Study public health and healthcare from an economic perspective
What makes the Health Economics and Management specialisation at VU Amsterdam stand out is its strong focus on public policy and the role of private healthcare providers and insurers. By combining core courses in health economics with specialised coursework in public economics, you can pursue a unique, policy-oriented track. You will learn from instructors who actively shape healthcare policy and collaborate in their research with providers, insurers, health authorities, ministries, and politicians.
- In Period 1 (Sep–Oct), you will take methods courses in Microeconomics and Econometrics. These give you a strong foundation for the rest of the programme — both for the Health Economics core courses and for a wide choice of electives.
- In Period 2 (Nov–Dec), you will take the first core course: Public Health Economics. This course explores how economic mechanisms shape the health-related decisions of individuals such as risky behaviors, and the consequences of such decisions for broader societal outcomes such as health disparities. It equips you with empirical tools to assess the impact of public health policies such as vaccination programmes, with attention to ethical considerations and real-world relevance. In the same period, you’ll choose an elective from a wide set of related applied courses. The recommended elective is Economics of Public Policy, which gives you the tools to analyse taxation, public debt, government efficiency, public goods, and more.
- In Period 3 (Jan), you will write a Policy Brief on a topic of your choice, with individual supervision from a lecturer. This sharpens your skills in independent, policy-oriented writing.
- In Period 4 (Feb–Mar), the second field course Economics of Healthcare takes centre stage and shifts the focus from health-related behavior of individuals and public health interventions to the functioning of the health care sector. You’ll examine how healthcare systems can be organised, financed, and regulated in a way that optimises accessibility, quality and affordability. You will also choose another elective course. A recommended elective is Public Finance and Social Insurance, which examines how welfare programs can be designed in ways that are both fair and efficient.
- In Periods 5 and 6 (Apr–Jun), you will write your master’s thesis, with personal supervision from a faculty member, making an original contribution to Health Economics research.
The start date of this programme is September 1st.