Important Course Information

Explanation of Course Numbering System

The Curriculum Guide includes courses that are offered through the Graduate Program in Public Health and begin with the prefixes MPH. The guide is organized according to the Category of Courses

▪ 1000-level: Core courses (foundation courses required for all students)

▪ 2000-level: Epidemiology & Biostatistics Concentration courses

▪ 3000-level: Global Public Health Concentration courses

▪ 4000-level: General Public Health Concentration courses

▪ 5000-level: Public Health Data Analytics Concentration courses

▪ 6000-level: Elective Courses (specialized and advanced public health topics)

▪ 9000-level: Applied Practice Experience and Culminating Experience related Courses

Course Pre-Requisites

Please note, some courses require that students have taken certain pre-requisites. These pre-requisites are often fulfilled when the student takes the core introductory level courses. Students will not be eligible to take a course if they lack the required pre-requisites. Please refer to the course description in the Curriculum Guide for information on each course’s pre-requisites.

A course director may allow a student to take a course if they gained the pre-requisite knowledge through previous work, training, or other coursework. Please contact the course director for questions.

Core Courses

MPH1000 – Introduction to Policy & Management (Formerly MPH0100)

Credits: 3 Offered: Spring 2 Why did U.S. health reform pass in 2010 when historically large-scale reform of this magnitude has been blocked? How will the states implement health reform, and will it be defeated through a constitutional challenge? Why is HIV prioritized over other health areas even though the global burden is lower than other diseases? How are new public-private partnerships transforming the financing of health systems? This course aims to assist students in understanding how political processes shape health policy and health outcomes both domestically and internationally.

Through an introduction to theoretical and applied concepts in public policy and political science, students will learn how to assess the political feasibility of different health policy options and how to craft persuasive policy briefs targeting decision makers at all levels of government. In addition to theoretical material, the course will draw on insights from a concrete set of case studies across a variety of health policy topics including: the politics of health reform in the U.S., global health agenda setting, and health system strengthening in developing countries among other topics.

MPH1001 Introduction to Socio-Behavioral Health (Formerly MPH0201)

Credits: 3 Offered: Fall This core course provides an overview of the social and behavioral sciences and their importance in the interdisciplinary field of public health. A primary emphasis is on the social determinants of health, the social ecological model, its application to public health issues, and its use in the development of policies, strategies, interventions and programs. The course content will introduce students to several relevant social and behavioral theories as well as a range of community health assessment and planning models used by public health professionals in both domestic and international venues. In addition, some lectures will focus on social networks, social support and community capacity building. Finally, a few lectures are reserved to provide students with insight into public health policy and health outcomes. Through a series of assignments, students will enhance their knowledge and awareness of the role of social and behavioral sciences in public health and its relevance to their specific discipline.

MPH1002 – Introduction to Biostatistics (Formerly MPH0300)

Credits: 3 Offered: Fall Lecture and Lab are required and may be held on separate days of the week. This course provides an introduction to the principles underlying biostatistical methods and their application to problems in epidemiology, public health and clinical research. Students will learn about basic probability distributions, descriptive statistics, presentation of data, hypothesis testing principles, and the specific hypothesis tests and analytic methods for a variety of data types. These analytic methods will include t tests, chi-square tests, nonparametric tests, correlation, regression, and basic survival analysis methods. Students will have the opportunity to apply these methods to sample data both via direct calculation and using SAS statistical software. Each week, a one-hour laboratory session will reinforce material from lecture with additional examples and instruction in use of the SAS software. Methods for determining sample size and power for a variety of commonly used study designs will also be presented, as will measures of the accuracy of diagnostic and screening tests.

MPH1002 Online Introduction to Biostatistics

Credits: 3 Offered: Fall & Spring 2 This is the online version of MPH 0300 Introduction to Biostatistics. This course is most appropriate for students with strong quantitative skills, those who are independent learners, and those who have previously taken a statistics course. No prior knowledge about statistics is assumed, however, and the online option is open to all.

This course provides an introduction to the principles underlying biostatistical methods and their application to problems in epidemiology, public health and clinical research. Students will learn about basic probability distributions, descriptive statistics, presentation of data, hypothesis testing principles, and the specific hypothesis tests and analytic methods for a variety of data types. These analytic methods will include t tests, chi-square tests, nonparametric tests, correlation, regression, and basic survival analysis methods. Students will have the opportunity to apply these methods to sample data both via direct calculation and using SAS® statistical software. Each week, a one-hour laboratory session will reinforce material from lecture with additional examples and instruction in use of the SAS® software. Methods for determining sample size and power for a variety of commonly used study designs will also be presented, as will measures of the accuracy of diagnostic and screening tests.

MPH1003 – Research Methods (Formerly MPH0320)

Credits: 1 Offered: Fall & Spring 2 Research Methods encompasses a set of fundamental skills and tools necessary for approaching the process of developing and answering a research question being a future investigator or an informed consumer of information in the marketplace. This course provides a solid and practical framework enabling students to successfully embark upon their Culminating Experience. As a prerequisite in the conduct of research it prepares students to conceptualize propose design and write research papers in general. Topics covered include the characteristics of a research study formulating a research question experimental research designs survey construction data analysis and interpretation and evaluation of research. Also addressed are strategies for conducting literature searches research ethics informed consent and elements of a research proposal. Students will be required to complete IRB training HIPPA training data security training and outline a research proposal for their Culminating Experience project by the end of this course.Full time students are required to take this course in the Spring II Term of their first year in the Master of Public Health Program. The course is only open to matriculated students in the Master of Public Health Program. This course is graded on a Pass/Fail basis. Recommended Pre-requisites: MPH6000 Introduction to Public Health or MPH0700 Introduction to Global Health

MPH1004 – Introduction to Epidemiology (Formerly MPH0400)

Credits: 3 Offered: Fall & Spring 1 Lecture and Lab are required and meet on separate days of the week. This introductory course focuses on the fundamental concepts of epidemiology and its application to the field of public health. The course willprovide students with an insight to epidemiologic methods and how they can be used to study health outcomes in human populations. Students will learn the elements of epidemiology, such as causation, study design, measures of effect, and potential biases. Practical and theoretical training will include lectures, small group discussions, and readings.

MPH1005 – Introduction to Environmental Health (Formerly MPH0500)

Credits: 3 Offered: Spring 1 This course provides an overview of important topics in environmental and occupational health. The classroom sessions will focus on the health effects of exposures arising from air, water, food, work, built environment, and climate change. Case studies, current events, and relevant public health data tools will be emphasized. Small group sessions will allow students to explore and interpret environmental health data and discuss this data in context of common environmental public health case studies. Applicable principles of risk communication, toxicology, environmental epidemiology, and preventive medicine, as well as fundamentals of occupational and environmental laws and regulation will be discussed. The course will also highlight principles of environmental justice and addressing structural determinants of environmental health disparities. The course provides basic underpinnings of the theory and practice of environmental health, and provides a structural framework for thinking about the field as a public health discipline.