Concentration · Verified September 2026

Health Policy and Management MPH Programs

169verified programs
147at CEPH-accredited schools
73offered online
$858median tuition per credit

What Is a Master's in Health Policy, and Is an MPH in Health Policy and Management the Right Choice?

A master's in health policy teaches you to analyze, shape and run the systems that deliver health care and public health, usually through an MPH in health policy and management. This site lists 169 health policy programs at 129 schools, and 150 of them are MPH degrees. It suits people aiming at policy analysis, advocacy or health services management, a field where the BLS median pay was $123,860 in May 2025; compare that path with the MPH vs MHA guide.

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Empty chamber of the Massachusetts House of Representatives with rows of wooden desks, microphones and murals below a painted dome
Photo: Aaron Johnson / Pexels

Health policy sits where public health meets money, law and management. The work covers how health care is paid for, which programs a government funds, and how a hospital or health department runs. Unlike biostatistics, this field is almost entirely an MPH field.

This page covers 169 health policy programs at 129 schools in 42 states: 150 MPH degrees, 16 MS degrees, 2 MSPH degrees and 1 other master’s. 147 are at CEPH-accredited schools or programs.

Policy, Management or Both? Reading the Concentration Name

Schools use a dozen names for overlapping tracks, and the name tells you where the weight falls. Across the programs on this page, you’ll find:

Concentration name Programs using it
Health Policy and Management 21
Health Policy 15
Health Policy & Management 7
Health Management and Policy 6
Health Care Management 5
Health Policy and Administration 4
Health Systems and Policy 4
Healthcare Management 4
Healthcare Administration 3

A name with “policy” first tends to lean toward analysis, economics and politics. A name with “management” or “administration” leans toward running organizations. Some schools split them outright: UCLA offers a separate MPH in Health Policy and MPH in Health Management, each 78 quarter units.

Every accredited MPH already covers some policy. CEPH requires all MPH students to show they can discuss the policy-making process, build coalitions, advocate for policies, evaluate policies for their effect on health equity, and explain budget basics. A health policy concentration goes much deeper.

MPH vs MS in Health Policy: Practice or Research

The two degrees lead to different careers, and UCLA shows the difference within one department:

MPH in Health Policy MS in Health Policy and Management
Length Two years Two years (one year with a prior doctorate)
Size 78 quarter units 16 courses, 70 units
Field work 10-week, 400-hour summer internship None required
Finish line Written consulting report from the internship Research report supervised by a three-person committee
Leads to Policy consultant, health policy analyst, health policy advocate Doctoral study and research in health economics, quality of care, cost-effectiveness analysis

If you want to work in government, consulting, advocacy or a health system, the MPH fits. If you see yourself doing a PhD in health economics or health services research, the MS is built for that. The MPH vs MS guide covers the split across all fields.

169 programs

Program facts come from each school's own program pages, reviewed September 2026. Tuition is the school's published figure with its basis; per-credit sorting uses programs that publish a per-credit rate. CEPH status comes from the CEPH accredited list.

Inside a Health Policy MPH: What You Actually Study

UCLA’s MPH in Health Policy is a useful model because it publishes its required courses. They include Health Systems Organization and Financing, Policy Analysis, Microeconomic Theory of the Health Sector, American Political Institutions and Health Policy, Politics of Health Policy, Practices of Evaluation in Health Services, and two data courses: Data Software for Public Health Professionals and Data Analytics.

Expect three threads in most programs:

  • Economics and financing. How insurance, payment and budgets shape care.
  • Politics and law. How policy gets made and who has influence.
  • Evaluation and data. Whether a program or policy worked, measured with real data.

The internship is where the degree becomes a job. At UCLA, students spend at least 10 weeks with a hospital, managed care organization, government agency, consulting firm or advocacy group, then write a consulting report on a real problem from that placement. UCLA notes that students often keep working part time at their summer site.

Masters in Health Policy Online

73 programs on this page offer an online option and 39 are fully online. Online options tend to be management-flavored MPHs. Accredited examples with published per-credit rates:

Program Relevant concentration Credits Per-credit rate
Augusta University online MPH Health Management 45 $445 in state, $1,249 out of state
University of Florida online MPH Population Health Management 48 $550, all residency statuses
UAB MPH Health Policy and Organization 42 to 44 $624 for online courses
National University MPH Healthcare Administration 48 $644
The Chicago School online MPH Public Policy Development and Advocacy 42 $975
Colorado School of Public Health online MPH Health Systems, Management and Policy 42 to 45 $995 resident, $1,566 non-resident

The University of Florida rate is the same for every residency status, which makes it one of the more predictable online prices here. See every format on the online MPH programs page.

What a Health Policy Master’s Costs

Among 73 programs with a published per-credit rate, tuition runs from $287 to $2,507 per credit, with a median of about $858. Estimated tuition (published per-credit rate times credits, before fees) is available for 69 programs, with a median of $38,136 and a high of $115,322.

Lower-cost accredited MPH options with policy or management tracks:

Program Relevant track Estimated tuition
UTHealth Houston MPH Health Services Organization, Healthcare Management $12,915
University of Nevada, Reno MPH Health Administration and Policy $16,097
UNLV MPH Healthcare Administration and Policy $18,013
University of South Florida MPH Health Policies and Programs $18,078

At the top end, NYU’s MPH in Public Health Policy and MPH in Public Health Management each come to an estimated $115,322 at $2,507 per credit. The low figures use resident rates: UTHealth’s $287 per credit rises to $1,124 for non-residents. For more low-cost picks across every concentration, see the affordable MPH programs.

Health Policy Jobs and Pay

The management side of this field has a clear BLS occupation: medical and health services managers. It’s large, with 597,080 jobs in May 2025, and the BLS projects 24% growth from 2025 to 2035.

Pay level (May 2025) Annual wage
Bottom 10% earned less than $73,390
Median $123,860
Top 10% earned more than $224,340

Hospitals employ 28% of these managers, physicians’ offices 13%, nursing and residential care facilities 9%, and outpatient centers and government 7% each. The BLS says the job typically requires a bachelor’s degree, but some employers prefer a master’s and top executive roles may require one. Pay is highest in New York, with a median of $164,120, and the District of Columbia at $155,140. California has the most jobs listed, 75,090, at a median of $141,480. The health services manager career guide has the rest.

The policy side has no single BLS job title. UCLA lists policy consultant, health policy analyst and health policy advocate as outcomes of its MPH, and its internship sites range from hospitals and managed care organizations to government agencies, consulting firms and advocacy groups.

The Largest Schools for Public Health Master’s Degrees

Large schools of public health often run several related tracks side by side. George Washington University’s residential MPH, for example, lists Global Health Policy and Systems and Environmental Health Science and Policy among its concentrations. These schools awarded the most public health master’s degrees in IPEDS 2022-23 (all public health master’s fields combined, not only policy):

School Public health master’s degrees awarded
George Washington University 1,100
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 1,028
Johns Hopkins University 954
Columbia University 858
Emory University 848
Harvard University 800

Size isn’t a measure of quality. A smaller program can still be the better fit if its one policy track matches your goal and costs less.

How to Choose a Health Policy Program

  1. Pick the side you want. Read the concentration name and required courses. Economics and politics courses point to policy; finance, operations and leadership courses point to management.
  2. Check the internship. A placement like UCLA’s 400-hour internship is often your first line on a resume in this field.
  3. Confirm accreditation. 147 of 169 programs are at CEPH-accredited schools and 3 at CEPH applicants. The CEPH accreditation guide explains what it covers.
  4. Consider an executive format if you’re working. UCLA’s Executive MPH in Health Policy and Management meets Friday afternoons, evenings and Saturdays over about two academic years.
  5. Weigh the MHA. If you only want to run a hospital department, an MHA may be more direct. If you want policy, population health or government work, the MPH is broader.
  6. Look at neighboring fields. Policy work often draws on global health and epidemiology skills, and many schools let you combine them.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Difference Between an MPH in Health Policy and an MHA?

An MPH in health policy covers the full public health core, including epidemiology and biostatistics, plus policy analysis and management. An MHA focuses on running health care organizations. Some schools of public health offer both; the MPH vs MHA guide on this site compares them.

Can You Earn a Master's in Health Policy Online?

Yes. 73 of the 169 programs on this site offer an online option and 39 are fully online, such as the University of Florida online MPH at $550 per credit for all residency statuses and Augusta University's online MPH with a Health Management concentration.

Is There a One-Year Health Policy MPH?

Some exist, with conditions. UCLA's one-year MPH in Health Policy and Management is for applicants who already hold a doctoral-level degree, and Emory offers a 12- or 15-month accelerated MPH with a Health Care Management track. 22 programs on this page are listed as accelerated.

Do Health Policy Programs Require the GRE?

Most don't. 72 programs say the GRE is not required and 26 make it optional; only 1 lists it as required.

Keep Comparing

From the Blog

Sources

  1. Official program pages of each school listed, reviewed September 2026
  2. Council on Education for Public Health, accredited schools and programs
  3. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Medical and Health Services Managers
  4. CEPH: Accreditation Criteria, 2024
  5. UCLA Fielding School of Public Health: MPH in Health Policy
  6. UCLA Fielding School of Public Health: MS in Health Policy and Management

Every program here was checked against the school's own website. Accreditation comes from the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) list, and graduate counts from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS). Sponsored listings are labeled and never change which programs we list. How we verify programs