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MPH Program

Degree Concentrations

MPH Degree Concentrations

Concentration goals and areas of interest are described below:

Please note: The Global Health and Population (GHP) Department is the new name for the Population and International Health (PIH) department. All PIH courses are now listed under GHP. Course numbers and content remain the same.

Clinical Effectiveness (CLE)
Concerned with identifying the most appropriate, ethical, and cost-effective means of providing health care through prevention, early detection, or treatment, the concentration is designed to provide the analytic and quantitative training necessary to evaluate clinical practices.  Major areas of professional interest for concentrators include clinical epidemiology and biostatistics, cost-effectiveness analysis, medical decision analysis, health services research, quality improvement in health care, and measurement of health-related quality of life. The concentration is limited to clinicians enrolled initially in the Summer Program in Clinical Effectiveness.

This concentration prepares physicians for clinical research responsibilities and for leadership roles in evaluating and improving all aspects of health care delivery. Along with the broad perspective the program offers on general aspects of public health, this training provides a basis for identifying the health policy implications and public health benefits of clinical investigations.

 

Family and Community Health (FCH)
This concentration focuses on the promotion of health and the prevention of disease, especially in more vulnerable populations. Course work emphasizes strategies for needs assessment and establishment of health objectives, data collection and analysis, leadership skills, consultation, communication, advocacy, and policy formation in the public sector. Beyond the MPH core requirements students are encouraged to develop expertise in a focus area geared to their professional interests. Areas of interest include maternal and child health, women and health, mental health, violence and substance abuse, health disparities, community health, health promotion, and disease prevention.

The program prepares students for working in diverse spheres, including federal, state, and local government; advocacy groups; voluntary health organizations; and community-based primary care settings in the United States and other countries. Posts filled by graduates of this concentration include state health director; medical director of programs for child, adolescent, or women's health; health policy analyst; and health educator. Other graduates have gone on to academic positions.

 

Health Care Management and Policy (CMP)
This concentration offers training with either a management or a policy focus. In addition to fulfilling the MPH core requirements, students select from clusters of courses to gain depth in their chosen area. Students choosing the management area of interest take courses providing practical management skills, such as accounting, finance, operations, marketing, information systems, quality improvement, management of people, and strategy determination. Students selecting the policy focus take courses in health economics, political science, and applied policy in areas like payment systems, insurance, mental health and substance abuse, community health, and health promotion and disease prevention.

Graduates assume leadership positions in health care organizations that provide direct care (such as hospitals, group practices, and home health agencies), those that pay for and/or organize health care (such as governments, health insurers, and health maintenance organizations), and those that supply direct-care providers (such as pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology firms). Program graduates fill many roles—from consultants and staff analysts to middle-management and executive positions.

 

International Health (IH)
This concentration enables students to work toward health improvement by taking account of demographic and epidemiologic changes; the organization of health care and evolving patterns of health care demand; new scientific knowledge and technology; and the roles of professionals in policy, law, communications, and advocacy. It also assists them in finding new ways to strengthen national and institutional capacities for health policy-making and management. The international health concentration has several areas of professional interest, including international health policy and management; population, reproduction, and child health; infectious disease epidemiology; research and evaluation methods; health promotion; and humanitarian studies. The last area focuses on population support during war, civil conflict, or disaster and features a three-month summer field placement.

The program is intended to prepare health professionals with prior international health experience for leadership roles in the practice of international health, with a special emphasis on the populations in developing countries. Graduates of the program work in national ministries of health, international organizations, donor aid agencies, private voluntary organizations, research and academic institutions, and the private sector.

 

Law and Public Health (LPH)
The course of study introduces lawyers to the science of public health, provides them with skills in analysis of public health problems, and allows them to design a curriculum that will meet their particular interests. Beyond the MPH core requirements, which include three law-related courses, lawyers are encouraged to develop an area of interest by choosing elective courses in a specific field such as health care delivery or environmental health.

The concentration is designed to train leaders in the field of public health law. Graduates are prepared for careers in a variety of settings, including health or environmental law work in a law firm, nongovernmental organization, or in-house counsel's office; policy positions in local, state, and federal government; or posts in academia.

For more information on the LPH concentration, please visit:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/lph

 

Occupational and Environmental Health (OEH)
This concentration focuses on workplace and environmental hazards, the physiologic and biomechanical aspects of work, the risks posed by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors, and a practical approach to solving health problems in various work and community settings. The concentration features three areas of interest: occupational/environmental medicine, occupational health, and environmental health.

The program is designed for physicians and other professionals who intend to practice occupational/environmental medicine or to hold responsible positions in occupational and/or environmental policy and management. The occupational/environmental medicine area fulfills the first-year requirements of the two-year Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency. This area is also intended for other physicians who wish to satisfy the didactic requirements of the American Board of Preventive Medicine for certification in occupational and environmental medicine. The requirements for the master of occupational health (MOH) degree are similar to those of the MPH in occupational medicine; physicians may elect either degree.

 

Quantitative Methods (QM)
The concentration emphasizes study design, data analysis, and the application of quantitative methods to decision making and to research in public health. Beyond the MPH core requirements concentrators must take an additional 2.5 credits of introductory epidemiology and 7.5 credits in intermediate/advanced biostatistics, epidemiology, or decision sciences and an approved practice course in the Spring 2 term. Concentrators may choose from advanced quantitative courses that include biostatistics, epidemiology, decision sciences, demography, needs assessment, and evaluation located at HSPH and elsewhere within the university.

The program is geared toward health professionals requiring analytical and statistical skills for successful public health practice and research. It is designed for both midcareer health professionals and those in the early stages of their careers. Program graduates commonly supervise population-based health research in government, health care institutions, and private industry. Many graduates practice in academic medicine.