Health services research is a scientific field of inquiry that examines the structures, functions and outcomes of health services delivered to individuals and populations and the impact of and implications for policies governing the delivery of these services. Health policy research has been developing for the past 40 years, and given this maturity and established professional identity, the development of outstanding training programs in health policy research has become a growing priority for the field. The University of Pennsylvania provides a unique and fertile environment for a Master of Science in Health Policy Research (MSHP).
Penn has leading Schools of Medicine, Business, and Nursing with internationally recognized scholars spanning the spectrum of health policy research. The retention and recruitment of outstanding health policy researchers within these schools has resulted in a cohesive and growing group of faculty members for the training program. Each year Penn graduates over 150 medical students and 100 fellows, many of whom are interested in issues of health care delivery and health policy. A growing number of the current faculty members in the School of Medicine want to develop expertise in health care policy and health services research. The MSHP is an integrated multidisciplinary program that links these activities across the campus building upon the Penn Compact for integrating knowledge and leverages Penn’s comparative advantage in developing and sustaining these programs.