Program Requirements

Degree Requirements

The MPH program requires completion of 42 credit hours and includes the following:

Public Health Core Courses (15 hrs)

 Other Required Courses (15 hrs)

Elective Courses (6 hrs*)

*Select two courses with consent of program advisor

Field and Capstone Experience (6 hrs)

Core Course Examination

After satisfactory completion of all required core courses, and not later than the second to last semester, all students are required to pass a written examination that assesses knowledge and skills in the program core competencies.  The items on this exam will cover content from the core areas of study in biostatistics, epidemiology, health behavior, environmental health, and health services administration.  Student who fail are limited to one additional attempt to take the exam.

Field Experience

All students are required to complete a practical experience in an approved public health setting under the mentorship of a faculty member and the supervision of an on-site public health professional.  A minimum of 200 contact hours per three (3) credit hours must be completed, and a written portfolio must be submitted in the required format at the completion of the field experience.  

In order to qualify for the Public Health Field Experience, students must have successfully completed 33 credit hours, including all public health core and other required courses and passed the core course examination.  The Field Experience must be approved by the field experience faculty supervisor and the Program Director to ensure site acceptability.  The only curricular practical training that will be approved is the PBH 798 course.  No external research at other institutions will be approved for curricular practical training during the completion of the MPH program.

Culminating Experience

As the culminating experience, students in the MPH program are required to complete a capstone project via:

1.  PBH 799 - Capstone Project in Public Health - for students who opt for the 3-credit hour field experience;

 or

2. A field experience project for students who opt for the 6-credit hour field experience.

The capstone project requires students to synthesize and integrate advanced knowledge and skills acquired in the program and to apply those to some aspect of public health.

Some aspect of the culminating experience must be original, whether it is the topic itself, an analysis of newly collected or extant data, the reinterpretation of others' findings, or the design and completion of a community project.  At its completion, students submit a written report and make a formal presentation to an audience of faculty, students, and practitioners.