The School of Public Health offers a 5-year degree program including a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology.
The 3+2 Bachelor of Science in Public Health/Masters in Public Health in Epidemiology degree program is more than a means to produce next-level Epidemiologists. It will deliver a graduate who can not only immediately impact the field of Epidemiology, but also deliver someone with a well-rounded understanding of the role that Epidemiology and Public Health play in medicine, nursing, allied or other health professions.
The undergraduate component of the 3+2 program is based on a philosophy of health promotion and disease prevention, to improve the quality of life of individuals, families and communities through education and program intervention. The BSPH discipline focuses on four areas:
- the multiple determinants of health, including biological, environmental, sociocultural, health service, and economic factors,
- identification of scientific data, tools of informatics, and other information for identifying factors that both foster and hinder the health and well-being of individuals and communities,
- addressing major local, state, national, and global health challenges, and
- designing public health approaches and interventions that improve health outcomes, population health, and well-being.
The MPH in Epidemiology focuses on the distributions and determinants of disease (or health-related outcomes) among populations and the methods employed to describe them. Students leave the MPH in Epidemiology program with the ability to understand and develop evidence-based public health research, policy, and practice.
The MPH in Epidemiology prepares students to:
- Select epidemiologic methods that are appropriate to address epidemiologic content areas.
- Analyze strengths and limitations of study designs for providing evidence for causal associations.
- Apply appropriate advanced data analysis and management techniques to analyze epidemiologic data.
- Assess and compare different reporting formats to communicate epidemiologic data to a variety of audiences.
- Explain the role of epidemiology in developing, implementing, and evaluating health policy.
The graduate MPH component is a non-thesis degree program with culminating experiences as part of the degree requirements. Students will participate in a practicum demonstrating overall public health problem solving skills and complete a rigorous capstone class.
The coursework for this program will qualify students to be able to sit for the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) exam.
The following is a suggested schedule that includes the required courses for the combination BS and MPH in Public Health-Epidemiology. It is recognized that many students will change the sequence and number of courses taken in any semester. Deviations from the the prescribed course sequence, however, should be made with care to ensure that prerequisites for all courses are met.
Plan of Study Grid | First Year |
|---|
| Fall |
|---|
| BIOL 111 | Introductory Biology I | 4 |
| 3 |
| Public Speaking | |
| Communication for Technical Professions | |
| Argumentation and Debate | |
| Introduction to Rhetoric and Composition 1
or Composition and Rhetoric | |
| Writing about Literature | |
| Technical and Professional Writing | |
| 3 |
| Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences | |
| Business Calculus | |
| Calculus I for Biological Sciences | |
| Calculus II for Biological Sciences | |
| Engineering Mathematics I | |
| Engineering Mathematics II | |
| Finite Mathematics | |
| Calculus I | |
| Calculus II | |
| Introduction to Logic | |
| Elementary Statistical Inference | |
| 3 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 13 |
| Spring |
|---|
| BIOL 112 | Introductory Biology II | 4 |
| 3 |
| Public Speaking | |
| Communication for Technical Professions | |
| Argumentation and Debate | |
| Introduction to Rhetoric and Composition 1
or Composition and Rhetoric | |
| Writing about Literature | |
| Technical and Professional Writing | |
| 3 |
| Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences | |
| Business Calculus | |
| Calculus I for Biological Sciences | |
| Calculus II for Biological Sciences | |
| Engineering Mathematics I | |
| Engineering Mathematics II | |
| Finite Mathematics | |
| Calculus I | |
| Calculus II | |
| Introduction to Logic | |
| Elementary Statistical Inference | |
| 3 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 13 |
| Second Year |
|---|
| Fall |
|---|
| CHEM 119 | Fundamentals of Chemistry I | 4 |
| POLS 206 | American National Government | 3 |
| 3 |
| 2 | 6 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 16 |
| Spring |
|---|
| POLS 207 | State and Local Government | 3 |
| 3 |
| 3 |
| 2 | 6 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 15 |
| Third Year |
|---|
| Fall |
|---|
| PHLT 302 | Foundations of Public Health 3 | 3 |
| PHLT 303 | Social Context of Population Health 3 | 3 |
| PHLT 304 | Biological Basis of Public Health Diseases & Disorders 3 | 3 |
| PHLT 310 | Public Health Writing 3 | 1 |
| PHLT 313 | Health Care and Public Health System 3 | 3 |
| PHLT 316 | Public Health Data Management and Assessment 3 | 3 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 16 |
| Spring |
|---|
| PHLT 305 | Epidemiology in Public Health 3 | 3 |
| PHLT 311 | Narrative Approach to Public Health 3 | 1 |
| PHLT 330 | The Environment and Public Health 3 | 3 |
| PHLT 411 | Project Management in Public Health 3 | 3 |
| PHLT 412 | Health Advocacy and Policy 3 | 3 |
| 3,4 | 3 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 16 |
| Fourth Year |
|---|
| Fall |
|---|
| PHEB 602 | Biostatistics I 3 | 3 |
| PHLT 441 | Strategies for Population Health Improvement 3 | 3 |
| SOPH 601 | Health Behavior 3,5 | 3 |
| SOPH 602 | Health Policy and Management 3,5 | 3 |
| SOPH 603 | Epidemiology 3,5 | 3 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 15 |
| Spring |
|---|
| PHEB 603 | Biostatistics II 3 | 3 |
| PHEB 605 | Epidemiologic Methods I 3 | 3 |
| PHEB 612 | Data Management / Computing 3 | 3 |
| PHLT 410 | Public Health Communication 3 | 3 |
| PHLT 445 | Applications of Public Health 3 | 3 |
| PHLT 481 | Seminar 3 | 1 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 16 |
| Summer |
|---|
| PHEB 684 | Practicum 3,5 | 3 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 3 |
| Fifth Year |
|---|
| Fall |
|---|
| PHEB 609 | Categorical Data Analysis 3 | 3 |
| PHEB 610 | Epidemiologic Methods II 3 | 3 |
| 3 | 3 |
| PHLT 307 | Public Health in the Global Context 3 | 3 |
| PHLT 336 | Health Disparities and Diversity in Society 3 | 3 |
| 6 | 3 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 18 |
| Spring |
|---|
| 3 | 3 |
| SOPH 680 | Public Health Capstone 3,5 | 3 |
| 6 | 3 |
| | Semester Credit Hours | 9 |
| | Total Semester Credit Hours | 150 |
Directed Electives
Public Health (PHLT) directed electives are courses that are specifically approved for the curriculum. A student must select 3 semester credit hours from the following list of approved courses in consultation with their academic advisor. Directed Electives must have a letter grade of C or better.
The program includes a total of 165 hours which up to 15 hours may be applied toward both the Bachelor of Science in Public Health and the Master of Public Health in Epidemiology.
Approval of degree plan does not guarantee access to courses. Students must satisfy prerequisites, and some courses (writing intensive classes included) are available to majors only. It is the responsibility of the student to ascertain whether there are any restrictions or prerequisites for courses in their degree plan.
