Master in Public Health at Sciences Po

Created under the name “Global Health Policy Stream”, this two-year Master’s programme, open to students with an undergraduate degree, aims to train future designers, implementers and evaluators of public policy in the health sector, at the local, national and international level. Whether they have a background in social and human sciences or in health or sciences, students of the stream gain a complete and multi-disciplinary training in the field.

The aim of the programme is to give future actors in the world of health, in both public and private sector, shared knowledge, analytical tools and common core skills.

It is not necessary to have completed a Bachelor’s degree at Sciences Po or to have a previous degree in public health in order to apply for this Master’s programme.

Description and key skills of the master in public health (mph)

The public health track is an option offered within two Master’s programmes: the Master in Public Policy and the Master in European Affairs.

These two Master’s degrees share a set of core curriculum courses that equip students with in-depth, comparative and transversal knowledge of the field of public affairs, blending economic, legal, ethical, historical, political, managerial and digital perspectives.

While the Public Policy Master's degree provides fundamental knowledge of governance issues in our societies as well as public economics, public policy evaluation, and project management, the European Affairs Master's degree focuses on the study of European institutions and their functioning, on regulatory issues, and on the economic and political challenges of European integration.

The Health Policy stream, offered in French (Santé) or in English (Global Health), offers a multi-disciplinary approach to key issues of public health policy, including prevention, regulation of healthcare provision, technological innovation, health system governance, strengthening and funding, crisis management, administration of health organisations, social protection and ethical issues.

Students gain an understanding of health law, health economics and public policy, as well as practical expertise in biostatistics, epidemiology, health facility management or the health product industry. In addition, the stream equips them with rigorous analytical and project management tools and training.

Find out more about the policy stream Global Health

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Description of the programme relating to health sector policy

Year 1 – Global Health policy stream

Students follow courses presenting the actors, processes and challenges health systems are facing (semester 1) as well as the normative and economic tools for understanding these issues (semester 2): Global Health Governance and Challenges, Global Health Policy, Global Health Law and Regulation, Global Health Economics.

Year 2 – Global Health policy stream

The second year allows students to develop professional skills depending on the sector they want to evolve in, whether in the public, private, research, voluntary or non-governmental sector. Courses in the third semester cover Evidence-based health policy-making, the role of Non-state actors in Global Health, Understanding research on health determinants and Digital Innovation in the healthcare industry.

During their final semester (semester 4), students have the opportunity to apply these professional skills through an internship or to further develop an area of expertise by writing a Master's thesis or by undertaking an academic exchange at a partner university.

This curriculum is completed by common academic core courses, core courses specific to the chosen Master's degree, elective courses, language courses and optional courses.
In addition, throughout their curriculum, students have access to topical conferences on major health issues, professional meetings with stakeholders in the sector and to the Policy Lab, which offers teaching modules on specific health issues: challenges from the Public Policy Incubator, case studies and simulations.

The second year is a chance for students to sharpen their professional skills according to the sector they are most interested in entering: health facility management, social issues, the health product industry and so on. At the end of the Master’s, students are given the option either to apply these professional skills in an internship placement or to further deepen their expertise in one area by writing a Master’s thesis or completing an academic exchange.

See the programme of Masters' degree in Public Health.

Fields of study in public health policies

• Global Health governance and challenges: Focusing on Global Health diplomacy and exploring diseases and conditions that afflict countries and people nowaday.
• Global Health Policies: Giving a comprehensive overview of health systems, focusing on health workforce, patients and the place of science in health. decision making.
• Global health Law and Regulation: Exploring the normative role of the World Health Organization and the competing norm-making activities of other global actors, global health law instruments and policies such as non-communicable diseases, access to medicines, global health security, as well as human rights and the migration of health workers.
• Global health Economics: Focusing on relationships between health, wealth and growth, individual health behavior determinants, economic evaluation of new technologies, access to universal coverage, optimal provider payments, gender and socio-economic inequalities.
• Evidence-based policy making: theory and practice(s): Taking a step back to explain basic definitions and concepts of research evidence in health, actors involved, and institutional processes of presenting research results. The course then focuses on the effective use of research results in healthcare policy making across the globe. First, it will examine international and national frameworks and toolkits for decision-makers for evidence-based policy-making. Second, it will identify concrete policy examples from which common patterns favoring or disfavoring evidence-based policy-making can be derived.
• Understanding research on Health Determinants: Introducing the main methods and approaches used in modern epidemiology to investigate the main determinants of health from novel high-dimensional/ high resolution datasets. At the end of the module, students will be able to apprehend, interpret and critically appraise the literature emerging from recent exposome research.
• Non-state actors in Global Health: Describing a typology of NGOs working in the health sector; how they are managed; how they implement projects; how they interact with public and private actors.
• Digital Innovation and Solutions in Healthcare Industry: Understanding both the enablers and the obstacles behind these transformations is critical for policy-makers to shape the environment and facilitate the evolution of behaviors of the various stakeholders as well as for all private and public organizations to gain competitive advantage or simply survive in a digitally-enabled healthcare world. This course will assess the status of Digital Innovation and Solutions in the Healthcare Industry from a global viewpoint and the reasons behind it.

Find out more about health specific courses in Master

Career paths with a master specializing in public health

At the end of the programme, students will be equipped with the following professional skills:

• Develop critical thinking;
• Define solution-oriented steps to overcome complex challenges;
• Analyse & Evaluate public policy in health;
• Connecte research & policy;
• Advocate for a cause;
• Be able to develop strategies at the local, national or international level;
• Manage a health project;
• Monitor and evaluate a programme.

This programme trains professionals who will have the required skills and cultural competency to pursue careers in:

• government, for example at the Ministry of Health or in Health agencies;
• hospitals, both public and private;
• consulting firms in strategy, transformations, communication;
• industries, like pharmaceutical industries, biotechnology firms or food industries;
• foundations;
• international organizations;
• European institutions or European health agencies;
• operational & advocacy non-governmental organizations.

The Global Health policy stream leads to the following jobs: project manager, consultant, manager in the public or private sector, hospital director, director of a health and social institution, public affairs officer, research assistant.

Find out more about career opportunities in public health.

Graduate admissions in public health after a bachelor degree

The School of Public Affairs offers two masters in two years: the Master in Public Policy and the Master in European Affairs.

The Global Health Policy stream at the School of Public Affairs at Sciences Po is open to candidates who hold a bachelor's degree at Sciences Po or from another university.

It is not necessary to have completed a bachelor's degree in public health to apply for this master's degree.

The School of Public Affairs is aimed at candidates from various geographical, academic or professional backgrounds, to train new actors for the common good in Europe and around the world.

More information regarding the admissions are proposed on the page International admissions or download our brochure.

Study your master in public health degree in Paris, France

The specialized master's in public health takes place in the different buildings of the Sciences Po School of Public Affairs, in the 7th arrondissement in Paris.

Thanks to its campus located in the heart of Paris, you will be able to take full advantage of the dynamism offered by the Paris metropolis, its international environment, its cultural richness and its historic district of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.