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Undergraduate Catalog 2013

Health Administration and Policy

Faculty

View Faculty Details

Chair

J. Kevin Eckert

Associate Chair

John G. Schumacher

Professor

Mary E. Stuart

Assistant Professors

Andrea L. Kalfoglou
Jamie L. Trevitt

Courses in this program are listed under HAPP .

The Health Administration and Policy Program (HAPP) is designed for career-oriented students who recognize that health and health care in America are major public concerns and who plan to seek employment in one of a variety of administrative, supportive, planning and policy positions. Students may choose an undergraduate emphasis in health services administration, health policy or public health.

Students in the health administration and policy program can expect to achieve the following objectives: a comprehensive understanding of health care issues and the health care system that will underpin various educational and career goals; training in basic administrative, managerial and methodological skills; preparation for entry-level employment in community health and health care organizations and in support systems in the private and public sectors; and preparation for a graduate program leading to an advanced degree in a health related field.

Health administration and policy majors study with instructors and faculty who are working in the health care field or who have had years of applied experience before joining the academic arena. Each instructor brings this practical understanding of the industry into the classroom. For qualified majors there are opportunities to work with faculty members on their personal research or to develop the student’s own research project.

Career and Academic Paths

Upon completion of the Health Administration and Policy Program, students will be prepared for careers in long-term care; hospitals; federal, state and community health agencies and other health-related organizations. After graduation, health administration and policy majors have found employment with such organizations as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Blue-Cross/BlueShield, the University of Maryland Medical Center, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Maxim Healthcare and Mercy Hospital. Students also have gone on to graduate study at The Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University, Harvard, University of North Carolina, Virginia Commonwealth University and Yale.

Academic Advising

Completion of the Health Administration and Policy Program requires careful coordination of track selection with internship placement. Additionally, a student’s post-baccalaureate plans for either graduate education or immediate employment are important influences on his or her overall academic program and course selections. With these considerations in mind, early and continuous contact should be established with a program advisor.

Major Program

Students majoring in health administration and policy must take a concentration in health services administration (track I), health policy (track II) or public health (track III). Course work on campus is supplemented with an internship placement in a cooperating agency or organization in the community.  All students registering for the internship must participate in a professional liability insurance plan for which they will be billed separately. A student on academic probation is not eligible to do an internship until s/he is back in good academic standing. To the extent possible, the placement will be related to the student’s track concentration and career interests, thereby providing an effective combination of academic and practical training. A grade of C; or better is required in all courses applied to the major.

The credit and course requirements for a HAPP program major in track I, track II and track III are as follows:

Core (taken by all tracks unless designated otherwise)

  • HAPP 100
    Survey of the U.S. Health Care System
  • *HAPP 200
    Human Development Implications for Health and Disease
  • HAPP 452
    Health Care Organization and Delivery
  • HAPP 495
    Health Administration and Policy Internship
  • HAPP 496
    Internship Seminar
  • *ECON 121
    Principles of Accounting I
  • STAT 121
    Introduction to Statistics for the Social Sciences
    OR
  • STAT 350
    Statistics with Applications in the Biological Sciences
    OR
  • STAT 351
    Applied Statistics for Business and Economics
    OR
  • SOCY 301
    Analysis of Sociological Data
  • ENGL 393
    Technical Writing
    OR
  • ENGL 391
    Intermediate Exposition
  • **IS 101
    Introduction to Computer Based Systems
  • IS 295
    Introduction to Applications Programming

*Track III students instead must take a natural science course selected from the approved list available on the HAPP Web page http://www.umbc.edu/happ/ or from the program upon request.
**Students who have completed previous course work in computer science or computing should talk with a HAPP advisor before registering for the information systems (IS) courses.

Track I: Health Services Administration

  • HAPP 497
    Health Planning and Administration
  • HAPP 498
    Financial Management and Decision Support for Health Services Organizations (also EHS 498)
  • MGMT 210
    Practice of Management
  • ECON 122
    Principles of Accounting II
  • ECON 101
    Principles of Economics I
  • ECON 467
    Health Economics

Track I students also must complete three (3) courses selected from a list of approved electives available at http://www.umbc.edu/happ/ or upon request from the program.

Track II: Health Policy

  • HAPP 411
    Health Quality and Regulation
  • HAPP 412
    Research Methods in Health
  • POLI 250
    Introduction to Public Administration
  • POLI 353 Governmental Budgeting and Financial Administration
  • SOCY 420
    Social EpidemiologyTrack II students also must complete four (4) courses selected from a list of approved electives available upon request from the program.

Track III: Public Health

  • HAPP 354
    Social Basis of Public and Community Health
  • HAPP 380
    Global Issues in Health and Disease
  • HAPP 411
    Health Quality and Regulation
  • HAPP 412
    Research Methods in Health
  • SOCY 420
    Social Epidemiology
    Track III students also must complete four (4) courses of approved electives. Two (2) of the electives may come from the approved list of natural sciences choosing additional courses not used as a required science course in the core.

Approved lists of electives are available at http://www.umbc.edu/happ/ or upon request from the program.

Evening and Part Time Options

Although many courses are available in the evening, some program courses only are offered during the day. To complete the major, students must have the flexibility to include these courses in their academic schedules.

Special Opportunities

The major can be effectively combined with the B.A./M.A. opportunities in the applied sociology and public policy programs at UMBC. The program offers those with an interest in having an international experience an introductory course in international field research that is linked to a week-long travel experience in Switzerland. Many graduates of UMBC’s health administration and policy program remain actively involved with the program, and have provided current students with internship placements and job opportunities in hospitals, nursing care centers, government and voluntary health organizations.

Student Organizations

The Health Administration and Policy Council of Majors supports and initiates programs of interest to majors. The Bioethics Club is another opportunity to connect with students with similar interests.