Academics

Why Study Health Policy & Management?

Graduates work in the following areas and sectors:

  • Hospital management
  • Insurance and managed care management
  • Health care system management
  • Medical group practice management
  • Global health
  • Patient safety and quality assurance
  • Long-term care services
  • Research and policy analysis
  • Access to health care for underserved populations
  • Policy at the state, local, and federal levels that impacts access to cost and quality of health care services

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical and health services managers are:

  • Projected to experience faster than average employment growth (28%) over the period 2021-31
  • Projected to see 136,200 job openings over the period 2021-31

People working in health policy and management positions engage in:

  • Head organizations and exercise effective management and leadership practices
  • Make decisions about the provision and delivery of health care services and work to improve efficiency and quality
  • Develop and implement regulations and policies that impact the lives of populations, communities, and individuals, including addressing social and class disparities in health care
  • Stay up to date on new laws and regulations and ensure organizations are in compliance
  • Communicate with members of the medical staff and department heads
  • Provide marketing and consulting services
Degree Programs
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Master of Health Administration (MHA)

A competency-based curriculum and an array of professional development resources and activities to prepare graduates for managerial roles in health care systems and networks, managed care, health insurance, and long-term care organizations.

MHA
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Master of Public Health (MPH)

A two-year, 45-credit program that prepares students for careers in both health policy development, analysis and advocacy and program and organization management in public health agencies, foundations, other nonprofits and the private sector.

MPH
Professor and student
Juris Doctor/Master of Public Health (JD/MPH)

A program between Pitt Public Health and Pitt’s School of Law provides students with an interdisciplinary curriculum in law and public health, integrating law, health policy, and management.

JD-MPH Joint Degree
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Master of Science (MS)

Prepares graduates for positions in health services research and policy, analytics and also prepares them for higher level education (such as a PhD).

MS
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Health Services Research and Policy PhD Programs

The PhD program meets an ongoing need for public health researchers who focus on cost, access and quality of the health care system.

PhD
Student and professor
MHA-MBA Joint Degree

This program presents an outstanding opportunity to become highly skilled in the management of organizations across the full spectrum of the health industry.

MHA-MBA

Benefits from Research and Interventions:

  • Providing free, high quality programs to inform public policy makers, health care executives, and board members through the Health Policy Institute
  • Discovering that seniors who previously had limited or no drug coverage spent more on prescriptions and less on other medical care services, such as hospitalizations and visits to the doctor’s office, after enrolling in Medicare Part D
  • Finding that Part D enrollees with relatively good prior prescription coverage spent more on prescriptions and other medical services and concluding that if all eligible patients filled their prescriptions through a $4 generic drug program, the savings to society could amount to nearly $6 billion
  • Investigating women, Blacks, and Medicare patients with end-stage liver disease and finding that they are less likely to be referred and evaluated for liver transplantation
Fall Incoming Class Resume Books
2023
2022
2021