The Specialization in Health Policy focuses on applied research in the organization, delivery and financing of health care and population-based issues in health (including mental health). A multidisciplinary faculty in epidemiology, health economics and finance, health policy, medical sociology, bioethics, and health law is ideally suited to prepare quantitative health service researchers and health policy analysts. Qualified students without a relevant Master’s degree can prepare for the Ph.D. by completing coursework in the masters in health administration (MHA), the MA in medical sociology, or the MS in Health Promotion while enrolled in the PhD with a Specialization in Health Policy.

The Specialization in Social Policy prepares scholars, researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to address crucial social issues facing communities and our nation including social welfare, education, poverty, housing and homelessness and the role of public, nonprofit, and private sectors in alleviating and contributing to such problems. In addition to dealing with these topics in their own right, the social policy specialization focuses on the complex interrelationships among these issues and the manner in which they are influenced by--and in turn influence--prevailing patterns of racial, ethnic, and gender stratification. The social policy specialization provides the theoretical background, methodological training, and substantive knowledge that will allow students to make important contributions to the development, implementation, and evaluation of public policies addressing these most vexing and important social issues of our time.