HCAP launches new master’s degree

By Regina Robert Staff Writer

A new interdisciplinary master’s program in health, community and policy has been launched by UTSA’s College of Health, Community and Policy (HCAP). It is a collaboration between the Department of Public Health and the Department of Public Administration.

By Gauri Raje News Editor

The Alvarez College of Business was part of the Princeton Review’s recent list of “Best Business Schools.” UTSA was mentioned in the “best on-campus MBA list,” which included the names of universities without providing any rankings. Within this “cohort” of 243 business schools, the top 10 schools for 18 different categories are also listed.

In order to develop the list, the Princeton Review invited universities to participate in the process.

“Our best on-campus MBA list is based on a combination of institutional and student survey data, including career outcomes, admissions selectivity, and academic rigor, among others,” The Princeton Review website states.

“If the universities are interested in participating, they receive a series of questionnaires, where the institution provides information depending on the question,” Francisco Marquez, assistant dean of graduate studies and research, said. “Based on that, comparing that information to other schools, they give their rankings.”

UTSA’s MBA degree program provides students with flexibility as they pursue their studies.

“Our MBA Program is unique in the sense that it is a program designed to serve the community in San Antonio,” Marquez said. “It’s a program designed to serve the institutional objectives [of UTSA as a Hispanic Serving Institution] … we try to accommodate all backgrounds, all the specific needs from the students. It’s a very diverse program.”

“It’s very convenient for young professionals that have families because they can go to school from Monday through Thursday ...”

“[We want to] build new types of interdisciplinary programs like these to meet the job needs that are out in the marketplace,” Associate Professor of the Department of Public Health and Dean of the M..S. program, Dr. Jeffrey Howard, said. Howard explained that one of the considerations that went into developing the program was the lack of instruction that was available to students, which helped to create the program’s specializations.

The new interdisciplinary program has four specializations available to students: health promotion; policy; society, community and health; and health data analytics and population health.

Howard mentioned the collaboration with the Department of Public Administration under one college helped to create a proper framework for the policy specialization of the degree program, which would help to meet the “demand for expertise in health policy.”

The new program and its specializations aim to aid students in preparing for a modern job market. The program brings together different departments of HCAP to create instruction for emerging careers that need expertise across fields such as health data analytics.

“By bringing different departments together, it enables us to work with not only folks from Public Health but also the Department of Demography … and those who [focus on] health,” Howard said.

In addition, the collaborations helped to create a framework for instruction that would guide students in the methodology of health analytics based on population.

“Any social science-based or health focus background would be great candidates for our program,” Howard said.

Howard recommends students interested in the program to evaluate the type of job they would like to pursue in the future for guidance on their chosen specialization. Howard also encouraged students to communicate their concerns and expressed the will to talk to any prospective students about their concerns.

The M.S. program of Health, Community and Policy is currently taking applications for Fall 2023 enrollment until the end of June.