The department has developed an effective job placement mechanism for its graduates that offers numerous contacts with potential employers on a national scale. Practitioners are invited to the department to discuss their work and career paths, and a system of faculty networking and professional contacts is used to link students with a broad range of health policymakers and executives. The program emphasizes professional skills and concepts, a solid grounding in the substance of health problems, rigorous quantitative training, and a curriculum that combines professional, academic, and clinical activities. Acquired knowledge is applied to practical situations through a required sum-mer internship program and an applied field research project. Others have gone on to doctoral and fellowship programs.
Applicants come from a wide variety of undergraduate fields.
They are expected to have work experience and an academic record, particularly in quantitative and analytical courses, that suggest outstanding potential in the areas of health policy and management. Deferred admission is available for applicants who demonstrate strong potential but who need to gain more professional experience in the health sector. Of the 80 credits necessary to earn the SM, required courses account for 30 to 35. All students take courses in epidemiology, statistics, environmental health, health and social behavior, economics, and health policy and management. In addition, students must satisfy the requirements of at least one of the three areas of interest described below.