Full Description

The Master of Public Health degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences provides students with an interdisciplinary approach to improve health in populations across the life course. Students learn to apply theoretical principles to design, implement and evaluate effective programs that include behavioral and environmental approaches. Graduates are able to design and evaluate public health interventions intended to improve health for families, workplaces, communities and other settings.

The active research of the college’s faculty — particularly in the areas of childhood obesity, violence and injury prevention, substance abuse prevention and chronic disease prevention — provides students the opportunity to work on large-scale externally funded prevention research. Students are prepared for careers in health promotion; program design and evaluation; and prevention program development for state and local health departments, workplace health promotion programs, hospitals, international health agencies, mental health centers and non-profit organizations.

Students have the opportunity to declare the Addictions Counseling graduate certificate to become a licensed chemical dependency counselor in Ohio.

For more information about graduate admissions, visit the graduate admission website. For more information on international admissions, visit the international admission website.

Admission Requirements

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university
• Minimum 3.000 undergraduate GPA on a 4.000-point scale¹
• Official transcript(s)
• Goal statement
• Résumé
• Two letters of recommendation
• English Language Proficiency - all international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions to waive) by earning one of the following:²
  • Minimum 79 TOEFL iBT score
  • Minimum 6.5 IELTS score
  • Minimum 58 PTE score
  • Minimum 110 DET score

¹

Students with less than a 3.000 GPA will be considered for conditional admission.

²

International applicants who do not meet the above test scores will not be considered for admission.

Application Deadlines

• Fall Semester​
  • Priority deadline: March 15 (international student)
    All application materials (including applicable fee, transcripts, recommendation letters, etc.) submitted by this deadline will receive the strongest consideration for admission.
  • Rolling admissions (domestic student)
• Spring Semester​
  • Priority deadline: August 15 (international student)
    All application materials (including applicable fee, transcripts, recommendation letters, etc.) submitted by this deadline will receive the strongest consideration for admission.
  • Rolling admissions (domestic student)
• Summer Term
  • Rolling admissions (domestic student)

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

Evidence-based Approaches to Public Health

1. Apply epidemiological methods to the breadth of settings and situations in public health practice.
2. Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context.
3. Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software, as appropriate.
4. Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice.

Public Health and Health Care Systems

1. Compare the organization, structure and function of health care, public health and regulatory systems across national and international settings.
2. Discuss the means by which structural bias, social inequities and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community and societal levels.

Planning and Management to Promote Health

1. Assess population needs, assets and capacities that affect communities’ health.
2. Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design or implementation of public health policies or programs.
3. Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention.
4. Explain basic principles and tools of budget and resource management.
5. Select methods to evaluate public health programs.

Policy in Public Health

1. Discuss multiple dimensions of the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence.
2. Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes.
3. Advocate for political, social or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations.
4. Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity.

Leadership

1. Apply principles of leadership, governance and management, which include creating a vision, empowering others, fostering collaboration and guiding decision making.
2. Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges.

Communication

1. Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors.
2. Communicate audience-appropriate public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation.
3. Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content.

Interprofessional Practice

1. Perform effectively on interprofessional teams.

Systems Thinking

1. Apply systems thinking tools to a public health issue.

• Delivery:
  • Fully online
  • Mostly online
  • In person
• Location:
  • Kent Campus

The M.P.H. degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).

Full Description

The Master of Public Health degree in Health Policy and Management is designed to help students develop real-world knowledge and skills needed to pursue success in the public health industry. The program prepares students to address public health risks and develop effective health services delivery models, and incorporates health services research, health policy analysis and health care planning and management. Given the active research of the college’s faculty in identifying service gaps and developing evidence-based practices and policy analysis, students emerge with strong skills in health services management, alternative models of service financing and strategies for improving services.

Career opportunities for graduates include administrative and management positions in hospitals, clinics, state and local health departments, nursing homes and mental health facilities; policy analyst positions in health planning organizations and governmental agencies; and planning and management positions in health maintenance organizations and health insurance companies.

The M.P.H. degree in Health Policy and Management can be paired with the Healthcare Compliance graduate certificate. Students may double count 9 credit hours toward both programs. Graduates are eligible to apply to sit for the Certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC) examination through the Compliance Certification Board (CCB).

Students have the opportunity to complete a dual degree program with the Master of Business Administration degree or Master of Public Administration degree. A separate application must be submitted for each program.

For more information about graduate admissions, visit the graduate admission website. For more information on international admissions, visit the international admission website.

Admission Requirements

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university
• Minimum 3.000 undergraduate GPA on a 4.000-point scale¹
• Official transcript(s)
• Goal statement
• Résumé
• Two letters of recommendation
• English Language Proficiency - all international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions to waive) by earning one of the following:²
  • Minimum 79 TOEFL iBT score
  • Minimum 6.5 IELTS score
  • Minimum 58 PTE score
  • Minimum 110 DET score

¹

Students with less than a 3.000 GPA will be considered for conditional admission.

²

International applicants who do not meet the above test scores will not be considered for admission.

Application Deadlines

• Fall Semester​
  • Priority deadline: March 15 (international student)
    All application materials (including applicable fee, transcripts, recommendation letters, etc.) submitted by this deadline will receive the strongest consideration for admission.
  • Rolling admissions (domestic student)
• Spring Semester​
  • Priority deadline: August 15 (international student)
    All application materials (including applicable fee, transcripts, recommendation letters, etc.) submitted by this deadline will receive the strongest consideration for admission.
  • Rolling admissions (domestic student)
• Summer Term
  • Rolling admissions (domestic student)

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

Evidence-Based Approaches to Public Health

1. Apply epidemiological methods to the breadth of settings and situations in public health practice.
2. Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context.
3. Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software, as appropriate.
4. Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice.

Public Health and Health Care Systems

1. Compare the organization, structure and function of health care, public health and regulatory systems across national and international settings.
2. Discuss the means by which structural bias, social inequities and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community and societal levels.

Planning and Management to Promote Health

1. Assess population needs, assets and capacities that affect communities’ health.
2. Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design or implementation of public health policies or programs.
3. Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention.
4. Explain basic principles and tools of budget and resource management.
5. Select methods to evaluate public health programs.

Policy in Public Health

1. Discuss multiple dimensions of the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence.
2. Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes.
3. Advocate for political, social or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations.
4. Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity.

Leadership

1. Apply principles of leadership, governance and management, which include creating a vision, empowering others, fostering collaboration and guiding decision making.
2. Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges.

Communication

1. Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors.
2. Communicate audience-appropriate public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation.
3. Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content.

Interprofessional Practice

1. Perform effectively on interprofessional teams.

Systems Thinking

1. Apply systems thinking tools to a public health issue.

Dual Degree with Master of Business Administration

Students have the opportunity to complete a dual degree program with the M.B.A. degree in Business Administration and the M.P.H. degree in Health Policy and Management. A separate application must be submitted for each program. Students can view admission requirements for each program on their respective catalog page.

The M.B.A./M.P.H. Health Policy and Management dual degree program prepares students for responsible leadership positions and offers an integrated business and public health curriculum designed to help students develop real-world knowledge and skills needed to pursue success and management opportunities in the public health industry.

Dual Degree Requirements

¹

MGMT 68051 may be waived for students with at least two years of full-time work experience. Students waived the course may graduate with fewer than 58 credit hours, but no fewer than 57 credit hours.

Graduation Requirements

• Practicum placement at an approved public health agency under the guidance of a qualified preceptor (150 or 300 contact hours)
• Final portfolio/report and a seminar presentation integrating theory and practice
• Participation in at least one approved interprofessional education event (IPE); IPE requires students to participate at a specific time/date to be determined in consultation with the student's advisor.

Dual Degree with Master of Public Administration

Students have the opportunity to complete a dual degree program with the M.P.A. degree in Public Administration and the M.P.H. degree in Health Policy and Management. A separate application must be submitted for each program. Students can view admission requirements for each program on their respective catalog page.

The M.P.A./M.P.H. Health Policy and Management dual degree program prepares students to work at the intersection of public administrative policy and healthcare policy. The integrated curriculum is designed to help students develop real-world knowledge and skills needed to pursue successful careers in this complex landscape.

Dual Degree Requirements

¹

Students without substantive full-time administrative experience in a public service organization ("pre-service students") must complete minimum 3 credit hours of PADM 60392; they will earn the dual degree with 69 total credit hours. Students with substantive full-time administrative experience in a public service organization ("in-service students") may have PADM 60392 waived with the approval of the M.P.A. coordinator. Pre-service students or students wishing to gain experience in a new area will also be placed in an agency for at least 300 hours of experience. Students who are deemed eligible to have PADM 60392 waived may graduate with fewer than 69 credit hours, but no fewer than 66 total credit hours.

²

It is expected that students enrolled in HPM 60392 who do not complete the course in one term will continuously register for HPM 60492 each semester, until all requirements have been met. Credit hours for HPM 60492 do not apply toward the minimum total credit hours for the dual degree.

• Delivery:
  • Fully online
  • Mostly online
• Location:
  • Kent Campus

The M.P.H. degree in Health Policy and Management is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).