Health Policy and Management

For more than three decades, the Health Policy and Management (HPM) program at Providence College has prepared students for challenging careers in the health care industry. This interdisciplinary program prepares students for entry-level positions in health services management, health policy-making, and public health practice and also provides a strong foundation for graduate study. Required coursework builds on the student’s liberal arts background and fosters the value of an interdisciplinary approach to the study of health and health care. We seek to develop future decision makers and leaders who will navigate the complexities of the health care system with competence and compassion.

Over the past decade, the program has evolved from a narrow focus on health services administration to a more interdisciplinary approach to studying the relationship between health and society. Like its sister programs in the School of Professional Studies, HPM has a required field experience seminar and internship program designed to prepare students for the world of professional practice they will enter after graduation. Our curriculum recognizes the need to balance theory with practice and provides for a structured field experience during the senior year. This required internship affords students an opportunity to develop and practice professional skills under the direction of an on-site preceptor and a faculty supervisor.

Student interest in health policy and management blossomed in recent years, as enrollment more than doubled from 2005 to 2011. The program awarded degrees to 60 students in May 2011, and graduated 59 students in May 2012. We offer a unique training ground for those who will lead in the development of healthier communities through professional practice, research, and service. Many students choose to combine a major in health policy with a major or minor in Accounting, Business Studies, Global Studies, Political Science, Public and Community Service, Psychology, or Sociology. A growing number of HPM students (10 or more in a typical academic year) also study abroad during their junior year. Study abroad programs in Copenhagen, Galway, London, and New Zealand, among others, offer a wide range of courses that are accepted by the program as HPM electives. For more information about the requirements of the major, please refer to the Undergraduate Catalog.

HPM graduates work in many different areas both within and outside of the health care industry. In recent years our graduates have found employment in government, hospital administration, health insurance, health information technology, health law, healthcare financial management, human resources management, pharmaceutical sales and product development, practice management, public health, quality improvement, and research and teaching.