Health Care Systems Engineering Certificate

Return to: School of Public Health

Offered jointly by the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering and Pitt Public Health, this program provides students with specific competencies and analytical tools required for effective problem solving relevant to quality improvement and process engineering in the health care industry. Students are equipped to serve as quality champions and agents of change in addressing the challenges health care faces in the twenty-first century. Engineering students gain knowledge of health care operations, the organizational culture, and the strategic issues facing the industry. Health care management students will learn engineering principles, models, and tools within a systems approach to analysis, problem-solving, and project implementation.

This certificate is intended for individuals pursuing careers in the management, redesign, and improvement of the health care industry. Designed for master’s students in the Department of Health Policy and Management and the Department of Industrial Engineering, this program provides a rigorous and multidisciplinary education as a complement to the core curriculum of both programs. With a focus on innovation, effectiveness, and efficiency in health care and public health, the certificate nurtures well-educated professionals and leaders in their disciplines.

Students in this certificate program will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the structures, performance, quality, policy and environmental context of health and health care to formulated solutions for health policy problems, 
2. Design and implement projects, including collecting, analyzing, interpreting data and offering sound evidence-based recommendations, and 
3. Summarize and present health care engineering-related research orally and in writing.