Courses & Curriculum

The MPH (PDF) consists of 42 credits drawn from required and elective courses. This requirement applies to all programs accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).

• 4 Core Courses - 12 credits
• 6 Concentration Courses - 18 credits
• Elective Courses - 6 credits
• Field Placement (includes 1 credit for Field Placement Preparation) - 3 credits
• Capstone Project - 3 credits

This Graduate Certificate (PDF) consists of 12 credits all of which are required courses. Students in this certificate program enroll in the core public health courses with students in the MPH Program.

• Public Health Theory & Practice
• Principles of Public Health Data & Epidemiology
• Public Health Administration
• Public Health Analytics

This Certificate in Community Health Assessment and Planning (PDF) consists of 12 credits: 2 required courses and 2 electives.

2 required courses - 6 credits

• Community Health Assessment & Improvement
• Community Health Program Planning

2 electives - 6 credits

• Community Health Program Evaluation
• Performance Management & Quality Improvement
• Health Communication
• Public Health Policy
• Public Health Research
• Health Promotion & Disease Prevention

One to two years experience working in health care, worksite wellness, or public health is strongly recommended.

This Certificate in Population Health Management (PDF) consists of 12 credits: 2 required courses and 2 electives.

2 required Courses - 6 credits

• Introduction to Population Health Management
• Health Promotion & Disease Prevention

2 electives - 6 credits

• Principles of Epidemiology
• Public Health Program Evaluation
• Public Health Policy
• Community Health Program Planning
• Health Care Finance
• Racial and Ethnic Inequalities in Health

Experience working in a health care system, health plan, employer benefit plan, or public health department is recommended.

18200 Environmental Health (Spring)

• Provides a foundation for understanding the scientific principles of environmental analysis, including communicable diseases, toxic chemicals and hazardous physical conditions as well as the development of environmental legislation.
  Recommended preliminary coursework: Undergraduate chemistry and biology; 18201 Principles of Epidemiology.

18201 Principles of Epidemiology (Fall)

• Examines the design and implementation of case control, cohort, and mortality studies; identifies resources, databases, and problems; and critically analyzes studies in current public health literature.

18203 Public Health Administration (Fall)

• Provides an introduction to the structure, functions and financing of public health within the context of the U.S. health care system and its health policies as well as the planning, management and evaluation of programs to improve health.

18204 Introduction to Biostatistics (Spring)

• Describes the use of descriptive and analytical statistics in research studies, with an emphasis on understanding statistical reports and judging the appropriateness of statistical applications reported in the literature. Calculations of statistics are included as a means to understand the appropriate use of statistics.

18212 Behavioral Science and Public Health (Summer)

• Surveys the influence of biological factors, family, state of development, ethnic and cultural factors, community factors and stressors on health and well-being.

18209 Community Health Assessment and Improvement (Fall)

• Covers the central concepts of community health assessment and improvement. Students will review public health concepts from a public health systems and practice perspective. The course will focus on public health essential services 1 and 2. Students will obtain an understanding of the public health system, community health assessment and the health improvement process using selected frameworks. The course will focus in-depth on learning about the Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) framework and application of selected components to course projects.
  Prerequisites: 18203 Public Health Administration; 18212 Behavioral Science and Public Health recommended.

18230 Community Health Program Planning (Spring)

• Builds on the foundation in health improvement program planning obtained in the Public Health Administration course. This course will increase the depth and breadth of students’ knowledge and skills through a theoretical and application-based curriculum through three modules, including strategic planning, program planning, and leadership competencies to lead planning efforts.
  Prerequisites: 18203 Public Health Administration; 18209 Community Health Assessment & Improvement recommended.

18250 Ethical Issues in Public Health (Summer)

• Provides students with an introduction to the moral, social, and ethical issues involved in public health policy and practice. Initially, students will examine the moral, social, and political foundations of public health. Special attention will be focused on the role of individual autonomy versus the needs of the state in public health interventions. Finally, students will evaluate the moral, social, and ethical issues in several areas of public health policy and practice including mandatory childhood vaccination programs; health screening and the use of personal health information; health equity and disparities in health care; access to health care/health insurance; and communicating about public health concerns.

18260 Community Health Program Evaluation (Fall)

• Prepares students to apply public health knowledge and skills in a community-based setting. Evaluation skills are an essential competency of both public health practitioners and public health administrators and thus are a critical component of the MPH curriculum. Building on the foundation in research methods and data analysis obtained in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics courses and program planning and management obtained in the Public Health Administration course, this course will increase the depth and breadth of students’ knowledge and skills through a theoretical and application-based curriculum through four modules, including the foundation of program evaluation, the five levels of the program evaluation hierarchy, program evaluation tools, and program evaluation and public health practice. 

18279 MPH Field Placement Preparation (Fall, Spring, Summer)

• Provides the foundation for the MPH Field Placement course and facilitates students' connection with public health organizations and arrangement of their specific Field Placement project. The course will highlight principles of human subject research as well as community-academic partnerships and will help students apply these principles in the development of their project.
  Prerequisites: 18200 Environmental Health, 18201 Principles of Epidemiology, 18203 Public Health Administration, 18204 Biostatistics, and 18212 Behavioral Science and Public Health.

18280 MPH Field Placement (Fall, Spring, Summer)

• Consists of a planned, supervised and evaluated practice experience that is designed to enhance and complement the student’s educational training by providing practical experience in a public or private organization that addresses significant public health issues. Working with a site preceptor and faculty advisor, the student will complete an Action Learning Project that is relevant to his/her area of interest.
  Prerequisite: 18279 Field Placement Preparation.

18297 MPH Capstone Project (Fall, Spring, Summer)

• Provides the foundation for the MPH Field Placement course and facilitates students' connection with public health organizations and arrangement of their specific Field Placement project. The course will highlight principles of human subject research as well as community-academic partnerships and will help students apply these principles in the development of their project.
  Prerequisites: 18200 Environmental Health, 18201 Principles of Epidemiology, 18203 Public Health Administration, 18204 Biostatistics, and 18212 Behavioral Science and Public Health.

Fall

18219 Introduction to Global Health

• Provides an introduction to the basic concepts and tolls needed to describe the health situation and health priorities of a country; reviews the organization, management, and financing of health systems, particularly how they apply to the low and moderate income countries; and helps students understand the global determinants of health, particularly definitions, strategies, partnerships, and measurements.

18232 Introduction to Population Health Management

• Provides knowledge and builds competencies to improve population health outcomes as well as patient and provider experiences and to reduce per person costs; themes include leadership in teams, care of populations, health service quality and value, data analysis and reporting, and financial management; competencies include leadership and inter-professional communication, systems thinking, social and behavioral sciences, data management, process and outcome improvement, and policy advocacy. This introductory course is required in the 12-credit Certificate in Population Health Management program.

18241 Health Communication

• Explores the ways that communication impacts people’s health and wellbeing, as well as their understanding of health related topics. The course will cover multiple levels of communication, different communication channels, and the use of diverse communication media and technologies.
  Prerequisite: 18218 Behavioral Science and Public Health

18243 Performance Management and Quality Improvement

• Examines topics such as the history of performance management and quality improvement in public health, components of the performance management system, basic and advanced quality improvement tools, accreditation of public health departments and an organizational culture of quality improvement. The course will focus on applying students’ knowledge and skills through an application based curriculum.
  Prerequisite: 18203 Public Health Administration

18254 Challenges in Material and Child Health (odd years - 2017, 2019)

• Provides students with an in-depth introduction to the underlying health challenges as they pertain to women, children and youth. The ultimate goal of the course is to help students develop a broad understanding about the factors that shape the health of populations and to equip students with evaluative tools for determining how health system shortfalls might be effectively addressed. The course will assist clinicians and other public health students and professionals to develop and strengthen their knowledge, skills, and ability to critically examine maternal child health issues and to develop a better understanding of some of the underlying determinants of health.

Spring

18115 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

• This course is designed to prepare students to promote health and to prevent disease and injury using a variety of methods. It emphasizes an ecological approach addressing behavior, environment, and healthcare at levels from the individual to social policy. The content is designed for use in diverse settings, including community-based public health, healthcare, workplaces, schools and other institutions.
  Prerequisites: 18201 Principles of Epidemiology; 18212 Behavioral Science and Public Health

18215 Infectious Diseases

• Emphasizes the practice of public health in the area of infectious diseases: surveillance, outbreak investigation and control, and prevention and policy.

18223 Public Health Policy

• This introductory course will prepare students to know and understand the fundamentals of public health policymaking from the perspective of diverse stakeholders. Throughout the course, students will engage in critical and creative thinking to judge the validity of information and to use defensible and persuasive information to reach new insights in the field of public health policy. Students will be challenged to analyze complex public health policies in areas such as health care reform, health equity, access to care, chronic disease and injury, and global health. This course will assist students in developing the skills necessary to understand and apply diverse sources of information in policy development and the advocacy to implement public health policy.

18258 Advanced Epidemiological Methods (even years - 2018, 2020)

• Builds on introductory epidemiology courses by providing a more in-depth understanding of fundamental epidemiologic principles presented in introductory epidemiologic courses such as study design and bias. This course also emphasizes more advanced concepts needed in establishing causal relationships from observational data. It is particularly relevant to students who intend to conduct studies investigating the occurrence and determinants of diseases or who wish to be sophisticated consumers or critics of epidemiologic research conducted by others. The course emphasizes practical application of Epidemiologic Methods to real world problems.

18265 Public Health Research

• This course is designed for those students who wish to enhance their skills in assessing the health status of populations. This course will offer advanced skills to efficiently and accurately collect data, including instruction on both quantitative and qualitative research techniques, survey methodology, and determining the validity of data collected or retrieved.
  Prerequisites: 18204 Biostatistics and one of the following: 18209 Community Health Assessment and Improvement; or, 18260 Community Health Program Evaluation.

Summer

18218 Racial and Ethnic Inequalities in Health

• Provides an in-depth introduction to health disparities and underlying determinants of population health. The course will help clinicians and other public health students and professionals develop and strengthen their knowledge, skills and ability to critically examine issues of health disparities and to develop a better understanding of some of the underlying social determinants of health disparities, from a multidisciplinary perspective. The ultimate goal of the course is to help students develop the skills needed to apply knowledge and theory of health disparities in designing health services and epidemiological studies and interventions to reduce and ultimately eliminate health disparities.
  Recommended preliminary coursework: 18201 Principles of Epidemiology and 18204 Biostatistics.

18221 Public Health Law

• Examines the basic legal knowledge a public health professional should have, including worker’s compensation laws; laws/regulations governing public health safety and health; environmental laws/regulations; food, drug, device, and cosmetic laws/regulations; and medical malpractice and the medical malpractice system, including legal sources of public health powers, the administrative law system, public health law as it relates to individual rights, control of property, substance abuse, and the AIDS epidemic.