The forty-one/forty-two unit instructional program prepares graduate students to assume professional health education roles with responsibilities for:
- Assessment and educational diagnosis
- Program planning
- Program implementation
- Administration
- Community organization
- Communication and media
- Research and evaluation
- Curriculum development
- Multi-cultural issues in health education
The program includes thirty units of core courses, nine units of electives that may be used to develop a generalist background or a concentration area (such as Health administration and Environmental and Occupational Health), a two unit internship and a culminating experience which can either be a Comprehensive Examination or Thesis/Graduate Project.
The curriculum is designed to prepare health educators to successfully complete the Certified Health Education Specialist examination, and to serve in a variety of professional leadership opportunities. Students enrolled in the MPH program become members of an active and dynamic MPH Student Association that provides vital student and faculty support services.
Course Number |
Course Title |
Units |
Qualifying Program |
||
H Sci 390/390L |
Biostatistics |
4 |
|
Total |
4 |
MPH Core |
||
H Sci 531 |
Sem: Health Education Program Planning and Evaluation |
3 |
H Sci 533 |
Advanced Concepts of Health Behavior |
3 |
H Sci 535 |
Curriculum Development in Health Education |
3 |
H Sci 538 |
Sem: Community Health Action |
3 |
H Sci 541 |
Administration, Supervision and Consultation |
3 |
H Sci 554 |
Sem: Environmental Health Problems |
3 |
H Sci 587 |
Sem: Epidemiology |
3 |
H Sci 592 |
Advanced Biostatistics for the Health Sciences |
3 |
H Sci 693A |
Supervised Field Training |
2 |
H Sci 694 |
Research Design in Health Sciences |
4 |
|
Total |
30 |
Electives |
||
A minimum of 9 units with advisor approval |
|
9 |
Culminating Experience (see below) |
||
H Sci 697 or H Sci 698B |
Directed Comprehensive Studies or Thesis/Graduate Project |
3 or 2 |
|
Total |
2 or 3 |
|
Total Program Units |
41 or 42 |
Culminating Experience
Students are required to complete either a comprehensive examination or a thesis or a graduate project as their final culminating experience in the Program. Students opting for the comprehensive examination take a review course the semester before or concurrent with sitting for the exam. The exam is given in two parts. Part 1 is the written portion and Part 2 is an oral experience in which the the student meets with a faculty panel to review and defend written responses to Part 1 and/or to explore other topics related to the student's training in the MPH Program. Part 1 of the exam is a take-home written test in which the student has 48 hours to respond to the test items and then return the answers to the test coordinator. The test items assess the same competencies required to become a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), and the new standards proposed by the Society for Public Health Education, Inc. (SOPHE). The comprehensive examination protocol is available through the academic advisor. The pass rate has been fairly consistent on the first administration at 60 to 70 percent.
Students selecting the thesis/graduate project option identify a committee chairperson who then helps the student with proposal development, human subjects approvals and other related activities.