Master of Public Health

• OVERVIEW
• Specific Program Requirements
• Current Class Schedule
• Admission Requirements and Application

Overview

Concentration in Biometry (48 units)

The Biometry Concentration is an applied biostatistics program to train health professionals in statistical methods and models appropriate for public health, medicine, and biology. The concentration provides students with the necessary training and background to function as practicing biostatisticians in government or industry. Some students have entered PhD programs in biostatistics upon completion of this degree.

There are three components to the program. First, students receive a basic background in public health issues and methodology through the core course requirements for the MPH degree. Second, a theoretical foundation in statistics is obtained through required courses in mathematical statistics. Third, a sequence of applied biostatistics courses along with computer applications provides students with the practical application of statistical methods to the analysis of public health and biomedical data. This approach is designed to train biostatisticians as part of a team of health professionals for addressing public health issues.

Concentration in Environmental Health (48 units)

This is a professional degree program involving coursework on environmental health, including water and air pollution, food sanitation, vector control, and solid and hazardous waste management, as well as core courses in other public health disciplines and practical public health field training through the practicum experience. The MPH is often the preferred degree for students who wish to work as environmental or occupational health practitioners.

Concentration in Epidemiology (48 units)

Epidemiology has often been termed "the basic science of public health." The Epidemiology Concentration provides training in the following areas:
• Identification of biological, environmental, social, and behavioral risk factors for human disease.
• Determination of the distribution and etiology of health and disease in human populations.
The curriculum is designed to prepare students to be public health practitioners as well as for careers in teaching and research and as leaders in public or private health agencies and organizations. This degree typically requires two years of full-time study to complete. Students in the MPH degree program are encouraged to take advantage of selected advanced courses in the PhD program, which may provide expertise in methodology and study design. Students may also select courses in other departments at SDSU (e.g., Geography, Psychology, and Biology) or at the UCSD Medical School.

Concentration in Health Promotion (48 units)

Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences emphasizes the behavioral sciences as applied to public health. Although this includes topics that are taught in other schools of public health, such as health education and program evaluation, there are two major distinctions in orientation and approach between the HP Division at SDSU and similar programs at other schools. First, the theoretical foundation of the curriculum and the degree program is Applied Behavior Analysis (also known as 'behavior modification'), a sub-discipline within psychology emphasizing behavior-environment rather than cognition-behavior relationships. Second, students matriculating in the HP division receive more research training than might be true in many traditional health education programs. These two emphases are a response to new directions in behavioral science and public health requiring graduates to understand and interpret research findings and apply appropriate research procedures in the course of managing health promotion programs in the community. Graduates of the HP Division are expected to be "scientist practitioners" and be able to establish high quality health promotion programs in a variety of national and international settings.

Concentration in Health Services Administration (49 units)

The curriculum in this program prepares students to meet the challenges of the health care marketplace. Coursework covers several of the following disciplinary content areas:
• Environmental - The structure and dynamics of the environment of health service organizations.
• Organizational - The configuration and functioning of health services organizations for maximum effectiveness, efficiency, creativity, and adaptability.
• Managerial - The health service manager's role in creating, improving, and maintaining high performance organizations.
• Financial and Quantitative - Use of quantitative tools to monitor, analyze, evaluate, and control health service organizations and costs.