2023-2024 Academic Catalog

Public Health, MPH

Overview

The MPH degree program provides a broad didactic experience in public health and preventive medicine. Primarily designed for individuals planning to practice preventive medicine, occupational medicine or public health within the uniformed services, the program has a rigorous curriculum with a quantitative focus and is sequenced to be completed within 12 months. An MPH degree or its academic equivalent is a specific requirement for physicians seeking board certification in Aerospace Medicine, General Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, and several other public health specialties.

Graduates are expected to use their acquired quantitative and analytical skills in biostatistics and epidemiology to identify and measure community health needs and to investigate the impact of biological, environmental, and/or behavioral factors to solve public health problems. Each graduate will understand the components, operations, and financing of healthcare delivery services, particularly those in the public sector, and have the administrative skills to plan, analyze, manage, and improve public health programs for the uniformed services. In addition, many graduates will complete an “area of concentration” with required and elective course work in a specific area of public health and demonstrate the ability to apply appropriate specialized knowledge and skills to their chosen field.

The MPH degree program consists of a minimum of 45 semester credit hours, to include 28.5 credit hours from core required courses within the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics. Core requirements include coursework in epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, health services administration, and social and behavioral sciences. The minimum credit load per term required for a full-time student is 9, the maximum allowed is 16, and the typical load is 12-14. The satisfactory completion of an independent project and a practicum experience is required, and the courses related to these requirements are part of the core curriculum. The independent project is the capstone of the program and should represent the synthesis, integration, and application of core public health concepts and principles to solve or advance our understanding of a public health problem.

Outcomes

Graduates will demonstrate the following competencies:

Evidence-based approaches to public health 

1. Apply epidemiological methods to the breadth of settings and situations in public health practice.

2. Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context.

3. Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software, as appropriate.

4. Interpret the results of data analysis for public health research, policy, or practice.

Public health and health care systems

5. Compare the organization, structure, and function of health care, public health and regulatory systems across national and international settings.

6. Discuss how structural bias, social inequities and racism undermine health and create challenges for achieving health equity at the organizational, community and societal levels.

Planning and management to promote health

7. Assess population needs, assets and capacities that affect communities’ health.

8. Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design or implementation of public health policies or programs.

9. Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention.

10. Explain the basic principles and tools of budget and resource management.

11. Select methods to evaluate public health programs.

Policy in public health 

12. Discuss multiple dimensions of the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence.

13. Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes.

14. Advocate for political, social or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations.

15. Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity.

Leadership

16. Apply principles of leadership, governance, and management, which include creating a vision, empowering others, fostering collaboration and guiding decision making.

17. Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges.

Communication

18. Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors.

19. Communicate audience-appropriate public health content, in writing and through oral presentation.

20. Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content.

Interprofessional practice

21. Perform effectively on interprofessional teams.

Systems thinking

22. Apply systems thinking tools to a public health issue.

Concentrations

Epidemiology and Biostatistics: Students completing this concentration will be able to function as epidemiologists in the Uniformed Services. They will acquire and understanding of advanced concepts in acute and chronic disease epidemiology, and have the ability to select and apply appropriate epidemiological and biostatistical methods in planning and carrying out epidemiological investigations.

 

Health Policy: This concentration aims to prepare students in the field of health policy or policies that influence health and health care delivery. This concentration is for those who want to advance their health policy analysis and evaluation, policy advising, and influencing policy abilities, which can be applied in various health care settings (i.e., acute, ambulatory, long-term care, etc.) for both clinicians and non-clinicians. 

 

Health Administration: Students completing this concentration will be able to apply necessary skills to design and develop, implement and evaluate, and continuously improve programs and systems related to promotion and health education and health care delivery in the Uniformed Services. This concentration is for those who aspire to advance their management skills and abilities in any healthcare setting. 

 

General Preventive Public Health: Students completing this concentration will be able to function as preventive medicine specialists in the Uniformed Services. They will acquire an understanding of advanced concepts in acute and chronic disease epidemiology, have the ability to select and apply appropriate epidemiological and biostatistical methods in planning and carrying out epidemiological investigations, be able to plan programs to improve health and reduce disease and injury, demonstrate principles of healthcare management. 

 

Global Health: This concentration will prepare globally minded military professionals who will be able to plan and execute health engagement in support of security cooperation, stability operations, complex humanitarian emergencies and medical crises around the world, in wartime and peacetime. This area of concentration incorporates the global health competencies of capacity strengthening, collaborating and partnering, ethical reasoning and professional practice, health equity and social justice, program management, socio-cultural and political awareness, and strategic analysis as described by the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health. This concentration also provides a strategic and operational perspective of global and international health issues as applicable to US national security. Health systems are examined from the international perspective looking at resources, access, policies, current challenges, potential solutions and opportunities for reform. The student will have a whole knowledge of US government global health policy and engagement through both the lenses of civil society and joint operations.

 

Occupational and Environmental Health Science: This concentration provides students with fundamental concepts and principles of environmental and occupational health, to include advanced methodologies and approaches in this area. Students completing this concentration will be able to independently function in and manage related programmatic areas.

 

Tropical Health: This concentration will enable students to function effectively worldwide as Preventive Medicine, Public Health, and Medical Officers in the Uniformed Services. Graduates will be able to apply the basic concepts and principles of tropical medicine, malaria control, and vector biology to the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and control of tropical diseases. 


Core Requirements

Core Requirements

PMO 530Social and Behavioral Sciences Applied to Public Health

3

PMO 540Introduction to Environmental and Occupational Health

3

PMO 599Introduction to Risk Communication

1.5

PMO 503Biostatistics I

3

PMO 511Introduction to Epidemiology

3

PMO 526Health Systems

3

PMO 504Biostatistics II

3

PMO 527Principles of Health Care Management

2.25

PMO 680Introduction to Public Health

0.75

PMO 671Introduction to MPH Project and Practicum

0.75

PMO 672MPH Project/Practicum Design and Development

0.75

PMO 673MPH Project/Practicum Implementation and Evaluation

0.75

PMO 670Public Health Practicum

2.25

PMO 674MPH Independent Project

2.25

Total Credit Hours:28.5

Students must complete a minimum of 45 credit hours which includes required concentration and elective courses not shown above.

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Concentration Requirements

Concentration Requirements

PMO 1030An Introduction to Data Management

0.75

PMO 512Epidemiologic Methods

3

PMO 513Advanced Epidemiologic Methods

3

Total Credit Hours:9

At least two of the following courses: PMO 508, PMO 514, PMO 515, PMO 519, PMO 522, PMO 595, PMO 611, or PMO 1028

General Preventive Public Health Concentration Requirements

Concentration Requirements

PMO 512Epidemiologic Methods

3

PMO 513Advanced Epidemiologic Methods

3

PMO 514Epidemiology and Control of Infectious Diseases

2.25

PMO 515Chronic Disease Epidemiology and Control

1.5

PMO 531Program Planning and Development

2.25

PMO 1030An Introduction to Data Management

0.75

Total Credit Hours:12.75

Global Health Concentration Requirements

Concentration Requirements

PMO 528Global Health

3

PMO 547Joint Health Operations

3

PMO 613Public Health Issues of Disasters

3

PMO 1007Advanced Seminar in Global Health Policy and Planning

2.25

PMO 1037DoD Global Health Engagement

3

Total Credit Hours:14.25

Additional courses recommended but not required:

PMO 531

PMO 1009

Health Administration Concentration Requirements

Concentration Requirements

PMO 535Health Care Law

1.5

PMO 103Fundamentals of Healthcare Finance

1.5

PMO 533Decision Making in Health Services

1.5

PMO 576Human Resource Management in Health Care

2.25

Total Credit Hours:9

Take at least 1.5 credits from the following:  PMO 1010, PMO 592, PMO 998 or PMO 1005.

Health Policy Concentration Requirements

Concentration Requirements

PMO 523Fundamentals of U.S. Health Policy

2.25

PMO 529Health Care Financial Management

1.5

PMO 1007Advanced Seminar in Global Health Policy and Planning

2.25

PMO 1026Current Issues in Health Care Administration and Policy

1.5

Total Credit Hours:9

Take one of the following: PMO 103 or PMO 598.

Environmental and Occupational Health Science Concentration Requirements

Concentration Requirements

PMO 541Advanced Environmental Health

2.25

PMO 549Principles of Toxicology

2.25

PMO 550Industrial Hygiene I And Laboratory

3

PMO 601Environmental Health Risk Assessment

1.5

Total Credit Hours:9
 

Tropical Public Health Concentration Requirements

Concentration Requirements

PMO 512Epidemiologic Methods

3

PMO 560Principles and Practice of Tropical Medicine

4.5

PMO 565Vector Biology and Public Health

1.5

PMO 569Malaria Epidemiology and Control

2.25

PMO 613Public Health Issues of Disasters

3

PMO 1030An Introduction to Data Management

0.75

Total Credit Hours:15

Recommended additional courses:

PMO 547 

PMO 561

PMO 564A