The MPH degree in Health Systems and Policy (HSAP) provides students with an understanding of the organization and delivery health care, the sources of payment for health care, and health policy and health system issues in the United States. Students take required courses in health policy, public health law and ethics, health economics, health services research and evaluation, and health care management. In these courses they learn about economic theory and techniques to assess and evaluate health care issues and problems. They learn to use the principles of health economics to examine the features of the health care market, including health insurance, demand for health care, physician payment, health reform, and cost containment strategies. Students are provided with the skills needed to understand health care politics and policy in the United States through examination of American political values, government structure and process, and the goals of relevant stakeholders. In other required courses students learn how health organizations deliver care and methods used to manage them, as well as the constitutional and legal basis for the regulation of health.
In addition to fifteen (15) credits of required course work, students have the opportunity to select nine (9) credits of elective coursework in areas of health policy, research, data management and statistical methods, and health care management. Towards the end of their course of study, students are provided with a “real world” hands on research experience through fieldwork in their area of interest.
The Department offers the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree on both the New Brunswick and Stratford Campuses. Requirements for the MPH are identical for both campuses and students accepted into HSAP can take courses on either campus.
Each Concentration identifies competencies for each degree offered. These competencies reflect the full range of knowledge, skills, and other attributes that a student will acquire as a result of completing the requirements for a particular degree.
Upon graduation, a student completing the MPH curriculum in Health Systems and Policy will be able to:
Students seeking the MPH in Health Systems and Policy degree must complete 45 credits of academic work with a minimum GPA of least 3.0; earn no more than nine (9) credits bearing grades less than “B,” and complete the degree requirements within six years. Courses are three credit hours unless otherwise noted. Courses are three credit hours unless otherwise noted.