Health Policy Track

Analyzing how changes to public health policy and financing influence service delivery, health care spending, quality of care, and access to services

The Health Policy track prepares students for health policy leadership positions in the public and private sectors, potentially serving in a wide range of applied roles including as analysts, consultants, and policymakers.

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Students in the Health Policy track work closely with the faculty in the Department of Health Policy:

Department of Health Policy
2525 West End Avenue, Suite 1200
Nashville, TN 37203

Eligibility

• Bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree
• At least two years of relevant, post-undergraduate professional experience working in a health or policy setting strongly preferred

Courses

In addition to the core public health coursework (Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Social and Behavioral Science, Environmental Science, and Health Services Administration), courses include Health Economics, U.S. Health Policy, and Decision Analysis. Click here to view course requirements.

Practicum

As part of the 240-hour public health practicum, students in the Health Policy track may work in a number of settings such as hospitals, managed care organizations, consulting firms, advocacy organizations, non-governmental agencies, public health departments, or local, state, and federal agencies.

Culminating Experience

The culminating experience is a graduation requirement for all students in the MPH program. It allows each student to demonstrate synthesis of the MPH foundational and track-specific competencies and produce a high quality written product that is developed and delivered in a manner that is useful to external stakeholders. Students choose to complete a thesis or a capstone project and they select their research topic or focus area. Click here to learn more about the culminating experience.

Careers

Graduates of the Health Policy track of the Vanderbilt MPH Program will be equipped for health policy leadership positions in the public and private sectors, potentially serving in a wide range of applied roles including as analysts, consultants, and policymakers.

Student Stories

• Mariam Saad (VUSM MPH ‘24) explores new methods to reduce VUMC’s carbon footprint through silicone recycling pathway

• Second-year student Joshua Woods earns prestigious David A. Winston Scholarship

Track Leadership