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.
Qualifying Program
HSCI 390/L Biostatistics (4)
Core Requirements (30 units)
HSCI 531 Seminar: Health Education Program Planning and Evaluation (3)
HSCI 533 Advanced Concepts of Health Behavior (3)
HSCI 535 Curriculum Development in Health Education (3)
HSCI 538 Seminar: Community Health Action (3)
HSCI 541 Administration, Supervision and Consultation (3)
EOH 554 Seminar: Environmental Health Problems (3)
HSCI 587 Seminar: Epidemiology (3)
HSCI 592 Advanced Biostatistics for the Health Sciences (3)
HSCI 693A Supervised Field Training (2)
HSCI 694 Research Design in the Health Science (4)
Electives (9 units)
With approval of the Graduate Advisor, students may take 400-, 500- and 600-level courses in such areas of study as Communications, Health Administration, Environmental and Occupational Health, or related areas of interest.
Culminating Experience (2-3 units)
HSCI 697 Directed Comprehensive studies (3), or
HSCI 698B Thesis/Graduate Project (2)
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 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.