Master in Public Health

The Higher Institute of Public Health at Saint Joseph University

With the continuous emergence of new health threats and the major changes that are taking place at the technological, economic, social and political levels, the creation of a Higher Institute of Public Health (ISSP) at Saint Joseph University of Beirut has become a recognized priority for achieving better public health goals.

Affiliated to the Faculty of Medicine, the ISSP was created in September 2016 based on solid foundations that are drawn from 20 years of experience built by the Institute of Health Management and Health Social Protection (IGSPS) in the field of public health. It was officially launched, on the 2nd of June 2017, through a scientific conference entitled "New Challenges in Public Health: Sustainable Development Objectives, E-Health and Evidence-Based Data". This two days event took place within the framework of the fourth spring of the Faculty of Medicine, under the patronage of his Excellency the Vice President of the Ministers Council and the Minister of Health Ghassan Hasbani, and in the presence of political, diplomatic, social, and academic personalities. The speakers discussed the current issues in public health and the challenges to be addressed in terms of training, practice, management, policies, and research themes.

The mission of the ISSP is to provide advanced academic programs, conduct research and implement public health projects. Within this context, the ISSP is considered as a strategic asset for Saint Joseph University and enables it to position itself as a key player in the public health sector by producing evidence and disseminating relevant knowledge that would inform national policies and engender a basis of actions in public health. Through the ISSP, Saint Joseph University opens, as usual, to the numerous problems of the society including complex and chronic health problems as well as environmental, behavioral, and social problems. Hence, the Institute is committed to developing a multidisciplinary culture and an inter-professional exchange within and beyond the walls of the University in order to establish a platform for dialogue between the various professionals concerned with public health, confront academic education with the society’s reality and ensure its relevance, produce research emanating from the population’s needs, and propose innovative solutions.

Master Program in Public Health:

The ISSP offers a two-year, full-time, Master program in Public Health divided into three specialty tracks:

• Health policies and management
• Epidemiology and Biostatistics
• Environmental health

This program aims to form public health experts who can effectively respond to complex public health problems, develop and implement national public health programs and policies, and enhance the state of health of the population at the national and regional levels. The ISSP aims also to respond to identified needs in its environment, adapt to changing and diversified contexts through contribution to the advancement of research and the development of new knowledge.

This program encompasses a total of 120 credits and the classes are given on Fridays and Saturdays from 2:00 to 8:00 pm.

Skills

At the end of this training, students will be able to participate actively to:

1. The exercise of leadership in the field of public health
2. The development of public health programs to meet the needs of population health
3. The elaboration of national public health policies
4. The conduct of epidemiological, clinical, evaluative and applied in public health and the communication of research results
5. The integration of ethical issues into the practice of public health.

Courses offered during semesters 1 and 2:

• Fundamentals of Public Health (4 credits)
• Fundamentals of Environmental Health (4 credits)
• Fundamentals of Global Health I (2 credits)
• Social and Behavioral Sciences in Public Health (4 credits)
• Introduction to Biostatistics (4 credits)
• Ethics in Public Health (2 credits)
• Thesis / Internship Preparation (10 credits)
• Public Health Policies and Management (4 credits)
• Fundamentals of Epidemiology (4 credits)
• Fundamentals of Global Health II (2 credits)
• Evidence-Based Care Practices (2 credits)
• Research in Public Health (4 credits)
• Internship in Public Health (4 credits)
• Research Protocol / Organization and Internship Objectives (10 credits)

Courses offered during semesters 3 and 4:

Track I: Health Policy and Management

• Health Economics (4 credits)
• Public Health Information Systems (4 credits)
• Management of Health Care Institutions and Public Health Organizations (4 credits)
• Accounting and Financial Analysis of Healthcare Structures and Systems (4 credits)
• Public Health Interventions Development and Evaluation (4 credits)
• Five Optional Courses (20 credits)
• Data Collection / Project Management (10 credits)
• Thesis Defense / Presentation of Internship reports (10 credits)

Track II: Epidemiology and Biostatistics

• Statistical Softwares (4 credits)
• Epidemiology and Public Health (4 credits)
• Multivariate Analysis (4 credits)
• Longitudinal Data Analysis (4 credits)
• Clinical Epidemiology (4 credits)
• Five Optional Courses (20 credits)
• Data Collection / Project Management (10 credits)
• Thesis Defense / Presentation of Internship reports (10 credits)

Track III: Environment and Health

• Toxicology Applied to Environmental Health (4 credits)
• Environmental Engineering (4 credits)
• Environmental Management Tools and Applications (4 credits)
• Occupational Health and Public Health (4 credits)
• Epidemiology Applied to Environmental Health Issues (4 credits)
• Five Optional Courses (20 credits)
• Data Collection / Project Management (10 credits)
• Thesis Defense / Presentation of Internship reports (10 credits)

Start Date: September 2019

Duration: minimum 4 semesters (Full time) and maximum 8 semesters (part-time)

Price: 1 credit = 173$* (Academic year 2018-2020)

Deadline: 30 July 2019

*: May be subject to change upon university decision

Continuing Education:

The ISSP offers three university degrees in the field of public health:

• Quality and accreditation of health care organizations
• Health information coding
• Health information analysis

The ISSP also provides continuing education through a series of training and workshops on trending themes in public health. Recent workshops provided by the ISSP include:

• Hospital information system management (4 days, 24 hours)
• Health technology assessment (2 days, 9 hours)
• Systematic review (2 days, 8 hours)
• Public health approaches to non-communicable diseases (3 days, 8 hours)
• Urban environment and public health (4 days, 24 hours)
• Organizational development and change in HMOs (4 days, 24 hours)
• Communication in public health (3 days, 18 hours)

Research:

In parallel with the educational programs, the ISSP is currently working, in partnership with various national and international organizations, on several public health research projects that fit within the ISSP specialty tracks and more specifically disability, Interprofessional collaboration and education, sustainable health care management, vulnerability to environmental degradation, IT and health and health care data.

Internships of ISSP students, as well as foreign students, are highly encouraged.

Consulting:

The Institute is also involved in several consultancy projects mandated by national, regional and international organizations such as WHO, Ministry of Public health, Caritas, Knights of Malta, etc.

Entry Requirements

Students are eligible for admission if they fulfill the following admission criteria:

• Lebanese Baccalaureate degree or its equivalent
• BSc in Nutrition, Biology, Chemistry or any health-related degree

or

• Masters degree (minimum 2 years or 4 semesters, 120 credits or related) in management, Law, sciences or engineering

Students with a degree in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy or an MSc in any health-related degree obtained as of 2007-2008 may be eligible for an exemption of 60 credits upon the decision of the admission committee and the decision of equivalence committee at Saint-Joseph University.

• Proficiency in French, English, Arabic** and computer tools

** exemption for foreigners

Admission Procedure

Admission will be decided following file review and interview (if needed) with the Admission Committee.
Files should be submitted at the ISSP Secretariat before the end of July from 8h30 to 15h, campus of medical sciences, Building E, 3rd floor.

Admissions may occur at the start of 2nd semester depending on candidate background and review of the file.

Documents to provide

• Application form (downloadable on www.usj.edu.lb)
• Cover letter
• 2 passport photos
• Identification paper (civil status certificate, identity card or passport)
• Original extract from recent family civil status
• Certificate of registration at the social security for candidates who have less than 30 years.

Certified photocopy of the following documents:

• Lebanese Baccalaureate or its equivalent, certified by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education
• Bachelor's degree or Master's degree (all degrees awarded other than Saint-Joseph University or Lebanese university must be certified by the Department of Education and Higher Education)
• Official transcript of university grades

Registration fee: 100 US $ (non-refundable)