future	1
	Credit Hours	9
	Total Credit Hours	70

¹

Students may elect to take these courses during summer sessions to meet curriculum requirements.

²

HSPM 788 requires coordination with an MPA advisor to meet the MPA internship requirements.