Health Policy

Interested in health care quality? The HIV pandemic? Health disparities among minorities? The FDA and drug safety?

Students in the secondary field in Health Policy, a program sponsored by the Interfaculty Initiative in Health Policy, study:

1. Factors shaping health and health care, including incidence, and causes of disease; value of medical treatments and other technological innovations that promote health; inequalities in access and treatment; quality of health care and medical errors; and financing of health care.
2. Policies that address health in modern society, including provision and regulation of health insurance by nations, control and taxation of tobacco and other drugs by state and federal governments, and regulation of technology (pharmaceuticals and medical innovation).

Students gain deeper familiarity with analytic and empirical techniques developed in the social sciences -- anthropology, economics, ethics, government, history (including history of science), psychology, and sociology. The mix of vital and fascinating subject material with theory and methods makes health policy a combination of the theoretical and the applied. Students also gain a sense of community through regular program dinners with guest speakers, and networking for internships and jobs.

REQUIREMENTS 5 half-courses

1. One introductory half-course in health policy: Extra-Departmental Courses 186: Introduction to Health Care Policy (formerly General Education 186)
2. Three additional social science courses that have health policy content, chosen from a list of offerings posted on the health policy website (www.fas.harvard.edu/~healthpl/Undergraduate/Undergraduate.htm). The courses must be chosen from three separate disciplines, and at least one half-course must be an upper-level course (i.e., not a Core course, Freshman Seminar, or House Seminar).
3. One half-course to fulfill the research component of the secondary field in health policy. The research component must be on an approved topic. For information on the approval process and deadlines, please consult the health policy website. The research requirement may be fulfilled in one of four ways:
1. Writing a senior thesis pertaining to health policy in one's concentration (one term of the senior thesis tutorial in the concentration-a 99 course or equivalent).
2. Adding a thesis chapter on the health policy implications of a science thesis (one term of the senior thesis tutorial in the concentration-a 99 course or equivalent).
3. Writing a research paper related to health policy in Government 1597: Advanced Topics in Health Policy
4. Writing a research paper related to health policy while enrolled in a supervised reading and research course (a 91r or 910r course) in a relevant department

OTHER INFORMATION

1. Pass/Fail: No more than one of the five half-courses may be non-letter-graded.
2. With permission of the program, the Health Policy courses in Requirement 2 may include one relevant freshmen seminar, as well as relevant courses from study abroad, Harvard Summer School, and other Harvard Faculties.
3. A course in statistics or research methods is recommended.
4. Cordeiro Health Policy Summer Research Grants are available, on a competitive basis, to students in the secondary field in Health Policy to gain a head start on their research in health policy.
5. Students who are currently in the Health Policy Certificate Program may choose to remain in the Certificate Program rather than switch to the secondary field in Health Policy. Those who wish to switch to the secondary field should contact one of the secondary field advisers listed below.

ADVISING RESOURCES AND EXPECTATIONS

We encourage students to notify the program using the secondary fields web tool, as soon as they have decided to pursue the secondary field in Health Policy. Students who have not yet declared a concentration and are therefore ineligible to file for a secondary field may email Program Coordinator Ayres Heller (ayres_heller@harvard.edu) to be added to the program's email list. Once on the email list, students will be invited to program dinners with guest speakers who work in the field of health care; receive notices of relevant research assistant, internship, and employment opportunities; and receive information about courses and important policies.

The following faculty and health policy administrators are available for advice about the program and course selection:

Daniel Carpenter, Faculty Chair, Health Policy Undergraduate Program and Professor of Government (on leave 2007-08) (dcarpenter@gov.harvard.edu)

Joan Curhan, Director, Health Policy Undergraduate Program, Interfaculty Initiative in Health Policy (joan_curhan@harvard.edu; 617-495-1357 )

Ayres Heller, Program Coordinator, Health Policy Undergraduate Program, Interfaculty Initiative in Health Policy (ayres_heller@harvard.edu; 617-496-5412)

Deborah Whitney, Associate Director, PhD Program in Health Policy, Interfaculty Initiative in Health Policy (deborah_whitney@harvard.edu; 617-496-5506)

The administrative office of the Health Policy Program will be relocating to 14 Story Street in early fall 2007. Please consult the health policy website (www.fas.harvard.edu/~healthpl/Undergraduate/Undergraduate.htm) for information on location and for more information about the secondary field.