Courses

Students are required to complete 42 semester credit hours in order to graduate from the program: 18 credits of core courses, 9 credits of generalist track courses, 9 credits of electives, and 6 credits of capstone courses (Capstone Project I & II). For graduation, students are required to also accomplish the following: minimum GPA 3.00, exit presentation, and submission of electronic portfolio.

The student prospectus (PDF) identifies the program components.

Public Health Concepts--This course will serve as an introduction to definitions, history, organization, law, ethics, essential services, global aspects, and future of public health. Students will be assigned text chapters and other readings. Group presentations will be given at the end of the course.

Biostatistics in Public Health—This course will cover principles of biostatistics in the context of public health applications. It will include the basic and advanced statistical techniques for analyzing and investigating public health issues including disparities.  Statistical package SPSS will be used.

Social and Behavioral Sciences in Public Health--This course will cover social and behavioral science concepts and theories and their application to public health issues.

Epidemiology in Public Health--The course will facilitate students’ understanding of fundamental epidemiological concepts (such as principles of causality), methods (such as epidemiologic study designs), and their practical applications (such as the concept of screening for disease; public health applications of the measures of disease frequency and the measures of exposure-disease association; and their role in public health decision-making).

Health Services Administration in Public Health--Management principles, including personnel administration, budgeting, financing, and continuous quality improvement as they pertain to public health, planning and evaluation principles, public health policy, and data sources.  

Environmental Health Sciences in Public Health--This course includes the characterization of components of our environment that can adversely affect human health and, briefly, the policies and regulations designed to protect us. This includes such topics as air/water quality, food hygiene, sanitation, municipal/infectious/hazardous waste, vector-borne disease, occupational health, legal/risk issues, and global issues.

Grant Writing for Public Health--Students will increase their knowledge and skill in methods and techniques for writing and managing grant proposals to support public health programs. Emphasis on development of grant proposals, including narrative, program plan, evaluation design, timeline, budget and budget justification; identification of grant funding sources; managing funded projects, and appropriate response to requests for proposals.

Public Health Practice and Issues--Prerequisites: Public Health Concepts. Informatics, communication, diversity, cultural proficiency, biology, and ethics are applied in a public health organizational practice setting.

Public Health Research and Evaluation--Prerequisites: Biostatistics in Public Health and Epidemiology in Public Health (must have taken previously or concurrently). Public Health Research and Evaluation is a theoretical and applied course on research methods. Students will critically review journal articles, create research questions, conduct a literature review, employ quantitative and qualitative research methods and develop a data analysis plan. Culmination of coursework will be a research proposal and an article review. This course is ideally taken BEFORE Capstone Project I.

Capstone Project I-- Students will be evaluated on targeted public health competencies. Students will be asked to develop a capstone project to include the competencies that need to be strengthened. By the end of the course, students will have produced a capstone proposal. This is a prerequisite for Capstone Project II. Prerequisites: Public Health Concepts, Biostatistics in Public Health, Social and Behavioral Sciences in Public Health, Epidemiology in Public Health or by permission.

Capstone Project II—An opportunity for the student to apply the public health competencies acquired in the core courses to a public health project. It is the culminating experience in the Consortium of Eastern Ohio Master of Public Health program. Students may register for this course only after all core courses have been successfully completed.

Sample Academic Schedule

• Public Health Concepts--Fall I
• Biostatistics in Public Health--Fall I
• Elective

• Social and Behavioral Sciences in Public Health--Spring I
• Epidemiology in Public Health--Spring I
• Public Health Practice and Issues--Spring I

• Public Health Research and Evaluation--Summer I
• Elective--Summer I

• Health Services Administration in Public Health--Fall II
• Environmental Health Sciences in Public Health--Fall II
• Capstone Project I--Fall II

• Grant Writing in Public Health Practice--Spring II
• Elective--Spring II

• Capstone Project II--last semester