A dual degree that includes a Master of Public Health (MPH) offered through the School of Medicine and Public Health and a La Follette School Master of Public Affairs (MPA) degree.
An education in public health policy, policy analysis, and management provides skills to address critical health and health policy issues in the United States and throughout the world.
La Follette School students finish the dual degree requirements in 3 full years, including summers. Students can complete a Master of International Public Affairs (MIPA) degree with this dual degree, but the Master of Public Affairs (MPA) degree is most common.
Applying
Separate applications to both the La Follette School of Public Affairs and the Master of Public Health Program are required. Applicants can apply to both programs at the time of application, or they can apply to one program while enrolled in the other after they have matriculated.
To maximize time spent in both programs, it is recommended that matriculated students be admitted to both programs in their first year on campus.
Requirements
Enrolled students must meet the degree requirements and progression expectations of both programs and are encouraged to seek academic advising from each program every semester.
They will receive 19 credits from 6 core courses worth 3 credits each, in addition to a 1 credit professional development seminar for public affairs.
The remaining credit requirements for the La Follette degree are met with elective courses and 11 credits that count toward the MPA/MIPA can count toward the MPH degree.
The La Follette School curriculum requires 36 credits. A total of 42 credits is required for the Master of Public Health (MPH) curriculum.
Students in the program are expected to complete the majority of core requirements by the end of their second year of studies, so they can focus primarily on electives in their third year.
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Core Courses (19 cr.)
- PA 800 Professional Development Workshop focuses on essential skills students must have to be successful in graduate school and in their careers
- Introduction to Statistical Methods for Public Policy Analysis develops competence with analytical tools for studying public affairs.
- Microeconomic Policy Analysis explores how to evaluate the implications of policies for efficiency and equity, and to employ statistical methods for interpreting and presenting quantitative data.
- Introduction to Policy Analysis focuses on defining policy problems, determining goals, designing policy alternatives, and assessing trade-offs to make recommendations.
- Policymaking Process examines the political processes that shape U.S. public policy.(Domestic students)
- International Governance provides students with the substantive framework for studying public affairs in the context of globalization. (International students)
- Introduction to Public Management introduces key theories of how public organizations work, the relationship between democracy and management, and critical public management issues such as accountability and policy implementation.
- Workshop in Public Affairs, the capstone course taken in the final semester, gives students experience working in teams with a faculty supervisor on a real-world policy project. They apply conceptual and analytical tools to issues their clients face in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors.
Elective Courses (17 cr.)
Recommended Public Affairs courses:
- Administrative Internship
- Program Evaluation
- Cost-Benefit Analysis
- Health Systems and Policy
- Economics of Healthcare
Note: Electives cannot come from the MPH curriculum.
Degree plan
A recommended schedule of courses to complete the degrees.
Masters of Public Affairs – Public Health and Public Policy degree plan
Student experience
Sukhvir Singh, MPA, MPH
"I hope to contribute to criminal justice reform by analyzing and advocating for policy changes surrounding the health of currently and formerly incarcerated individuals."
Elizabeth Johnson, MPA, MPH
"If you are looking to create a better future for yourself or the world, you will have the opportunity to learn how to do that here at La Follette."
Kate Austin Stanford (MPA/MPH ’15)
"Skills that I learned and gained in graduate school, I’ve used in the private sector as well as in the public sector. That includes quantitative analysis and strong writing skills, as well as the ability to interpret data and research findings and then translate them from academia into more plain language – this makes research and learning accessible across different audiences."
Nova Tebbe, MPA, MPH, Energy Analysis and Policy Certificate
"I went to a small school for my undergraduate studies, and I wanted to keep this tight-knit community while also having the resources of a large and world-renowned research university."
Careers
Courses prepare health policy professionals as policy analysts and public managers in the increasingly important area of health care.
Cost
Students in the Public Health and Public Affairs dual degree program pay different tution rates. See the Graduate tuition rate, which is paid as a La Follette School student, and the Health Professionals rate, paid as a Public Health student, under the “Student Career” dropdown menu.