Why Choose UCONN?
You can join students, alumni and faculty who are at work shaping our public health system and services. When thinking about public health around Connecticut, it’s hard to exaggerate our program’s influence. Our alumni and faculty are found in various positions across the university and throughout the state. MPH program alumni hold positions as:
- health directors and staff in state and local health departments
- managers of community health and social service organizations
- managers and scientists of pharmaceutical firms, health insurance companies, and hospital systems
- educators
- community-based physicians
- public policy advocates
Challenge Yourself
Here at UConn you’ll find a curriculum that challenges you to consider your role in shaping health services and the environment to benefit health and well being. An experienced, engaging faculty will provide you with ample opportunity to pursue scholarship and service learning activities where you’ll acquire skills needed for leadership in the public health field.
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The Master of Public Health is a professional degree program, accredited by the national Council on Education for Public Health, for individuals seeking training and experience in applied public health practice. The program faculty represents the population-based health sciences.
The MPH Program’s mission is to prepare public health professionals to achieve high standards of leadership through exemplary education, public service, and research.
Curriculum Overview
Students must earn a total of 48 credits distributed among core, elective, and capstone activities. The core curriculum (24 credits) consists of the basic public health disciplines: social and behavioral sciences, epidemiology, biostatistics, health administration and environmental health, along with courses on public health law, research methods and the Practicum, a service learning activity. Elective course offerings (15-21 credits) emphasizing applied public health practice provide students with the understanding, knowledge, experience, skills and values necessary to function successfully as a public health practitioner. Within this overall framework, students are able to select from course content reflecting faculty interest in health systems administration, law and policy, epidemiology, occupational/environmental health, and applied practice methods. The capstone requirement may be met through a research thesis (9 credits) or an applied practice project or essay (3 credits).
The program is tailored to the needs of working professionals who wish to pursue part-time evening study. It also offers the opportunity to complete degree requirements simultaneously within the Schools of Medicine, Dental Medicine, Law, Social Work and Nursing.
For admission, applicants must demonstrate a strong academic record, background and/or experience relevant to public health, well-articulated career goals relevant to public health, and a commitment to the health of the community.
A complete application includes:
- official transcripts,
- a personal letter of application, and
- three letters of recommendation (preferably at least one academic letter).
- Submission of GRE (or MCAT, LSAT, DMAT, or GMAT) scores is highly encouraged.
The MPH student completes 48 graduate credits either through part-time evening or full time study. Part-time study requires enrollment in 2 courses (6 credits) per semester in order to complete the degree within 4 years. Full-time study typically requires 2 years to complete the degree. The core curriculum consists of eight required courses. A total of 24 credits are accumulated in 8 required core courses.
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PRACTICUM
The Practicum in Public Health is an experiential learning opportunity intended for second year students during the spring semester. Working independently, or in groups, students examine the extent, causes, and responses to a public health problem in Connecticut. Students meet periodically with faculty advisors to plan and complete information retrieval and primary data collection regarding:
- the burden of the particular problem in the state,
- activities by individuals and institutions to lessen that burden on the population, and
- policy and practice options for future consideration.
The course concludes with production of a CT Public Health Report and hosting a Connecticut stakeholders forum.
ELECTIVES
(15-21 credits)
Upon completion of the core courses, students and their advisors devise a specialized Plan of Study where they select among course electives in a variety of areas such as Public Health Law and Policy, Health Administration, Occupational/Environmental Health, Epidemiology/Research Methods, and Applied Public Health Practice.
CAPSTONE PROJECT (3-9 credits)
Students may complete:
— a thesis (9 credits of self-directed research),
— a non-thesis essay (3 credits of Independent Study), or
— a practice-based service project (3 credits of Independent Study).
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More information is available from:
MPH Program Director
University of Connecticut Health Center
263 Farminton Avenue
Farmington, CT 06030-6325
email: mph@nso.uchc.edu,
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