Did You Know?

The Heller School provides research opportunities for students through its research institutes and centers, which are a major source of scholarly research at Brandeis.

The Heller School for Social Policy and Management

The internationally renowned Heller School was founded in 1959.

The school offers five degrees:

  • Ph.D. in social policy
  • master of business administration (M.B.A.)
  • master of public policy (M.P.P.) in social policy
  • master of arts in sustainable international development (M.A./SID)
  • master of science (M.S.) in international health policy and management

The Ph.D. program prepares individuals for advanced positions in teaching, research and administration. Students may focus on policy issues in the areas of children, youth and families; health and behavioral health; assets and inequalities; or global health and development.

Two federal training programs assist in preparing doctoral students to contribute original scholarly research to the field of social policy.

Students in the M.B.A. program pursue a rigorous course of study that integrates management and social policy courses as well as an onsite team consulting project to prepare graduates for management careers in public, private and nonprofit organizations pursuing social missions.

M.P.P. students are prepared to work as policy analysts, researchers and advocates in government, public- and private-sector settings. Students may focus their studies on aging; health; children, youth and families; or poverty alleviation.

Sustainable international development students pursue an interdisciplinary program that includes courses in public policy, development economics and environmental management. Students also work with development professionals in the areas of project planning, implementation and evaluation, as well as human rights and development, microfinance, conservation and development.

The M.S. degree combines the planning, management and health policy expertise found at Heller in an international context, training young professionals to play increasingly responsible roles in the health and well-being of the world's poorest children and families by pursuing careers in health policy and planning, and policy implementation in government health ministries and planning agencies, development agencies and NGOs.

The faculty represents a broad spectrum of expertise in the social sciences and related fields and conducts a multidisciplinary, policy-oriented research and management program on a wide range of health and human services issues.

The Heller School provides research opportunities for students through its research institutes and centers, which are a major source of scholarly research at Brandeis. They include the Schneider Institutes for Health Policy, which encompass the Institute on Healthcare Systems and the Institute for Behavioral Health; the Institute for Child, Youth and Family Policy, which incorporates the Center for Youth and Communities, the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy and the Nathan and Toby Starr Center for Mental Retardation; the Institute on Assets and Social Policy, which includes the National Program on Women and Aging; the Center for International Development; and the Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy.