Public Health

The MPA@UNC curriculum helps students develop a greater understanding of public policy. Students have the opportunity to take cross-university courses to focus their studies in public health. By selecting courses from this concentration, students will learn to apply that knowledge of policy evaluation and reform to issues relating to global health and wellness.

What Can Students Accomplish in Public Health with an MPA Degree?

Health-care policy continues to garner an increasing amount of attention from all levels of government. This rise in national exposure is resulting in a tremendous need for more policy-driven health-care administrators. The skills students develop in the public health concentration will prepare them for careers in such areas as:

  • Health-care management
  • Hospital administration
  • Budget analysis
  • Health services management
  • Health-care policy regulation
  • Government relations

Coursework

Courses in this unique concentration are offered in conjunction with the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, one of the nation’s most respected schools of public health. Classes and coursework can be completed using the same technology as MPA@UNC, and are designed to build foundational knowledge of public health. Students will learn how to apply the core skills of public service leaders to issues such as disease prevention, health-care policy reform, and community health management.

Students who want to pursue a Public Health concentration must complete at least 9 credits from the listing of electives below, or other elective courses as approved by your Academic Advisor:

  • Biostatistical Applications for Public Health (3 credits)
  • Principles and Practice of Epidemiology (3 credits)
  • Environmental and Occupational Health in a Sustainable World (2 credits)
  • Management and Policy Approaches to Public Health (3 credits)
  • Social and Behavioral Approaches to Health (2 credits)
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