Department Website

Brad Wright, Chair

The Department of Health Services Policy and Management promotes individual and community health through improvements in the organization and management of public health and health care delivery. The department offers the Master of Public Health (M.P.H.), the Master of Health Administration (M.H.A.), and three dual degrees: the Master of Social Work/Master of Public Health (M.S.W./M.P.H.), the Master of Public Health/Master of Public Administration (M.P.H./M.P.A.) and the Juris Doctor/Master of Health Administration (J.D./M.H.A.) (see Graduate Dual Degree Programs). At the doctoral level, the department offers the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.).

The Master’s programs prepare students to assume leadership positions in public, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations in public health, health services, health policy, and related fields. The M.P.H. emphasizes preparation for a career in the public health sector. The program includes full public health foundation courses, taught in an interdisciplinary format, in the five core areas of biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health sciences, administration, and health promotion, education and behavior. The M.H.A. emphasizes preparation for a career in management in the private health care sector. The program has a substantial emphasis on accounting and finance. A professional M.H.A. is also available for practicing professionals with courses held on weekends. All programs may be taken part-time. The M.P.H. may be taken by distance education via synchronous and/or asynchronous broadcast. A Certificate of Graduate Study in Gerontology may be combined with any degree program (see bulletin section for the College of Social Work).

The Ph.D. program prepare students to make a substantive impact in health services policy and management through teaching, research and policy leadership in university settings and in the public and private health care sector. For experienced health care managers and physicians, the Ph.D. program prepares them for senior policy and management positions in public and private health-focused organizations.

Admission

Applicants should submit an application packet through the School of Public Health Application Service (http://www.sophas.org) unless advised otherwise by the department.

Master’s Programs

Health Services Policy and Management, M.P.H. and Health Services Policy and Management, M.H.A. 

Applicants for a master’s degree must submit the following:

• transcripts of all college-level academic work
• three letters of recommendation
• scores for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT)
• a statement of professional goals
• a personal resume
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or IELTS Intl. Academic Course Type 2 exam scores, if the applicant’s native language is not English

International applicants should contact the program director before applying to the program.

An interview with departmental faculty is highly recommended.

Graduate Assistantship

All full-time M.H.A. and M.P.H. students are expected to work as graduate assistants in health service or public health organizations in the community to acquire work experience and enrich the learning process through on-the-job application of concepts and techniques learned in the classroom. To qualify for an assistantship, a student must be fully admitted to a degree program, be enrolled as a full-time student, and maintain a 3.00 GPA.

Dual Degrees

Students seeking admission to dual degree programs must meet the admissions requirements of both programs. Our requirements are listed above. The  College of Social Work, School of Law and the Department of Political Science specify the admission requirements for their programs.

The Department of Health Services Policy and Management and the College of Social Work, School of Law and Department of Political Science offer coordinated programs that lead to a dual degree. The requirements for the M.P.H. or M.H.A. portion of each dual degree program are the same as shown above. The M.P.A., M.S.W. and J.D. portions of the dual degree programs are determined by the respective schools and college. Some courses do fulfill requirements for both portions of the dual degree. A dual degree program thus typically requires fewer semester hours in total than if the two programs were taken separately.

Profiles of Admitted Master’s Students

M.P.H.

For Fall 2016, there were 44 applicants. Thirty-five were accepted. Their mean GRE score was 297 in combined verbal & quantitative on the new scoring scale. Their mean undergraduate GPA was 3.33 (on a 4.00 point scale).

M.H.A.

For Fall 2016, there were 103 applicants; 44 were accepted while 18 enrolled. Their mean GRE score was 301 in combined verbal & quantitative based on the new scoring scale. The mean GMAT score was 490 on the new scale. Overall mean undergraduate GPA was 3.3 on a 4.0 scale.

Doctoral Programs

Health Services Policy and Management, Ph.D. 

Applicants for the PhD program must submit:

• transcripts of prior undergraduate and graduate work
• scores for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT). This requirement may be waived for applicants with a terminal clinical degree or other advanced degrees (such as M.D., M.B.B.S., D.D.S., J.D., or Ph.D.) on a case by case basis.
• three letters of recommendation
• a statement of professional goals
• a personal resume
• copies of publications, if any
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or IELTS Intl. Academic Course Type 2 exam scores, if the applicant’s native language is not English.

International applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the program director before applying to the program.

An interview with departmental faculty is highly recommended.

Admission criteria for the Doctor of Philosophy program include:

• Master’s degree in health administration, business administration, public health, or public administration is strongly preferred. Exceptional applicants with baccalaureate degrees will also be considered.
• A grade point average of at least 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) is required on previous undergraduate and graduate course work. Exceptions to this requirement will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the faculty.

The Ph.D. degree requires an approved program of 60 hours beyond the baccalaureate degree. Students with a relevant master’s degree may complete the PhD in Health Services Policy and Management by completing a minimum of 42 additional credit hours (including 12 credit hours of dissertation preparation). A student without a prior master’s degree will be required to complete a minimum of 60 graduate credit hours to graduate.

Health Services Policy and Management, Dr.P.H.

Admission criteria for the Doctor of Public Health program include:

• Applicants should have a master’s degree in health administration, business administration, public health, or public health administration. Exceptions will be considered by petition to the faculty.  Applicants must have worked in a health-related midlevel management or policy position for at least four years.
• Previous graduate-level course work should include health care finance, statistics, organizational behavior, health economics, and epidemiology. Students lacking one or more of these will be required to make up the deficiency. Courses taken to make up deficiencies do not count toward the Dr.P.H. program. Students with three deficiencies will have a conditional admission contingent on successful completion of make-up courses.
• A grade point average of at least 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) is required on previous graduate course work.

Applicants must submit:

• transcripts of prior undergraduate and graduate work
• scores for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT). This requirement may be waived for applicants with a terminal clinical degree or other advanced degrees (such as M.D., M.B.B.S., D.D.S., J.D., or Ph.D.) on a case by case basis.
• three letters of recommendation from persons who can reflect upon the applicant’s prior academic and professional performance
• a statement of career goals
• a personal resume
• copies of publications, if any
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or IELTS Intl. Academic Course Type 2 exam scores, if the applicant’s native language is not English (may be waived, by petition to the faculty, if academic experience in the U.S. demonstrates English proficiency).

International applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the program director before applying to the program.

An interview with the departmental faculty is highly recommended.

Profile of Admitted Doctoral Students

Ph.D.

For Fall, 2016, there were 39 applicants to the Ph.D. program, of whom 26 were accepted and 13 matriculated. The mean GRE scores of accepted applicants were 152 (verbal) and 153 (quantitative).  Their mean graduate GPA was 3.62 (on a 4.0 scale).

Dr.P.H.

For Fall, 2016, the Department did not admit any student in the program.

Programs

Courses