Current Issue of The Commitment - The newsletter for the Department of Health Management and Policy - Click here to view online.

The Department of Health Management and Policy at Saint Louis University offers two Master’s degree programs: the Master of Health Administration (MHA) and the Master of Public Health in Health Policy (MPH-HP).  Each program is offered jointly with other degrees of the University.  Specifically, the MHA is offered as a dual degree with the Master of Business Administration (MBA), the Juris Doctor (JD), and the Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management (BS).  The MPH-HP is also offered as a dual degree with the Juris Doctor.  The MHA and the MPH-HP degrees may also be completed on a part-time basis.  In addition, the Department offers two doctoral concentrations through the Doctoral Program in Public Health Studies: Health Management and Policy and Health Services Research/Health Outcomes. The Department has a full-time faculty of 10 members and makes strategic use of adjunct and secondary faculty who are recognized experts in the field of health management and policy.

To maintain ongoing awareness of the many challenges impacting health and health services, the Department has established a National Advisory Council, consisting of senior level individuals from many aspects of health management and policy.  This group meets regularly to provide insights concerning health management and policy and to advise the Department regarding the development of each program of study. 

The curricula of the Department are guided by a set of competencies for each degree program, which have been developed by the faculty in conjunction with our alumni, preceptors, and National Advisory Council.  These competency sets are organized into six domains [leadership, communication, management, critical thinking, scientific/analytic, and political and community development] that identify the knowledge, skills and abilities that are essential for entry into a career in management or policy and lay the foundation for professional development that can lead to a role as a senior executive or policy maker or analyst. 

Three unique aspects mark both the MHA and the MPH-HP curricula.

• Each degree program integrates classroom instruction with practice through a 13-week, paid internship in an organization selected to meet students’ needs.  Internship sites are available throughout the United States.  The internship offers students the opportunity to observe management or policy activities first-hand, to participate in decision-making, complete assigned projects, and work with an experienced preceptor.

• Students participate each semester in the Department’s Health Management Rounds and Health Policy Rounds speaker series.  This zero credit hour course exposes students to the range of career options in the fields of health policy and management as well as contemporary issues challenging the health sector.  The course complements a professional development series, “Tuesdays at Salus,” offered by the School’s Office of Student Services.

• In their final semester of study, students participate in an integrative “capstone” course and complete the Graduate School’s required oral comprehensive examination. These experiences offer students the opportunity to integrate their learning into a cohesive whole and demonstrate the skills and competencies that they have mastered.