PROGRAM OVERVIEW | Master of Public Health

An introduction to the history of public health as well as the scope of services, politics, and budget of health care agencies at the federal, state, and local levels; evaluate the value and the implications of racial, ethnic, cultural, economic, and social differences, and the importance of cultural competency in addressing public health issues.

An examination of both the legal powers and ethical perspectives and duties of the state that exist to assure the conditions for people to be healthy and the limits on that power to constrain the autonomy privacy, liberty, propriety, or other legally protected interests of individuals.

A review of concepts and theories of leadership, to present challenges from public health practices and research, and to discover personal leadership attributes. The content will include leadership theory as it relates to the person, organization, communities, and research. Incorporated within this course will be an examination of ethical perspectives and duties of the state that exist to assure the conditions for people to be healthy and the limits on the power to constrain the autonomy, privacy, liberty, propriety, or other legally protected interest of individuals.

A review of current research and theory from molecular biology that has important implications for the current and future approach to public health. Provides understanding of the potential applications of genetic engineering to their health specialties.

An overview of current issues and research associated with health promotion in the community, including the workplace and focusing on implementation and evaluation of the health promotion programs.

An introduction to the basic nutritional needs for public health programs with examination of the role of diet health, and disease throughout the population, including weight control and fitness issues.

A comprehensive study and application of established models for planning, implementing, and evaluating small and large-scale health programs. Includes preparation to develop and plan with a particular emphasis on evaluation of community-based public health programs.

An introduction to the skills needed by public health professionals to critically interpret the epidemiologic literature. Discusses measures of frequency and association, introduce the design and validity of epidemiologic research, and give an overview of data analysis.

A focus on statistical analysis in public health and health services administration. Topics include distributions, tests of significance and confidence levels, sample situations with special attention to those occurring in health education, and behavioral sciences.

A review of environmental risk factors of disease. Topics include community air and water pollution, occupational health, hazardous waste, pesticides and food radiation protection including approaches to assessing, controlling, and preventing these hazards.

This course will provide the student with concepts of community health education, health promotion and disease prevention; their association with social, behavioral, and physical sciences in relation to health maintenance, optimal health, disease prevention.

A review of health policy and management issues and their impact on organizing, financing, and delivery of public health and medical delivery systems.

An introduction to the theory and practice of community organizations, including models and strategies of community organization and their application to health problems and health policy.

An overview of public health risk assessment associated with chemical exposures. Topics covered include an overview of chemical exposures, an introduction to the concepts, principles, and evaluation strategies used in risk assessment, the risk assessment framework, and development of public health risk management strategies.

Prerequisite(s): PUBH 710

An examination of conflict theories and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms (negotiation, mediation, and arbitration) public health professionals may employ to resolve disputes and conflicts arising in public health practice.

A review of strategic planning for public health program delivery; exploring such topics as vision and mission, program design, including goals and objectives, basic assumptions, and program evaluations including design of outcome measurements and benchmarking.

An introduction to public health theory and practice in the context of developing countries. Topics include public health methods for analyzing the causes and patterns of disease in populations and the types of health concerns in developing countries.

An examination of the major issues related to the delivery of health care services to persons with disabilities; acute and chronic conditions of all ages.

The application of GIS in their public health career. Topics covered include mapping, development of geographical datasets, and data analysis from application of GIS in different disciplines of public health.

An overview of qualitative and quantitative research methods and techniques used in designing and conducting health research of community-based public health programs.

This course examines the experiences of living in poverty, middle class, and wealth. The driving force of generational poverty as the cause will be presented. Public health’s role in addressing poverty along with possible solutions will be discussed.

Foundations of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) focuses on addressing the health needs of women, children, and families within the broader context of public health. To equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote the health and well-being of mothers, infants, and children through a public health lens.

This course will offer comprehensive understanding of four key elements: data management, statistical analysis, graphics, and reproducible reporting. The course is designed for advanced level health sciences students interested in management and analysis of health care data. By the end of the course, students will be able to create, import, clean and manage a dataset, perform basis analyses and visualize results, create customized graphics, and write dynamic reports. The course will use STATA as the analytical software.

Supervised work experience in a public health-practice setting by participation in a structured practicum experience. Students are required to complete 200 hours of practicum experience, produce a written report of the experience, and produce a structured report that describes, analyzes, and critiques the practicum experience. Grading will be on a pass/no credit basis.

A written research project under the supervision of a faculty committee. The project is written in traditional academic style or in a journal manuscript format. Grading will be on a pass/no credit basis.

Supervised work experience in a public health-practice setting by participation in a structured practicum experience. Students are required to complete 67 hours of practicum experience, produce a written report of the experience, and produce a structured report that describes, analyzes, and critiques the practicum experience. May be repeated up to three times. Grading will be on a pass/no credit basis.

A written research project under the supervision of a faculty committee. The project is written in traditional style or in a journal manuscript format. May be repeated up to three times. Grading will be on a pass/no credit basis.

In-depth study of special areas in public health. May be repeated when topic varies. One to three hours of lecture.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of the Department

Independent Study is a course designed for students to pursue special topics of interest as deemed academically sound by the MPH program. This may entail readings, special assignments, and/or research under the guidance of a faculty mentor. May be repeated for a maximum of three credit hours.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of the Department

Provides students with knowledge and skills to develop research questions, conduct literature review, plan for data collection, and develop a thesis proposal. Grading will be on a pass/no credit basis.

Enables students to apply methods of research to the study of Public Health issues culminating in a monograph embodying research. Grading will be on a pass/no credit basis.