How does a MPA in Health differ from a MPH or MHA?
Many programs in health policy and management are housed within schools of public health (awarding the MPH) or schools of business (awarding the MHA or MBA). Basically, the course content for a MPA will be comparable for degrees awarded at business schools, however the Wagner School’s focus on nonprofit and public institutions will provide a different grounding from a traditional business perspective. While business programs tend to focus on stock market issues, Wagner’s health program focuses on understanding the health care system and how management techniques relate directly to that system. A traditional MPH curriculum will differ from ours mainly in its primary starting point which is the study of the spread and containment of disease. While epidemiology is the groundwork for the MPH; management, finance, and policy analysis ground Wagner’s MPA degree focus.
