Applicable only to students admitted during the 2025-2026 academic year.

Health Policy

Fielding School of Public Health

Graduate Degrees

The Fielding School of Public Health offers a school-wide Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree in Health Policy and an articulated degree program with Medicine as well as concurrent degree programs with Law, Management, and Public Policy.

For information on the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Health Policy and Management, applicants should see the listings for the department.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

Upon entering the program, students are assigned to the MPH Program Director as their primary adviser whose responsibility is to counsel students concerning program of study and progress toward the fulfillment of degree requirements. Throughout the course of study, the program director and student will meet with the student academic advisor and faculty as needed. Students are expected to meet with the MPH Program Director each quarter.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

The M.P.H. requires Biostatistics 201A, Community Health Sciences 201, Environmental Health Sciences 201, Epidemiology 201, and Public Health 401 (20 units). Students may
also satisfy Public Health 401 with a School-approved alternative course or experience in
consultation with the Associate Dean of Public Health Practice.

The Health Policy concentration (56 units) requires Health Policy and Management 200B, M233, M236 (or 230A and 230B), 286, M287, 400, M422, 441, and 24 units of graduate level (200 series and 400 series) coursework selected from departmental or School offerings.

M.D./M.P.H. Program

Medicine, M.D./Health Policy, M.P.H.

The articulated degree with Medicine and the M.P.H. in Health Policy (52 units) requires
Biostatistics 201A, Community Health Sciences 201, Environmental Health Sciences 201,
Epidemiology 201, and Public Health 401, Health Policy and Management 200B, M236 (or 230A and 230B), 400, 403, and 16 units of elective courses from departmental or School offerings. M.P.H. elective courses may not be used towards the M.D. in Medicine.

See School of Medicine for degree requirements.

M.P.P./M.P.H. Program

Public Policy, M.P.P./Health Policy, M.P.H.

The concurrent degree with Public Policy and the M.P.H. in Health Policy (56 units) requires Biostatistics 201A, Community Health Sciences 201, Environmental Health Sciences 201, Epidemiology 201, and Public Health 401, Health Policy and Management 200B, M287, 400, M422, and 20 units of elective courses from departmental or School offerings.

See Public Policy M.P.P. listing for degree requirements.

J.D./M.P.H. Program

Law, J.D./Health Policy, M.P.H.

The concurrent degree with Law and the M.P.H. in Health Policy (56 units) requires Biostatistics 201A, Community Health Sciences 201, Environmental Health Sciences 201, Epidemiology 201, and Public Health 401, Health Policy and Management 200B, M236 (or 230A and 230B), M287, 400, two courses from 286, 403, or M422, and twelve units of elective courses from departmental or School offerings.

See School of Law for degree requirements.

M.B.A./M.P.H. Program

Management, M.B.A./Health Policy, M.P.H.

The concurrent degree with Management and the M.P.H. in Health Policy (56 units) requires Biostatistics 201A, Community Health Sciences 201, Environmental Health Sciences 201, Epidemiology 201, and Public Health 401, Health Policy and Management 200B, M236 (or 230A and 230B), 400, M422, and 20 units of elective courses from departmental or School offerings.

See Anderson Graduate School of Management for degree requirements.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Students must demonstrate key professional competencies by completing an Applied practice experience (APEx) in an approved setting. Typically, APEx is a full-time experience completed during the summer between the first and second year of enrollment. Students must be in good academic standing with a grade point average of 3.0 or better before beginning their APEx.

Capstone Plan

The aim of the capstone is to assess each student’s ability to select theories, methods, and techniques from across the content matter of a field, integrate and synthesize knowledge, and apply it to the solution of public health problems.  The requirement is fulfilled by completing a project or exam that is specifically designed for the concentration.  Students must be in good academic standing, with a grade point average of 3.0 or better, before undertaking the completion of the capstone requirement.

The MPH in Health Policy requires a written Capstone Project and must be satisfactorily completed by the last term of enrollment.  The topic of the Capstone Project will be determined by the student in consultation with their Program Adviser.  For Capstone Project guidelines, please consult the department for more information.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

From graduate admission to award of the degree, normal progress is six quarters of enrollment. M.P.H. Maximum time allowable from enrollment to graduation, including leaves of absence, is five years (15 quarters).

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.P.H.	6	6	15

Academic Disqualification and Appeal of Disqualification

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure on examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing academic disqualification of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.