"The Certificate in Health and Health Policy prepares students for careers in health-related areas. The required core courses provide a foundation in health policy and epidemiology. The electives are chosen from a set of courses on a range of topics, including health economics, public health and public policy, health care policy in developing countries, and HIV/AIDS. The certificate is designed to be relevant for students with both domestic and international interests, and can be combined with any of the four fields."

Uwe Reinhardt 
Faculty Chair, Certificate in Health and Health Policy; 
Professor of Economics and Public Affairs
 

The growth in research and teaching on health and related policy issues at the Woodrow Wilson School is reflective of disturbing worldwide trends. Malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and other infectious diseases still kill nearly 60 million people and cause more than 600 million lost years of healthy life annually. Furthermore, there are staggering consequences from the economic, social, and political burdens of disease that fall upon developing and developed countries alike.

The Certificate in Health and Health Policy (HHP) trains graduate students for careers in health-related areas in the public and not-for-profit sectors. The program is designed for students with both domestic and international health interests, and provides broad training in core topics in health and health policy as well as courses in specialized areas.

Faculty associates come from diverse academic backgrounds, including psychology, economics, molecular biology, sociology, and demography. The goal of the HHP program is to give students an understanding of the determinants of health and the role that public policy plays in shaping the quality of people's lives and improving their physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

Certificate students are required to complete two core courses and two approved electives on health-related topics. The two core courses, WWS 597 The Political Economy of Healthcare Systems and WWS 598 Epidemiology, are offered every year. M.P.A. students may take the core courses in their first or second years.

A list of elective courses that fulfill the HHP requirements is available from the HHP certificate chair at the beginning of each academic year. Examples of recent electives include: WWS 571c Global Infection: Burden, Control & Public Policy, WWS 593b/POP 504b Reproductive Health and Reproductive Rights, WWS 582c Poverty, Inequality, and Health in the World, WWS 594g Public Health and Public Policy, WWS 594h The Economics of Health in Developing Countries, and WWS 594k The Development Challenge of HIV/AIDS. Two half-term courses count as one elective. One of the two elective courses may be a graduate-level course offered by a department outside the School. Students who wish to count a non-WWS course toward the certificate must seek advance permission from the HHP certificate chair.