Health Policy and Management, M.P.H.

COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH

About the Program

Job Prospects: Graduates with an MPH-HPM hold positions in a wide range of health-related settings, including state and local public health departments, federally qualified health centers, hospitals and health systems, community-based organizations, voluntary health agencies, health insurers, clinics, schools, and work sites. Graduates are prepared to assume leadership positions in a variety of health services and public health organizations. Alumni are employed as environmental health specialists, evaluation specialists, healthcare administrators, HIV/AIDS coordinators, infection control coordinators, marketing specialists, prevention specialists, project directors, research directors, senior health educators, and consultants. Virtually all full-time students are placed within three to six months of graduation.

Licensure: Students who complete an M.P.H. at Temple University are eligible to sit for the Certification in Public Health (CPH) exam and the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) exam. For information regarding credentialing in public health, see http://www.nchec.org. Graduates also become eligible for certification and advancement in a number of health professional associations such as the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Non-Matriculated Student Policy: Non-matriculated students are required to speak with an advisor before registering for classes and to obtain the permission of the professor. If accepted to the program, a maximum of three courses may be applied toward the degree program. Exceptions to this policy relate to formal certificate programs.

Financing Opportunities: The College of Public Health and the Department of Health Services Administration and Policy offer a limited number of tuition scholarships to highly qualified applicants.

Limited Teaching Assistantships are available in the College of Public Health. The Graduate School website details levels of support, benefits, and the terms and conditions of these types of graduate student support at http://www.temple.edu/grad/finances/. Assistantships are awarded on a term or annual basis.

Students may also be eligible for financial support through the Office of Student Financial Services. See http://sfs.temple.edu/.

Admission Requirements and Deadlines

Application Deadline:

Fall: March 1
Spring: November 1

All applicants to the M.P.H. program must apply via the Centralized Application Service for Public Health (SOPHAS). The system can be accessed at https://sophas.liaisoncas.com/.

Applicants should check their application status on the SOPHAS portal often and inquire directly of SOPHAS about receipt of materials. For other questions, please contact Theresa White, Senior Graduate Advisor, at theresawhite@temple.edu or 215-204-5105.

Letters of Reference:
Number Required: 3

From Whom: Letters of recommendation, which are completed electronically through the SOPHAS system, should be obtained from college/university faculty members familiar with academic competence. If the applicant has been out of school for a long time, please ensure that letters are from professional colleagues and that they address academic abilities, such as writing and research.

Coursework Required for Admission Consideration: Applicants' files are reviewed for undergraduate coursework in Mathematics and/or Statistics, Social Science, and writing.

Bachelor's Degree in Discipline/Related Discipline: A baccalaureate degree is required.

Statement of Goals: In 500 to 1,000 words, address the following questions:

• What are your interests in Health Policy and Management, and why are you planning to pursue an M.P.H.?
• What are your future career goals, and what have you done either academically or professionally to guide your interest in Health Policy and Management?
• What is your leadership philosophy? How effective are you at working on interdisciplinary teams?
• Are there any exceptional circumstances related to previous academic performance that you would like the Admissions Committee to consider?

Standardized Test Scores:
GRE: Required. While the program takes a portfolio approach to admissions, standardized tests provide important insight into quantitative and verbal abilities. Minimum scores are 500 (old test) on both the verbal and quantitative sections or, on the new test, 153 on the verbal section and 144 on the quantitative section.

Standardized tests considered in lieu of the GRE include DAT, GMAT, MCAT, OAT, and PCAT. The LSAT, which is also considered for some M.P.H. specialties, is not accepted when applying for Applied Biostatistics or Epidemiology.

TOEFL: 79 iBT or 550 PBT minimum

Clearances: The M.P.H. programs require students to complete clinical/field education experiences at facilities both on and off Temple University’s campuses. These placements may require criminal background checks, Act 33/34 clearances, and perhaps a drug screen. Placements may also require the student to maintain personal health insurance. The results of these requirements may limit and potentially eliminate placement options for the student, thus resulting in her/his inability to meet graduation requirements.

Resume: Current resume or CV required.

Transfer Credit: Graduate credits from an M.P.H. program accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) may be transferred into the M.P.H. The credits must be equivalent to coursework offered at Temple, and the grade must be a "B" or better in order to transfer. The M.P.H. advisor approves the transfer of credits based on a review of course materials provided by the student. The maximum number of credits a student may transfer is 9.

Test Waivers: Graduates with a terminal degree from a U.S. medical school, foreign-trained physicians who have obtained licensure to practice in the United States, and those with a Ph.D. or with an excellent undergraduate record and 7 to 10 years or more of public health or healthcare professional experience may have the GRE requirement waived.

Program Requirements

General Program Requirements:
Number of Credits Required Beyond the Baccalaureate: 42

Required Courses:

On-Campus Full-Time MPH-HPM 

Online MPH-HPM

Internship: An internship is required as part of a student's M.P.H. fieldwork. Part-time fieldwork experiences are available for full-time employees.

Culminating Events:
Fieldwork Practicum:
M.P.H. fieldwork requires a student to synthesize and integrate the knowledge acquired in coursework and other learning experiences and to apply theory and principles in a situation that approximates some aspect of professional practice through an internship or practicum experience with a public health agency, health services organization, or under the supervision of a faculty preceptor. The M.P.H. fieldwork experience serves as the culminating event as required by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), the accrediting body of all U.S. schools of public health, for completion of the Master of Public Health degree. In addition, this culminating experience provides the student with the opportunity to develop expertise in a topic area and to contribute original and independent observations to a body of knowledge.

For the culminating experience to fulfill the requirements of HPM 9289 and HPM 9389, M.P.H. in Health Policy and Management students are expected to complete a fieldwork experience, which enables them to:

• Apply knowledge and methods in planning, leading, organizing, administering, and evaluating systems, programs, and policies to address health problems that impact populations in the context of the multilevel structures (global, national, state, local, community, agency, organization, group, team, dyad).
• Create and communicate a shared vision for a changing future.
• Champion solutions to organizational and community challenges.
• Energize commitment to goals.
• Demonstrate ethical choices, values, and professional practices implicit in public health decisions.
• Consider the effect of choices on community stewardship, equity, social justice, and accountability.
• Commit to personal and institutional development.
• Recognize system-level properties that result from dynamic interactions among human and social systems and how they affect the relationships among individuals, groups, organizations, communities, and environments.
• Monitor and evaluate the performance of organizations and/or policies that address health problems/issues.
• Use the understanding of the policymaking and policy implementation processes to achieve improvements in the health status of populations.
• Describe the attributes of leadership in public health.

A final paper is the required deliverable for the M.P.H. fieldwork requirement. Students must also demonstrate their proficiency and the application of theory and principles in the paper and demonstrate mastery of the required competencies during the oral defense. The evaluation of the M.P.H. fieldwork practicum experience, therefore, is integrated into the culminating experience requirement.

Contacts

Department Contacts: