Core Courses, Waivers and Substitutions

MPH students must complete five core courses at the school. However, some students may already have sufficient competency within any of the core public health disciplines to receive a waiver of the core course. For those students, each department offering a core course has a provision for seeking a waiver of their course. Students have two choices if they believe they have had sufficient academic experience in one of the areas. First, they may submit a syllabus of a comprable course to the department coordinator in which the core is offered. The coordinator will then inform the student of the department's decision. Second, you may access a course waiver exam through the corresponding department. Students receiving core course waivers do not earn credit for the course and must substitute an additional or higher-level course. Information on core course waivers is included in each semester’s course schedule. (See "Transfer Credit" for additional information).

Departmental Specialization

M.P.H. candidates apply to a department and, within the department, specific tracks are available that provide a recognized sequence of courses leading to a functional public health specialty, such as the Health Care Management track. Each department establishes course requirements for the programs under their direction. Faculty advisors are assigned to ensure informed choices, reasonable uniformity within areas of concentration, and optimal utilization of University and School resources. In addition, elective courses, practical experience, and a master’s essay or some other culminating experience requirement complete the needed skill sets. Graduates are prepared to apply the concepts of public health to solving specific health problems, using the specialized knowledge and skills indicated by the learning objectives for each track.

In addition, the General Public Health program allows qualified students with broad public health interest to cross departmental lines in designing a special concentration. Typically, these students have extensive previous public health training, specialized clinical backgrounds, or substantial work experience that enables them to evaluate the courses being offered in order to design an individualized concentration.

With the evolution of health problems from local to global, there has been an increased need for trained public health professionals prepared to adapt to and apply skill sets to deal with these growing health concerns. Mailman School has responded by developing a Global Health track that develops global health practitioners within the primary areas of public health disciplines. This track is offered in five of the six departments.

Electives

In order to allow students to explore new areas and develop linkages with topics of special interest, about 20 percent of the points required for the M.P.H. degree are usually reserved for elective courses to be determined by the student and advisor. These electives can be chosen from within the School or elsewhere within the University. Furthermore, students are permitted to register for a tutorial, an individual study under the direction of a professor. These tutorials permit advanced students to follow areas of interest beyond the scope of the formal teaching program, or to explore in greater depth a substantive or methodological interest. Because of the extensive research activity in the School, tutorials provide a particularly rich educational resource.

Practicum (Practical Experience)

Master of Public Health students are required to complete a practical experience requirement. In most cases, this requirement takes the form of a one-term (four-month, full-time) practicum prior to graduation. Under certain circumstances, particularly for students interested in careers in hospital administration, a full one-year paid residency is recommended. The practicum may take a variety of forms, depending on the department and the student’s area of interest: participation in an ongoing research or evaluation project; working with a government agency, in a community-based organization, or designing and conducting an independent study. Students who have significant professional background may be permitted to meet this requirement through experience gained concurrently while they are students. All M.P.H. students must meet a practical experience requirement, which includes obtaining approval from a faculty advisor and a field supervisor for a field assignment, and the successful completion of fieldwork to the satisfaction of both the advisor and supervisor. Clearance for graduation requires evidence of the satisfactory completion of this requirement. In the Departments of Health Policy and Management and Population and Family Health, the practicum requirement includes a course, taken in conjunction with the practicum, permitting faculty to further monitor student achievement in mastering the desired skill sets. While completing the practicum a student may choose to register for P0001 (0 points) and be charged tuition at the 1-point rate.

Culminating Experience

Students are required to demonstrate their ability to integrate academic studies and professional public health practice, and to show that they can apply the principles, concepts, and skills learned in the classroom to their chosen area of public health practice. The culminating experience takes one of the following four models by which students can demonstrate their ability to synthesize and integrate knowledge acquired in coursework and other learning experiences:

• Expanded practicum experience requiring participation in a practicum seminar and either an additional integrative paper or presentation
• Supervised consultative experience in conjunction with a capstone seminar
• Capstone course
• Master’s essay or research project

Master’s Essay

Some departments require a master’s essay. M.P.H. and M.S. students requiring a master’s essay are advised and evaluated by faculty advisors and readers, with attention to the quality of the work and its appropriateness to the area of study.