Master of Public Health in Health Policy

The Harvard Chan School master of public health degree will provide you with the breadth of knowledge, subject-specific expertise, specialized skills, and powerful global network you need to forge the career you want in public health. Whether you are a medical doctor, an established public health professional, or new to the field of public health, flexible degree formats and an array of options for specific fields of study will provide you with the right mix of grounding in the core disciplines of public health and a specialized focus to meet your individual goals. Harvard Chan School MPH graduates have achieved some remarkable things. They have led global efforts to eradicate diseases such as smallpox and Guinea worm disease. They have led departments at hospitals and health care agencies. They have become leaders of ministries of health, humanitarian organizations, corporations, academic institutions, and government agencies. They have developed life-saving vaccines. They have served as surgeons, primary care physicians, and veterinarians. They have become best-selling authors. And they have even become heads of state. The health policy field of study prepares students to apply economic, legal, and political analysis to the design, implementation, and evaluation of health care and public health policies in the United States or other countries with high-income economies. Through the study of biostatistics, epidemiology, and other quantitative disciplines, students also acquire skills in interpreting and evaluating scientific evidence to inform their policy work. Students are encouraged to choose elective courses that will help them develop greater expertise in a policy area of interest, such as access to care, health care quality, pharmaceutical policy, injury prevention, or health care financing. Program graduates work in policy positions in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors as policy analysts, advocates, and consultants.

The Harvard Chan School prefers a 104+ on the TOEFL IBT and our minimum score requirement is 100 with sub-section scores of 25 or higher on the IBT.
The Harvard Chan School will accept the IELTS Academic Test with a score of 7.5 or greater.
In general, applicants for the MPH-45 degree must have one of the following:
a prior doctoral degree-for example, MD, DO, DMD, DDS, PhD, SD, JD (or equivalent)
a master's degree in a health-related field-for example, MSN, MSW, MBA-plus at least two years of relevant health experience
completed the primary clinical year of medical or dental school or be a 1L student at Harvard Law School or a concurrent applicant to the master of science in nursing at Simmons University. To learn more, visit Dual/Joint Degrees.
a bachelor's degree, plus five or more years of relevant health experience (for the epidemiology, global health, health and social behavior, health management, and health policy fields of study only)