Population Health

All coursework is 100% online and uses an accelerated term format specifically designed for working professionals. This enables students to focus on building one set of skills at a time, but still graduate at the same pace as traditional graduate degree programs.

The Master of Science (MS) degree builds upon the foundational concepts presented in the Graduate Certificate and focuses on the advanced applications of population health science and management. This option contains 10 online courses and a capstone project, which is specifically designed to enhance the student’s career trajectory. This option can be completed in two years.

The two track options allow students to focus their studies on the science of population health improvement or the population health management strategies used in healthcare.

Science Track

This track provides critical knowledge and skills to effectively address population health issues across a spectrum of populations. It is a broad education applicable to administrative leadership positions in healthcare delivery organizations, health insurance companies, government, public health agencies, and health-related non-profit organizations. It is also ideal for general education of professionals new to or considering population health endeavors.

Management Track

This track is designed for professionals in healthcare and provides a deeper focus on the clinical application of population health principles both for strategy and management.

All tracks teach skills to lead value-based population health-focused enterprise-level change across a variety of healthcare organizations and systems.  

The Advanced Practice Certificate focuses on building knowledge and skills in population health. The primary audiences include: health professions students, medical residents and fellows, clinical faculty, and healthcare professionals interested in moving into administrative roles. 

The graduate certificate focuses on the foundations of population health. This option contains five online courses and can be completed in one year. Two certificate tracks are offered: Science and Management.

• 100% online with no synchronous learning requirement
• Curriculum designed by and for population health professionals
• Accelerated 7-week term format tailored to working professionals
• Courses taught by expert practitioner faculty who bring extensive real-world experience to the classroom
• Complete a graduate certificate in one year or a master’s degree in two years while taking just one course at a time

In the U.S. and around the world, health and social care costs are growing at an unsustainable rate and numerous sub-populations have unequal access to those services, receive different benefits, and experience poor and disparate outcomes. Population health has emerged as a new framework for solving these problems by integrating the fields of business management, quality, economics, informatics, epidemiology, health policy, and change management into a new paradigm of service delivery.

Professionals from all key stakeholder groups in healthcare and business are engaged in population health, including:

• Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other clinicians
• Healthcare administrators
• Accountable Care Organization (ACO) leaders
• Health insurance professionals and third-party administrators
• Health benefits managers for organizations
• Business leaders
• Risk management and finance professionals working in hospitals and integrated delivery systems
• Pharmaceutical, device, and biotechnology industries
• Healthcare management consultants
• Healthcare-focused technology professionals
• Health IT specialists and analysts
• Public/government professionals engaged in healthcare oversight
• Public health surveillance officers
• Professionals at hospital associations and other professional or trade associations

This program also offers reduced program requirements and discounted tuition costs through partnerships with several professional organizations, including the American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL), the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ), the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM), and others.