Curriculum

This course provides an introduction and overview of the scope and history of public health and the core concepts that represent the foundation of the field. Factors that impact health equity at organizational, community, and societal levels are examined. 

This course provides a broad overview of the field of behavioral health, examining a variety of social and behavioral models and theories in order to better understand behavior change, health risk behavior, and psychological/behavioral factors that affect physical conditions in individuals, organizations, and populations. Emphasis is placed on applying evidenced-based approaches in the development and evaluation of social and behavioral science interventions. 

This course examines several concepts including biological, chemical, physical, and psychosocial aspects in environmental health and applies them to the prevention of environmentally induced diseases. Additionally, the course explores issues related to biological monitoring of environmental health hazards, health surveillance, environmental monitoring, and current environmental standards governing air, water, food, and soil quality. 

This course will take a broad look at how healthcare works in the United States and how public health was developed, managed and funded. Laws related to the provision of both public and private healthcare are examined, and health disparities and differences among groups are explored. 

Biostatistics introduces the concepts of fundamental statistical data analysis. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability, standard probability distributions, sampling distributions, point and confidence interval estimation, hypothesis testing, power and sample size estimation, one and two-sample parametric and non-parametric methods for analyzing continuous or discrete data, linear regression, ANOVA, and experimental design in addressing, analyzing and solving problems in public health, health care, clinical, and population-based research. The emphasis will be on interpretation, concepts, and use of statistical software. Recommended: An undergraduate introduction to statistics course. 

Students will examine core principles of epidemiology, statistical evaluation, and the impact of microbial diseases on the health of community and clinic-based populations. The epidemiology and prevention of chronic diseases will also be emphasized. 

This course explores the principles of leadership, governance, and management in public health, with a focus on creating and communicating a shared vision, empowering others, fostering collaboration, and championing solutions to organizational and community challenges. 

Examines ethical issues related to professional practice and leadership through the lens of relevant Christian doctrines (such as vocation and two kingdoms), classical moral philosophy, and contemporary ethical theory. Prepares students to analyze and respond to ethical questions faced by public health practitioners at the individual, organizational, and policy levels. Relevant professional codes of ethics will be consulted and analyzed. 

This course focuses on practical issues in health research studies. Topics include an overview of public health research, ethics in research, the theory/research relationships, formulating research questions, specifying study design and objectives, defining variables, the validity and reliability of measures, scale construction, formatting questionnaires, developing analysis plans, choosing data collection methods, sampling techniques and sample size, developing and completing research studies, preparing data for analysis, and reporting findings. 

The practicum offers practical experience to build competence in the specialization of general public health. 

This course explores the nature, extent and causes of basic community health problems. Students will understand the purpose, function, organization and administration of community health services at local, state and national levels. 

Coursework examines how societal, organizational, and individual factors influence and are influenced by public health communications. Students will learn how to apply theory and strategy-based communication principles, methods, and techniques across different audiences and sectors. This course offers an overview of the strategic and tactical practice of social marketing in public health. 

This course focuses on the public health needs assessment and emphasizes program planning designs, implementation, and evaluation. It uses a multi-dimensional approach in public health strategic planning. The planning process is framed in current theory, such as logic models and analytics for evaluating effective community-based and focused public health programs. 

This culminating course allows students to complete an integrative learning experience (ILE). Students will complete a research project to address core MPH and concentration-specific competencies. The purpose of the ILE is to synthesize knowledge, concepts, and skills learned in coursework, practicum, and other related experiences as they demonstrate application to the field. Students will be required to develop an e-portfolio that will include reflective exercises and capture volunteer work (Pass/No Pass) Graduation Fee: $185