Arnold School of Public Health

Welcome to the Department of Health Services Policy and Management at the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health. Whether you are a prospective student, colleague, alum, community partner, or simply curious about our work, I am glad you are here.

Healthcare is never still. Questions of access, affordability, quality, equity, and trust shape people's lives every day, especially in rural and underserved communities and among marginalized populations. HSPM exists because we believe the way health care is organized, financed, and delivered can be better—and because research, teaching, and service can help make it so.

In HSPM, we are passionate about making a difference in the lives of others and contributing to a better and more equitable world. Our vision is simple: high-quality, affordable health care that supports healthy, fulfilling lives for all. We pursue that vision by conducting rigorous research that informs policy and practice and by training the next generation of health care administrators, public health practitioners, policy analysts, and health services researchers. 

HSPM exists because we believe the way health care is organized, financed, and delivered can be better - and because research, teaching, and service can help make it so.

Our faculty work across health policy, healthcare delivery, health economics, data science, management, and population health. Their scholarship addresses rural health and access to care; insurance and markets; behavioral health; maternal and child health; infectious disease; hospital, emergency, and primary care; patient engagement; and the use of data science and AI to generate real-world evidence.

What I hope distinguishes HSPM is our combination of seriousness of purpose, accessibility, mentorship, and community. If you choose to pursue your MHA, MPH, or PhD with us, you should expect to be challenged, supported, and known as a person. You should expect to build skills and relationships that prepare you for a career in which you can lead, analyze, manage, question, advocate, and make a difference. We want HSPM to be a home base and launchpad for meaningful careers—and a community our alumni are proud to call their own and eager to support.

Looking ahead, HSPM is a department on the move. We are strengthening our academic programs, growing our faculty, deepening our research strengths, expanding partnerships, and building capacity in areas where South Carolina and the nation urgently need evidence and leadership—from rural and safety-net care to insurance, behavioral health, aging, health care delivery, and implementation science. Our goal is not simply to be bigger or more productive. Productivity alone does not create a better and more equitable world. That takes vision, determination, intentionality, innovation, perseverance, and people who care deeply about the work and one another.

I am proud of HSPM because I see those qualities here every day. We take our work seriously, but we do not take ourselves too seriously. We strive to be rigorous, inclusive, collegial, and useful. And we remain motivated by a simple idea: the work we do should matter to the people and communities we serve.
Thank you for your interest in HSPM. I invite you to explore our programs, meet our people, and consider joining us in making a difference.

Brad Wright, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Health Services Policy and Management