The Department of Health Services offers ten degree programs:

Six MPH Programs (two-year MPH, post doctoral MPH, joint MBA/MPH, joint MPH/JD, joint MD/MPH, and the MPH for Health Professionals)

Two MS Programs (Two year MS, Post doctoral MS)

Ph.D program

Dr.PH program

Degree objectives for specific programs include:

MPH Programs

All MPH Programs seek to impart a:

• Thorough understanding of how personal health services are organized, financed and delivered;
• Knowledge of the role of public health services in meeting the goals of health promotion, education and disease prevention;
• Cognizance of ways to measure and assess the impact of access, technology and quality of care;
• Comprehension of basic statistical skills to understand how health services research is conducted and to interpret research findings;
• Framework for analysis of industry-wide issues and methods and skills to address management and policy issues arising from our rapidly changing field.

Two year MPH

Two year MPH students may focus on health policy or health services management. In addition to the core curriculum, those students interested in policy will learn paradigms from economics, sociology, political science and law to analyze policy issues and develop potential policy solutions. Students studying for management careers will be exposed to paradigms from management sciences, organizational and financial theory and practice, as well as economics, sociology, and political science. These paradigms will be applied to solving practical issues confronted in managing health care organizations. The two year MPH student completes a summer internship in a health services organization. This is followed by the integrative experience of a consulting report based on an organization problem from the summer internship and agreed to by the organization, student, and faculty.

Post-Doctoral MPH

Post-Doctoral MPH students have a prior doctoral or advanced professional degree (Ph.D., M.D., D.D.S., J.D., D.Rn., Pharm.D). The post-doctoral MPH is a one year program during which the student integrates their prior education and training into the curriculum in order to better understand and improve the organization and delivery of health services. Post-doctoral students must successfully complete a department comprehensive examination.

MPH for Health Professionals

The MPH for Health Professionals Program in Health Services Management is designed for mid career health professionals who attend classes every other weekend for two academic years while continuing their full time jobs. In addition to the learning objectives for all MPH programs, the MPH HP has added emphasis on development of individual and organizational leadership competencies. The culminating experience for the MPH for Health Professionals degree is successful completion of a consulting report executed in the student's organization or as a special project in another health services organization.

Joint MPH/MBA Program ( 3 year)

The MPH/MBA program is offered jointly with the Anderson School. Completion of requirements of both the MPH and MBA can be achieved in three years. Concurrent degree graduates obtain a comprehensive knowledge of all management disciplines (e.g. accounting, finance, organizational behavior, strategic management, information systems and marketing) and the ability to apply such knowledge to a wide range of health care organizations. Under the auspices of the Department of Health Services, the concurrent degree student completes a summer internship in a health services organization and a comprehensive departmental exam. A group consulting project is completed through the Anderson School.

Joint MPH/JD Program (4 year)

Applicants for the concurrent JD/MPH program must fulfill the entrance requirements for either school. Applicants to this program may take the LSAT exam rather than the GRE. Minimum score requirements are determined by the School of Law.

MD/MPH Program (5 years)

Applicants for the concurrent MD/MPH program must be admitted to the UCLA School of Medicine. Students will apply for the MPH program during their third year of study in the School of Medicine. MCAT scores are accepted in lieu of GRE scores in this program.

For Graduate Division information, including an online application, please click here.

MS Programs

The M.S. in Health Services specializes in the development of research skills. This program prepares students for careers in using a research foundation. Many students eventually continue to a Ph.D. program. Upon graduation with an M.S. in Health Services, the student will have:

• An ability to conceptualize a health services research problem;
• A basic competency in design and analyses of evaluation research and quality assessment;
• Knowledge of fundamental health services research methods including decision analyses, meta analysis, cost benefit analysis and qualitative research;
• An ability to carry out multivariate/econometric analysis using a large health services data set.

Post-Doctoral MSHS in Health Services Research

The curriculum is offered to students with prior with prior doctoral degrees (M.D., Ph.D, J.D.or equivalent). The program is intended for professionals who wish to learn the basic skills of health services research and may intend to participate in health services research in their future careers.

Two Year MS

The two year MS objectives and culminating experience are the same as for the Post-doctoral M.S. A further objective is successful completion of additional electives directed toward intermediate level research activities as a career or as a base for pursuing the Ph.D.

Ph.D Program

The Ph.D. graduate should demonstrate all the competencies of the M.S. graduate and, in addition:

• Successfully complete a cognate (at least three courses) in a relevant discipline (economics, sociology, epidemiology, management) which will serve as an additional perspective and tool for health services research;
• Master additional statistics and methods classes;
• Demonstrate the skill to teach and communicate their work effectively both orally and in writing.

The culminating experiences for the Ph.D. degree include successful completion of the department written qualifying examination, oral qualifying examination of a proposal for a disciplinary based, hypothesis testing dissertation; and completion and final defense of the dissertation.

Dr.PH. Program

The Doctor of Public health (Dr.P.H.) is the highest professional degree for the public health generalist. The program specializing in health services prepares students for leadership positions in health services organizations. In contrast to the Ph.D., the orientation is professional rather than academic and comprehensive rather than specialized. During the course of study, the student will complete 16-20 full courses beyond the MPH level to develop mastery in:

• the basic tools of social analysis.
• health and disease in populations.
• promotion of health and prevention of disease.
• health systems and their management.

Students will thus be well grounded in health services organization, delivery and management. Required coursework is completed prior to commencement of the residency, a professional placement which accommodates the completion of a problem solving study for the specific organization. The Dr.PH student is required to pass comprehensive qualifying exam after completion of the main course work and prior to beginning the residency.

Please e-mail Health Services' Student Affairs Officer Roxy Naranjo for further information.