School of Public Health Departments/Programs: Department of Behavioral Sciences and Community Health   Behavioral Sciences and Health Promotion   General Public Health   International Health   Maternal and Child Health Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology   Biostatistics   Epidemiology (M.P.H.)   Epidemiology (Dr.P.H.) Department of Disability and Human Development Department of Environmental Health Science Department of Health Policy and Management Department of Physical Therapy Department of Speech-Language Pathology

Department of Behavioral Sciences and Community Health

Frank Baker, Ph.D.
Department Chair

Martin K. Diner, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.
Program Advisor

Padmini Murthy, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.,
Program Advisor

• M.P.H Program Curriculum
• Graduate Certificate in Public Health
• Program Course Descriptions


The following courses are all 3 credits unless otherwise noted.

M.P.H. Curriculum - 46 credits

1. Required courses: 22 credits
   
   Health Care in the United States
   Health Economics
   Behavioral and Social Factors in Public Health
   Environmental Influences on Human Health
   Introduction to Biostatistics
   Introduction to Epidemiology
   Thesis
   Practicum (1 credit)
2. Required program courses: 9 credits
   
   • Critical Analysis of Public Health Issues
   
   plus two of the following:
   
   • Applied Epidemiology
   • Behavioral Epidemiology
   • Community Needs Assessment I and II (students must take both semesters)
   • Critical Analysis of Disability Related Research
   • Environmental Epidemiology and Risk Assessment
   • Fundamentals of Research Methodology
   • Grant and Contract Development and Administration
   • Research in Healthcare Administration
3. For Practicum and electives: 15 credits
   See academic advisor

Health Care in the United States

This course provides a comprehensive overview of healthcare programs and policies in the United States. Lectures enable students to understand the major constituencies involved in healthcare and introduce them to current public health issues, healthcare delivery systems, and factors that determine health policy

Introduction to Biostatistics formerly Health Quantitative Sciences I

This course is an introductory graduate course that presents the fundamental statistical approaches employed in clinical research. Lectures cover basic probability, common distributions, samples and populations, interval estimation, and inferential statistical approaches. By reading medical literature, students learn how statistical techniques are applied to clinical data, and practice summarizing and interpreting analytic results.

Introduction to Epidemiology formerly Health Quantitative Sciences II

This course introduces students to the principles and practices of epidemiology and provides them a population-based perspective on health and disease. Students learn the basic measurements of frequency and association and the methods employed in describing, monitoring, and studying health and disease in populations.

Health Economics

This course explores the concepts of scarcity, social choice, rationing, resource allocation, efficiency, investment, and market forces and their relationship to health services delivery and health policy. A variety of analytical principles and methods are examined and applied to issues including healthcare financing, cost containment, regulation, access, insurance, productivity, and program evaluation.

Behavioral and Social Factors in Public Health

An overview and introduction to the way in which behavioral and social factors contribute to health. The course covers a wide range of topics: theories of behavioral sciences which have been applied to health behaviors; socio-cultural factors in disease etiology and the role of social conditions and social policy in addressing critical public health problems; individual, group, community, and technology-based strategies for health behavior change; and current issues in behavioral sciences for health promotion including its application to achieving the Healthy People 2010 goals.

Environmental Influences on Human Health

This survey of the major environmental determinants of human health covers physical, chemical and biological sources of exposure; routes of exposure in humans; etiology of environmental disease and mortality; and the complexities of environmental public policy. Topics include airborne pollution, contaminated water and food, solid and hazardous waste, and risk assessment as a tool for regulation. Students have the opportunity to tour a local public works facility.

Critical Analysis of Public Health Issues

Selected issues critical to the health of the public are analyzed to gain an understanding of the processes of public health practice. For each issue an in depth analysis of the relationships among existing data, public policy I policy implementation, and future policy needs is undertaken. Strategies for policy change are explored.

Violence: A Public Health Issue

This course places the many forms of violence into a public health context, explores what is known and unknown about the roots of violence, identifies data on sources of violence to facilitate discussion, explores public health-modeled programs to control or end violence, and identifies the means and resources to combat violence at all levels of society.

Emerging Infections

Emerging and reemerging infectious diseases are posing a serious threat to the health of the world’s people. This course examines the underlying mechanisms of microbial emergence, the technology used to detect them and the strategies available to contain them.

AIDS and Other Manifestations of HIV Infection

This course examines in detail one of the most devastating epidemics of our day. Outstanding guest lecturers who are experts in their fields present lectures on epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical adult manifestations, pediatric issues, gastrointestinal, neurological and biopsychosocial aspects, occupational issues, clinical trials, nursing issues, ethics, public health strategies and international considerations.

Topics in Public Health: Building Sustainable Communities

This course facilitates an examination of both the theoretical and practical definitions of sustainability. Students, through individual research and class discussion, evaluate specific case studies of communities that are experimenting with this concept and determine how to build successful approaches into their own communities.

Nutrition in Health and Disease

A theoretical background for understanding the clinical implications of nutrition in maintaining good health throughout the life cycle is provided. The role of nutrition in the prevention and management of cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and immunological disease, hyperlipidemia, and endocrine disorders, and the negative aspect of alcoholism on multiple systems of the body, and discussed.

Evidence Based Approaches to Complementary and Alternative Medicine

The growth of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is widespread in the United States. While many healthcare professionals support their use, there are others who remain quite skeptical about efficacy and usefulness. The course teaches the fundamentals of the most important and widely applied forms of alternative therapies, and approaches the subject in a scientific way while preserving the founding theories of different disciplines. Issues surrounding efficacy, effectiveness, and safety are discussed. Government regulations and reimbursement concerning various CAM therapies are summarized.

Entomology and Human Health

This course provides a background in the ethical conduct of research. Codes of conduct, both general and discipline-specific, are examined. A general overview of ethical systems is provided. Discussion of notable cases of ethical misconduct provides a mechanism for examining "ethics in action". Current mechanisms for imbuing ethical conduct in basic science, in animal experimentation, and in human subject research, is detailed.

Seminar in Contemporary Topics in Public Health

This seminar series covers contemporary trends and recent developments in public health, both domestically and internationally. Guest speakers with policy level experience will address current issues. The seminar meets once a month on a Saturday morning during the fall and spring semesters, for a total of eight sessions per academic year. A minimum of 14 sessions of attendance are required in addition to coursework. (Permission of instructor required for enrollment, but the Seminar is open to all who wish to attend as the topic interests them.)

Field Experience in General Public Health

Students engage in the application of theory by working in an approved public health organization or equivalent. Field work is supervised by a faculty member who serves as liaison to the health organization.

Directed Research in General Public Health

This course provides advanced study and research in an area chosen by the student in consultation with the professor. Opportunities for work on special problems are given.

Seminar in General Public Health

This course looks at contemporary trends and recent developments in an area of study not examined in other elective courses. Topics may change each term. Consult the program director for subject matter to be covered.

Thesis

It is expected that the thesis will be an original scholarly work involving an analysis of new or existing data on a subject relevant to the field of public health. It should be noted that theses may require review and approval by the university's Institutional Review Board (IRB) prior to initiation of any thesis work. Students should work through their program director to determine whether their thesis topic requires IRB review. Further, students must maintain regular contact with their program director during their thesis work to insure that their activities continue to meet the standards and regulations governing health care research.

Practicum

Students must complete a practicum. This is to assure that students have practical experience to support academic skills and information acquired within the broad filed of public health before they enter the world of public health practice. To fulfill this requirement, students will generally register for a one-credit pass/fail course in excess of the 45 credits required for the degree. Students who can demonstrate appropriate practice experience prior to beginning their M.P.H. studies may apply for a waiver.

Graduate Certificate in Public Health

This 18-credit certificate is designed for those who are not currently interested in obtaining an MPH degree, but who nevertheless wish to pursue studies in public health. The certificate courses will facilitate their understanding of the basics of public health, prepare them to undertake research, and expose them to a more-in-depth understanding of health economics, as well as law and health, environmental health or behavioral and social aspects of public health, depending upon their own special interest.

Earning the certificate involves a focused learning experience in public health. Certificate credits may be applied toward the MPH degree.

Required Courses: 18 credits (All courses are 3 credits)