Health Policy and Law.

As part of Boston University’s on-campus Master of Public Health (MPH) degree, you will choose at least one Functional Certificate as your area of concentration, building upon your interests, strengths and career goals.

Health Policy and Law Functional Certificate

Improving healthcare requires smart policies that rest on sound evidence. Major challenges include assuring affordable healthcare for all; containing costs and cutting waste; assuring availability of the right caregivers in the right places; and relying on governments, professionals, and markets to take on jobs they are competent to perform. This certificate equips students to analyze, design, and improve policies and laws in the US or other nations.

Upon graduation, students in the 16-credit certificate will be able to:

  • Critically evaluate health policies, both domestically and globally, with special attention to political power, money, and equity.
  • Appraise and defend the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of health policies.
  • Develop policy proposals that recognize financial, political, and legal constraints.
  • Determine the factors influencing successful policy implementation.
  • Articulate and support policy and legal analyses to different audiences in writing and orally.

Sample Course Titles

  • Health Law, Policy, and Policymaking
  • Health Care Finance
  • Health Economics
  • Health Regulation & Planning
  • Analysis of Current Health Policy Issues
  • Health Insurance and the Affordable Care Act

View the BU Bulletin for Course Requirements

Sample Practicum

  • Intern, Public Finance, Partners Healthcare
  • Intern, Massachusetts State legislature’s Joint Committee on Health Care Financing
  • Intern, Community Catalyst-Health Reform Advocacy

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Integrative Learning Experience

Students will participate in a mock legislative hearing. The topic and stakeholder perspective will be selected by the certificate director and other faculty members to reflect a debate on an issue currently before the federal or state governments.

Certificate Director

“This is an incredibly exciting time to study health policy and law, as health reform is one of the most important issues in elections and legislative agendas. Health policy and law is at the heart of everything public health aspires to do, how the structural forces that have created inequities are changed.”

Frequently Asked Questions

For more information about MPH degree requirements and admissions, request information to learn more.