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Public Health MPH Program Details

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Sattha Riyapan and Austin Cohrs, both alumni of the Master of Public Health program in the Department of Public Health Sciences at Penn State College of Medicine, discuss a poster being presented. The two men are at left in the photo, pointing toward a large research poster.

Master of Public Health (MPH)

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Master of Public Health (MPH) Program Details

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Penn State College of Medicine's Master of Public Health (MPH) Program aims to advance theory and practice that prepare future public health leaders, improve population health, and reduce health disparities – across Pennsylvania’s communities, the nation, and the world – through excellence in education, research, and service

We take an individualized, student-centered approach to learning to meet the needs and interests of those in the program.

Students may attend the program on a full- or part-time basis. Courses are held in the late afternoons and early evenings to accommodate working students.

Public Health MPH Program Details Basic Content

Program Overview

The Penn State College of Medicine Master of Public Health (MPH) is a 42-credit degree program preparing students for exciting careers in public health. Students gain knowledge and skills in the five core areas of public health: biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, health services administration, and social and behavioral sciences.

Core Curriculum

All Penn State MPH students take the following core courses, generally offered in residence at the Penn State College of Medicine campus in Hershey, PA:

Admitted students should work with their adviser on a specific program of study.

Competencies

The core curriculum of the MPH program supports student attainment of the 22 foundational competencies.

See all core areas and foundational competencies in the MPH program.

Electives

A number of electives are available in topics ranging from human development and family studies to nutrition to public health preparedness to statistics.

The Penn State Graduate Bulletin offers descriptions of Public Health Sciences courses, Health Administration courses, Health Education courses and Statistics courses.

More than a dozen Penn State College of Medicine Public Health Sciences graduate students celebrated the completion of their Capstone presentations. The Capstone Experience is the students’ culminating experience where students will utilize the information acquired from previous public health courses to design, carry out, and present a scholarly project through a paper and poster presentation. For the project, students focus on an array of public health-related issues such as health policy, health services research, clinical-focus topics and intervention design/evaluation. The students are pictured standing in two rows in a classroom.
More than a dozen Penn State College of Medicine Public Health Sciences graduate students celebrated the completion of their Capstone presentations. The Capstone Experience is the students’ culminating experience where students will utilize the information acquired from previous public health courses to design, carry out, and present a scholarly project through a paper and poster presentation.

Practice-Based Learning

Practice-based learning experiences are built into the curriculum to reinforce students’ academic and professional development and their ability to become competent in the practice of public health.

An individualized, student-centered approach and small class sizes provide a high level of faculty-student interaction.

See details on the Practicum and Capstone experiences.

Curriculum Tracks

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Community & Behavioral Health Track

Students within the Penn State College of Medicine MPH Community & Behavioral Health Track will build skills necessary to effectively plan, implement, and evaluate public health interventions.

This concentration provides advanced instruction in health promotion and disease prevention, with a focus on the impact of behavior on health in rural to mid-size communities. This concentration builds skills necessary to conduct a needs assessment, identify strategies for addressing unmet needs, design interventions for the community, and effectively communicate health information in a way that is meaningful to different target audiences.

Students who select the Community & Behavioral Health Track must take the following courses:

  • PHS 505: Public Health Program Planning and Evaluation (3 credits)
  • PHS 506: Behavioral Health Intervention Strategies II (3 credits)
  • PHS 807: Public Health Education Methods (3 credits)
  • Electives (9 credits)

See the Penn State Graduate Bulletin for course descriptions on all Public Health Sciences courses.

Track Competencies

Courses within the Community & Behavioral Health Track support MPH student attainment of the following competencies:

  • Prepare evidence-based public health interventions to influence health outcomes.
  • Demonstrate ability to conduct process, impact, and outcome evaluations of public health programs, policies, and interventions.
  • Critically review and modify health behavior change programs and policies.
  • Identify factors that influence the sustainability of public health programs, policies, and interventions.
  • Apply ethical principles to public health program planning, implementation, and evaluation.