The La Follette School’s dual-degree program in public affairs and public health has received final approval from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School, and students can start enrolling this fall.
“Health policy and public health-care management are very important components of public affairs,” says La Follette School Director Barbara Wolfe. “Understanding the relationships between public health, health policy and the allocation of public resources toward health is crucial.”
The 55-credit dual degree will take two years, including two summers, to complete. The student would graduate with two master's degrees, one in public health and one in public affairs. The MPH and the MPA alone are each 42 credits. The MPH is a professional degree within the Department of Population Health Sciences in the School of Medicine and Public Health.
The MPA-MPH dual degree is a logical extension of the La Follette School of Public Affairs’ national reputation in social policy, including health policy, La Follette Associate Director Karen Holden says. It also is consistent with the almost universal offerings of some combined training in the two fields at schools of public health and schools of public affairs around the nation.
The dual degree provides students with the credentialing degrees recognized in both fields, Holden adds. “From the public affairs side, people working in public health need to know how issues related to health status and behavior affect the provision of health care. From the medical side, people need more information on management and analysis of health policy.”
Applicants for the dual degree must apply to and be admitted to each program. The prerequisites for the master of public affairs include courses in American government, introductory statistics and microeconomics. The MPH requires one semester of science, including biology, nutritional science, chemistry or physics. It also requires one semester of college-level mathematics (such as algebra) or statistics. Some work in the field is recommended for admission to both programs, with public health experience recommended for candidates seeking to pursue the dual degree. This could include employment with social service agencies, public health departments or health-care organizations that focus on more than patient care.
Graduates of the dual-degree program will be well-suited for careers with state and federal health agencies, hospitals and nongovernmental organizations that focus on health policy research and management, as well as medical care institutions, including hospitals and large outpatient organizations, Wolfe says. “Students graduating with these dual degrees will be prepared to conduct research and craft public policy that affects people of all ages, whether they create prenatal care programs or help to reshape Medicaid.”
For information, contact Student Services Coordinator Mary Treleven, mtreleven@lafollette.wisc.edu, 262-3582.
— posted March 21, 2007; updated June 3, 2010