Undergraduate Course Catalog 2007-2008
College of Health and Human Services
» http://www.shhs.unh.edu/
Health Management and Policy (HMP)
» http://www.shhs.unh.edu/hmp/
» Click to view course offerings
Chairperson: James B. Lewis
Professor: Cynthia M. Duncan, Jeffrey Colman Salloway, John W. Seavey, Lee F. Seidel
Associate Professor: Rosemary M. Caron, Marc D. Hiller, James B. Lewis
Assistant Professor: Robert J. McGrath
Research Assistant Professor: David J. Laflamme
Clinical Professor: Edgar J. Helms Jr., Leslie N.H. MacLeod
Clinical Assistant Professor: Jason W. Stull
Undergraduates majoring in the health management and policy program are
prepared to embark upon management careers in a wide range of health
care delivery and financing organizations, public health, and health
policy. Graduates work in many settings, including health care delivery
systems, hospitals, nursing homes, health maintenance and other managed
care organizations, public health departments, community-based and
home-health agencies, mental health facilities, regulatory bodies,
consulting companies, and insurance companies.
The academic program is interdisciplinary, with undergraduates taking
courses in many academic units of the University. Students gain a broad
view of health and health care while developing analytical skills in
health care management and policy. The department uses a computer
laboratory that is integrated throughout the curriculum.
The department’s undergraduate program maintains full certification by
the Association of University Programs in Health Administration
(AUPHA). Students have the opportunity to become student members in the
American College of Healthcare Executives and the American College of
Health Care Administrators, both of which are represented by student
chapters at the University. There is also an organization for students
interested in public health issues. The department curriculum is
approved under the New England Regional Student Program.
Academic Program
Competencies are achieved through three components of the curriculum:
University general education requirements, HMP collateral courses, and
the HMP core courses including a field practicum. Students work closely
with their assigned faculty advisers to develop a plan of study to
achieve completion of each of these components. Upper division HMP
courses are sequenced in a two year progression as described in
departmental handouts to all majors. Students are expected to follow
this sequence; any exceptions are made by petition. Late transfers may
have to plan for an extra year. Several upper-division HMP elective
courses are available.
University General Education Requirements:
Advisers assist students in selecting courses that satisfy certain
program expectations and simultaneously meet University general
education requirements.
HMP-Required Collateral Courses:
A basic understanding is expected in each of the following areas
related to health management and policy: 1) microeconomics, 2)
organizational behavior, and 3) statistics. HMP faculty advisers work
with students to select the appropriate courses to fulfill these
requirements. In general, students are advised to complete their
collateral coursework prior to their junior year in the major.
Program-approved courses in organizational behavior and U.S. Health
Care Systems (HMP 401) must have been completed successfully before a
student may begin junior-level studies in the major.
HMP Core Courses:
Each of the following courses must be completed by HMP majors prior to graduation.
Introductory courses include HMP 400, Introduction to Health Management
and Policy; HMP 401, U.S. Health Care Systems; HMP 402, Health
Management and Policy Critical Issues; HMP 501, Epidemiology and
Community Medicine.
Upper-division courses include HMP 642, Health Economics; HMP 711,
Health Systems Research I; HMP 712, Health Systems Research II; HMP
721, Managing Health Care Organizations; HMP 723, Health Planning; HMP
740, Health Care Financial Management; HMP 742, Strategic Management
for Health Care Organizations or HMP 748, Health Policy Analysis; HMP
744, Ethical Issues in Health Management and Medicine; and HMP 746,
Health Policy. Upper-division courses are not offered every semester
and students progress through these courses in a sequential order.
Field Practicum:
A full-time practicum (or administrative internship) that integrates
class work with a supervised managerial work experience constitutes an
essential part of the academic program. It allows students to explore
an area of special interest in depth. Courses comprising this component
of the major include: HMP 621, Prepracticum Seminar; HMP 622, Field
Practicum; and HMP 624, Post Practicum Seminar. The practicum is
divided into three concurrent components: A. Field Practicum
Organizational Analysis; B. Field Practicum Management Skills
Development; and C. Field Practicum Project Analysis. Field practicum
sites are selected by faculty with student involvement and are
concentrated in central and northern New England. Given sufficient
timing of student requests, efforts will be made to arrange practica at
distant sites based on special needs.
HMP field practica currently occur during the summer between the junior
and senior year within the curriculum. They begin in late May and end
in late August and require a full-time commitment.
HMP Elective Courses:
Elective courses within the program may include: HMP 430, Alternative
Medicine and Health; HMP 505, Public Health: History and Practice; HMP
569, Human Behavior and the Public Health; HMP 570, Social Marketing;
HMP 730, Managed Care; HMP 750, Comparative Health Care Systems; and
HMP 755, Long Term Care Management and Policy. In addition, seniors may
have the opportunity to elect independent studies (HMP 796) through
individual arrangements with HMP faculty. Majors are encouraged to
enroll in one or more of these courses before graduation.
Academic Requirements:
HMP majors must obtain a minimum of a C- in all HMP core courses and
must pass all HMP-required collateral courses. Majors must have an
overall grade-point average of 2.50 by the end of the semester
preceding their practicum. Students not maintaining an overall
grade-point average of 2.50 are reevaluated by the faculty and may be
counseled into another major at the University.
The faculty reviews student performances during the semester before the
practicum to determine each student’s readiness. Students who do not
successfully complete prerequisite courses may not be permitted to
advance through subsequent courses in the major.
Applications for Major
Students interested in additional information or in applying for
admission to the health management and policy major should contact the
department’s director of undergraduate studies. Students seeking
internal transfer into the major must complete an internal transfer
application form. Efforts should be made to complete this process
during the freshman year or early in the sophomore year to ensure
sufficient time to complete all of the required collateral courses as
well as those in the major in a timely manner.
Honors in Major
The department offers an honors in major program. To qualify, students
must meet the department’s requirement of having an overall 3.20
grade-point average at UNH and a 3.30 grade-point average for required
HMP courses taken by the end of the junior year. Honors in major
students take honors courses during the last half of junior year and
senior year as well as complete an honors project. Students work with a
faculty member in the department in the development of the honors
project. Students should contact the department’s honors in major
adviser for further information.
Academic Minor in Health Management
The department offers an integrated minor in health management designed
for students majoring in clinically oriented professional programs
offered through other departments in the School of Health and Human
Services. Students not enrolled in the school who wish to minor in
health management may inquire about doing so by contacting the
department’s director of undergraduate studies. Students accepted into
the minor must complete: 1) three required courses (HMP 401, U.S.
Health Care Systems; HMP 721, Managing Health Care Organizations; and
HMP 710, Financial Management for Clinicians); 2) one HMP elective
course (HMP 501, Epidemiology and Community Medicine; HMP 430,
Alternative Medicine and Health; HMP 505, Public Health History and
Practice; HMP 569, Human Behavior and the Public Health; HMP 642 Health
Economics; HMP 744, Ethical Issues in Health Management and Medicine;
or HMP 755, Long Term Care Management and Policy; HMP 746, Health
Policy; and 3) one additional elective course from a list approved by
the department. Students seeking to minor in health management must
complete the application available in the department office and meet
with the department’s director of undergraduate studies before
commencing the minor.
The Department of Health Management and Policy also offers a minor in
public health. Public health deals with the health of populations and
focuses on health promotion and disease prevention as well as access to
the medical system. Public health is interdisciplinary in nature and,
therefore, the minor is composed of courses in the Department of Health
Management and Policy as well as courses in other schools and colleges
in the University.
Public Health Minor
The interdisciplinary public health minor is comprised of 20 credits.
The minor will provide students with an introduction to many of the
foundation areas of public health. It will provide students with a
basic exposure to key concepts and skills in the five core disciplines
of public health, as articulated by the Council on Education for Public
Health. The core courses are biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental
health sciences, health services administration, and social and
behavioral sciences. All students will be required to complete four
courses: HMP 401, US Health Care Systems; HMP 501, Epidemiology; HMP
505, Public Health: History & Practice; and HMP 569, Behavior and
Public Health. The elective courses available to students include
offerings from a variety of schools and departments at UNH.
The minor is open to any baccalaureate student at UNH. Students
majoring in Health Management and Policy will not be able to receive
credit toward the minor for courses taken to fulfill a requirement of
the major.
Public Health Option
This option was approved in 2005 and provides students with the
knowledge and skills for entry-level positions within the public health
agencies/workforce. The public health field is emerging as a key area
for the protection of population health. It provides students with an
introduction to many of the foundation areas of public health and gives
basic exposure to key concepts and skills in the five core disciplines
of public health as articulated by the Council on Education for Public
Health. The core courses are biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental
health sciences, health services administration, and social and
behavioral sciences.
In addition to the core courses, students will be required to take
course work in two additional elective areas; one course from offerings
in Public and Environmental Health and an additional elective from the
offerings in either nutrition and public health or mechanisms of
infectious and chronic disease in public health. The list of elective
courses available is substantial and includes offerings from a
variety of schools and departments at UNH. There are multiple
traditional areas of public health practice: public health and the
environment, nutrition and public health, behavior modification and
infectious and chronic diseases.
The Public Health option at UNH is one of the few programs at the undergraduate level available nationally.
Required Courses
ECON 401 or 402, Micro or Macro economics
HMP 400, Exploring Health 2 cr.
HMP 401, US Health Care Systems
HHS 540 or equivalent in Statistics
HMP 402, Intro to HMP-Roles & Issues
HMP 501, Epidemiology
HMP 702, Quantitative and Research Methods in Epidemiology
HMP 505, History of Public Health
HMP 569, Public Health and Human Behavior
HMP 740, Health Care Financial Management
HMP 621, Pre-Practicum
HMP 712, Health Systems Research
HMP 642, Health Economics
HMP 723, Health Planning
HMP 622, Field Practicum (Summer session junior year)
HMP 624, Post Practicum 2 cr.
HMP 744, Ethical Issues
HMP 746, Health Policy
HMP 748, Health Policy Analysis
Total Credit Hours: 73