Health Policy and Management Department

University departments often shape how cities think about health. The Health Policy and Management Department at Columbia’s Mailman School offers graduate training in everything from healthcare economics to public-health law, drawing students who want to influence policy rather than just practice medicine. Classes and research projects here tend to ripple outward, affecting how hospitals, insurers, and local governments make decisions.

You’ll find the department on the seventh floor of 722 W 168th St, New York, NY 10032, a few blocks south of the George Washington Bridge. The neighborhood feels like a quiet corner of Washington Heights, where academic buildings share sidewalks with small bodegas and family-run pharmacies. Visitors sometimes mistake the address for a clinic, but the focus inside is on data, regulation, and systemic change rather than direct patient care.

If you’re planning a visit or need to reach someone about programs, call (212) 305-3927. Directions and building access details are easiest to pull up on the map before heading over. Most people just take the 1 train to 168th Street and walk five minutes—less time than it takes to explain why health policy matters in the first place.