Suggested curriculum (including number of courses to complete degree):

The MPH program requires completion of 54 credit hours. The program is designed as a cohort program based on thirteen required courses and one elective course. Twelve of the thirteen required courses are four credit hour courses the thirteenth is a two credit hour course.

Usual time to complete degree:

The course offerings are scheduled so that a student could complete the program over a two year, three year, or four year period.

Public Health field experience opportunities: During the final year of the program, students gain practical experience working in the public health field and completing a field based final project. This is accomplished through a three course practicum sequence described below:

Community Health Assessment and Evaluation:

This course is part of a three-course practicum sequence that is designed to provide the student with practical experience in the field based on skills acquired in class. The course introduces students to methods of data collection and analysis of epidemiological data. It focuses on community health indicators and research tools used to assess health data. Emphasis is on the research methods that are employed to identify community assets and goals; this step serves as the basic step in the process of community needs assessment which leads to the final objective, that is, program planning. The fundamentals of various types of community health interventions will be explored.

Practicum in Program Planning and Implementation:

This is the second course of the three-course practicum sequence. Students are expected to engage in the following tasks: (1) assess the community health profile documenting incidence and prevalence of disease and other health problems; (2) use the findings identified in step one to plan a population-specific community-based health program designed to reduce assessed risk; (3) develop an evaluation instrument designed to determine how successful the plan is in reducing health risk.

Capstone Seminar in Community Public Health Practice:

This is the third course of the three course practicum sequence. Students are expected to participate in a seminar, which provides the academic counterpart to the practicum experience. This course focuses on questions that arise related the data collection process, data analysis and /or interpretation of findings, and the effort to translate findings into the planning of community-based public health programs.