MPH Program

Virtual New Student Orientation

Congratulations on your acceptance to the Medical College of Wisconsin!  Whether you're enrolled in the Master of Public Health program, Graduate Certificate in Public Health, or just taking courses as a special student, you will find this page useful in getting started.  We recommend that you review the entire page and all of the associated links; however, we also provide quick links to the various sections:

Welcome from Dr. Kotchen
Contact Information
Student Handbooks
MCW Email
ANGEL Orientation
Program Requirements
Advising
Plan of Study
Textbooks
Online Learning Strategies
ePortfolio
Culminating Experiences
Library - Remote Access
On-Campus Information

Welcome from Dr. Kotchen

Welcome to the MPH/Certificate program at the Medical College of Wisconsin. I’m Jane Kotchen, the Director of the program, your academic advisor, and the instructor of the Principles of Epidemiology course.

The MPH program is committed to education, service and research in public health, and we emphasize this commitment to you, our students. We offer wonderful courses that promote public health competencies, but we also encourage you to explore public health outside of the virtual classroom. Coursework includes practical applications and projects, and we recommend that you get involved in your local community by acting as a resource or a volunteer. Consider opportunities for continuing education beyond coursework. Whatever you do, be engaged.

Public health is a vital component of today’s society. Public health professionals face challenges related to obesity, tobacco use, emerging infectious diseases, emergency preparedness, chronic disease prevention, and others. This program will help you gain the competencies needed to combat these health-related issues, and we’re delighted to have you as part of the team. We look forward to working with you further.

Contact Information

This PDF explains who to contact for various concerns and includes email addresses as well as phone numbers.

Contact Information (PDF)

Pictured (L to R):  Beverly Carlson, Kim Contardi, Jessica Gillis

Student Handbooks

The Master of Public Health Program Student Handbook provides information on course offerings, faculty pictures and information, program governance, expectations for student conduct, and requirements for graduation.

The Graduate School Student Handbook provides information on registration, course policies, and administrative policies.  This document can be found on the Graduate School Current Students website.

MCW Email

You are required to use your MCW email account for all MCW activities.  Upon admission to the Graduate School, an email account was created for you, and your user name and password were emailed to your home email address.  You can access your MCW email via the web at https://owamail.mcw.edu.  If you forget your user name or password (or if you never received them), contact the Information Services Help Desk at 414-456-4357.

ANGEL Orientation

This 15 minute Camtasia presentation explains the use of ANGEL (A New Global Environment for Learning), which is the online learning platform used by the MPH program.  (The presentation has audio, so make sure to turn your volume up.)
     Developed by our Systems Specialist:  Chris Edwards

Program Requirements

Master of Public Health Program

42 Credits

     *For course descriptions and prerequisites, see the Course Descriptions webpage
Maintain at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA
Complete the program within 5 years of matriculation

Graduate Certificate in Public Health Program

15 Credits

     *See the Course Descriptions webpage for further information
Maintain at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA
Complete the program within 2 years of matriculation

Advising

Dr. Jane Kotchen acts as each student's academic advisor upon enrollment in the MPH or Certificate program.  You will meet with her at least once each year, in person or by phone, to discuss your academic progress, plan of study, and any other concerns.

For questions or concerns regarding your plan of study or specific courses, you may also contact Kim, Bev or Jessica at mph@mcw.edu.

You will have a different faculty advisor for your Field Placement and Capstone Project courses, in which you will enroll in at the end of the program.

Plan of Study

MPH and Certificate students are required to complete a plan of study at the beginning of their program and revise it at least annually (in conjunction with advising).  The plan of study illustrates when you will complete the program's required coursework.

Information on courses, including when they're offered and course descriptions, is available on the Courses and Curriculum webpage.  For questions or concerns regarding scheduling or specific courses, including on-campus course options, please contact Kim, Bev or Jessica at mph@mcw.edu.

MPH Plan of Study (DOC)

Sample MPH Plans of Study:     2 year program (PDF)     4 year program (PDF)

Certificate Plan of Study (DOC)

Sample Certificate Plans of Study:     1 year program (PDF)     2 year program (PDF)

Helpful Hints:

• Online courses, on average, require 6 to 10 hours of study each week, so think about how much time you can devote to coursework when you’re deciding how many courses to enroll in each semester.
• The summer semester is 8 weeks long (as opposed to 16 weeks in the Fall and Spring), so the courses are shorter but more intense.
• Take your core courses first. These are the foundation for other courses, and many are prerequisites (or at least recommended) for the elective courses.
• The Field Placement should be one of the last courses you enroll in, and you need to schedule time the semester beforehand to prepare for this course.
• The Capstone Project should be the last course you enroll in, and – once again – you need to plan time the semester before for preparation.

Textbooks

This website provides the most up-to-date list of required and recommended texts for each course.  You are responsible for obtaining copies of the books required for your courses.

Textbooks Website

Word of Advice:  Don't purchase your books too far in advance.  New editions of texts are often published, and the course director may decide to use a different book in a particular course.

Online Learning Strategies

This website provides tips for online learning derived from evidence-based strategies.
     Developed by our Educational Specialist:  Jennifer Kusch, MS, PhD (candidate)

Online Learning Strategies Website

ePortfolio

Starting in Fall 2010, you will be required to prepare and maintain an electronic portfolio that describes relevant public health experiences and achievements during the course of their program. The portfolio consists of academic, professional and service accomplishments and may include major course projects, reports, presentations, publications and other samples of work that is completed. It is intended to be a useful career tool for you as well as a means of assessing educational outcomes. It has five major sections:

My Info

• Name
• Picture of you or a cause you support
• Relevant contact info
• Your biosketch and personal mission

Artifacts

• Personal reflections
• Course papers or homework activities
• Photos
• Audio or video clips

History

• Educational history
• Work history

Blogs

• Personal reflection on your own topics
• Comment on other people’s topics

Objectives

• Personal learning goals
• Instructor’s learning objectives for each course
• MPH competencies

You are expected to share the portfolio with the Program Director, faculty, and staff; however, you can determine whether or not to allow access to other individuals.  More information about the ePortfolio will be provided as it becomes available.

Culminating Experiences

The Field Placement and Capstone Project are required courses, which should be taken at the end of the MPH program.

Field Placement

The Field Placement course offers you the opportunity to work with a public health agency on a worthwhile project.  This course requires a significant amount of preparation; therefore, you are expected to start planning at least four months in advance.

To enroll in Field Placement, you must have completed all of your core coursework (Environmental Health, Principles of Epidemiology, Public Health Administration, Biostatistics, and Behavioral Science and Public Health), and we recommend that you have completed all program coursework besides the Capstone Project.

For further information about the Field Placement course, please visit the Field Placement website.

Capstone Project

The Capstone Project course consists of a Master's Paper and should be completed as the last course of the MPH program.  This course also requires a significant amount of preparation; therefore, you are expected to start planning at least three months in advance.

For further information about the Capstone Project course, please visit the Capstone Project website.

Library - Remote Access

As an MPH or Certificate student, you may remotely access library resources, including thousands of online journals.  Please print and fill out the form linked below.  Then send the completed form to Bev or Jessica by fax at 414-456-6160 or by email at mph@mcw.edu.  For more information about library resources, visit the MCW Libraries homepage.

Library Remote Access Form (PDF)

On-Campus Information

You have the option of enrolling in select on-campus courses with prior approval from the Program Director, Dr. Jane Kotchen.

Transfer Credits:  Courses taken in other programs at the Medical College must be transferred into the MPH program, and you may only transfer in 14 of the program's 42 credits.

If you would like information regarding some of MCW's other on-campus resources, such as those listed below, please contact Bev or Jessica at mph@mcw.edu.

Photo ID and Parking Permit Issuance - MCW Public Safety
Library Resources
Graduate Student Association
Epidemiology Research Seminar Series - Thursdays at noon