Master of Public Health

Core courses

• Survey of Public Health
• Intro to Environmental Health
• Intro to Health Policy and Management
• Intro to Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Methods in Biostatistics and Epidemiology
• Qualitative Research in Public Health

Concentration courses

• Community Health Science and Practice
• Health Promotion and Education
• Program Design & Evaluation of Public Health Interventions
• Community Health Assessments
• Public Health Practice Experience
• Preparatory Seminar, Culminating Experience
• Culminating Experience

Elective courses (select 2)

• Community Organizing
• Maternal and Child Health
• Public Health Emergency Preparedness
• Mass Communication and Health
• Public Health Genetics
• Public Health Law
• Health Policy and Development Analysis
• Health Informatics
• The Law of Healthcare Compliance
• Introduction to SAS Programming (campus-based course, requires instructor approval)

Foundational Competencies

Evidence-Based Approaches to Public Health

1. Apply epidemiological methods to the breadth of settings and situations in public health practice;
2. Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context;
3. Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming, and software, as appropriate;
4. Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy, or practice.

Public Health & Health Care Systems

1. Compare the organization, structure, and function of health care, public health, and regulatory systems across national and international settings;
2. Discuss the means by which structural bias, social inequities, and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community, and societal levels.

Planning & Management to Promote Health

1. Assess population needs, assets, and capacities that affect communities' health;
2. Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design, implementation, or critique of public health policies or programs;
3. Design a population-based policy, program, project, or intervention;
4. Explain basic principles and tools of budget and resource management;
5. Select methods to evaluate public health programs.

Policy in Public Health

1. Discuss the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence;
2. Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes;
3. Advocate for political, social, or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations;
4. Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity.

Leadership

1. Apply leadership and/or management principles to address a relevant issue;
2. Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges.

Communication

1. Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors;
2. Communicate audience-appropriate (i.e., non-academic, non-peer audience) public health content, both in writing and through the oral presentation;
3. Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content.

Interprofessional Practice

1. Integrate perspectives from other sectors and/or professions to promote and advance population health.

Systems Thinking

1. Apply a systems thinking tool to visually represent a public health issue in a format other than the standard narrative.

Community Health Competencies

1. Apply theories, concepts, models, and frameworks of health education, health promotion, and health literacy to address a public health problem, considering the cultural values, beliefs, and traditions of a community;
2. Demonstrate risk assessment and risk communication approaches in managing occupational and environmental exposures;
3. Assess human and ecological effects of environmental agents and climate change, based on: (1) factors in the physical environment, (2) factors in the social environment, and (3) issues of environmental justice and equity;
4. Use the principles of community-based participatory research to develop a strategy to learn about community-identified issues, build equitable partnerships, and formalize a process to apply research to both practice and policy;
5. Prepare a funding proposal that demonstrates knowledge of funding sources, measurable goals and objectives, and budgets.