From the Director

Beyond a doubt, the rapid changes of the past 20 years in the organization and financing of medicine and healthcare in the United States have dramatically transformed the knowledge base, understanding and skill set required of people who manage and lead these institutions. Whereas healthcare was once a community-centered enterprise that operated largely detached from traditional business considerations, issues of costs, marketing, ownership, pricing, profit, governmental regulation and public and private finance have fundamentally altered the responsibilities, tasks and requirements of leadership and management.

This new healthcare landscape provides both obstacles and opportunities for organizational leadership. More than ever, managers and other leaders must effectively identify issues, markets and stakeholders; engage in innovative, adaptive and efficient problem-solving; and motivate and guide diverse constituencies to meet the enterprise’s aims and goals in an increasingly competitive business environment. Those who have mastered the business tools of effective management and leadership in healthcare, and who can apply those tools not only with an eye toward individual institutional concerns, but also with a solid grounding in the broad perspectives of population-based health and healthcare, will gain a substantial competitive advantage over their rivals.

This training is what we offer to our students in the Executive Master of Public Health Program (EMPH), the flagship of our Executive Education Programs in Healthcare Management and Policy at UCLA. The EMPH was established in 1995 specifically to equip working professionals with the knowledge, skills, network and credentials to assume leadership in high-level management and policy positions in healthcare. Students entering our program receive not just the opportunity to earn a fully-accredited MPH degree in healthcare management and policy from one of the world’s leading universities, but also an invitation to join a select community that values intellectual rigor and curiosity, seeks out and nurtures leadership and vision, and fosters the development of a collegial network that can be drawn upon for educational and professional opportunities throughout their careers.

EMPH Program faculty are world-class academics from the UCLA School of Public Health and the University’s other graduate schools and management-related fields, including medicine, law, marketing and finance. They are joined by an extensive network of lecturers, guest speakers, mentors and project preceptors in the private and public sectors of the healthcare industry. Together these individuals provide expertise in all facets of healthcare management, policy and analysis, as well as real-world knowledge and experience in the business disciplines of finance, organizations and leadership. This combination creates a dynamic learning environment that emphasizes both theory and practice, and integrates business principles with contemporary issues in healthcare delivery and management.

The EMPH Program attracts a diverse group of highly experienced and motivated individuals who bring both private and public sector experience into the classroom. Averaging more than ten years’ experience as managers, healthcare providers and other professionals, our students represent a broad spectrum of both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors of the healthcare industry, including hospitals, health departments, insurance companies, managed care organizations, non-governmental organizations, consulting firms, legal professions, and pharmaceutical, medical equipment and biotech companies.

Our program brings these resources together into a program that is designed to accommodate the schedules and obligations of the working professional. Participants attend classes twice a month on Fridays and Saturdays over the course of two academic years. The curriculum provides a rigorous overview of the political, legal, financial, and economic forces that shape the healthcare systems of the U.S. and other nations, a solid foundation in public health principles, and an extensive review of the principles and practices of effective management and leadership.

We are proud of the EMPH Program in Healthcare Management and Policy at UCLA and the unmatched opportunities it offers in management education tailored to the unique demands and needs of the healthcare industry. We invite you to contact us for further information about our programs, and encourage you to learn first-hand how we can help you improve your career.

Fred Hagigi, DrPH, MBA, MPH
Director, Executive Education Programs
Healthcare Management & Policy