Online Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management

The online Master of Public Health (MPH) in Health Policy and Management is a graduate degree program  designed for those interested in pursuing a career path in the areas of public health policy formulation and public health management. The degree is broad-based and is designed to prepare students for a variety of public health careers. Graduates of an MPH in Health Policy and Management will have competencies in the areas of communications, identifying relevant public health issues, strategy development, ethics, administration, and advocacy.

Public health policy involves the writing and implementation of specific policies that govern health issues in a community or nation. An example of this would be coming up with a requirement for the mandatory isolation of patients who exhibit symptoms of a highly contagious deadly disease. Public health policy is necessary to prevent the spread of illness to ensure the safety and health of everyone living in the community.

Public health management involves the implementation of public policy already written. An example of this would be overseeing the implementation of a new public health policy that requires all newborn children receive vaccines for a particular disease.

Pursuing an Online MPH in Health Policy and Management

An MPH in Public Health Policy and Management prepares students for careers in leadership positions in the field of public health and other medical fields. Graduates will be able to identify current healthcare needs in a particular community as well as to anticipate future requirements. This information can then be used to formulate health policy that improves the health conditions of the community.

Students pursuing an MPH in Public Health Policy and Management can expect to take several core MPH courses. In addition, students will take such courses as Health Economics, Healthcare Law, Information Systems, Organizational Theory, Health Policy Ethics, Public Health Law, Health Policy Research, Program Evaluation, Policy Modeling, and others.

Online MPH in Health Policy and Administration degrees require the completion of an average of 45 credit hours to graduate. Admissions requirements include having a bachelor’s degree in any field from an accredited college or university with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Additional admissions requirements include the submission of GRE scores, letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, and possibly a resume.

Potential MPH in Public Health Policy and Management Career Paths

There are several career paths that graduates of an MPH degree in Public Health Policy and Management can pursue. The career of public health administrator is one example. Public health officials oversee various community health organizations and are frequently in charge of disaster relief operations. A typical career for public health administrators is that of hospital administrator. According to Payscale.com, the average salary of a hospital administrator is $96,558 per year with a pay range of $51,130 to $168,173.

Another potential career path for graduates of MPH programs in Health Policy and Management is that of health policy analyst. Health policy analysts usually work at the community level conducting research on local health problems, analyzing the results, and then formulating solutions. According to Payscale.com, the average salary for a health policy analyst is $53,635, with a pay range of $36,560 to $84,978.

Sources:

http://publichealth.uic.edu/academics/onlinedegrees/mph/hpa/masterofpublichealth/
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hsrinfo/informatics.html
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Health_Informatics_Specialist/Salary
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Hospital_Administrator/Salary
http://www.cdc.gov/od/science/integrity/phethics/
http://publichealth.yale.edu/hpm/curriculum/mph/index.aspx
http://publichealth.gwu.edu/programs/health-policy-mph
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Health_Policy_Analyst/Salary
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Health_Educator/Salary
http://sph.unc.edu/mch/maternal-and-child-health/
http://www.uab.edu/elearning/degrees-certificates/graduate/master-degrees/maternal-child-health-policy-leadership