Campus MPH Degree

Overview

The on-campus MPH program is a two-year, 48-credit program. MPH students declare a concentration area when they apply to the program. Upon enrollment, students track through the approved concentration area of their choice. Each concentration has a coordinator who is responsible for overseeing curriculum development and applying program policies in his/her concentration. Each student is assigned a faculty member who serves as their primary faculty advisor to provide individual guidance and advice.

In addition to traditional coursework, students completed an inter-disciplinary learning experience, a practice-based internship (the Applied Practice Experience), and a Capstone Project. The 48-credit curriculum has been designed to encourage the development of competence in key public health skills and to meet current standards in the field of public health, Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) accreditation criteria, and the college’s mission, goals, and objectives.

If you have any questions about the Campus MPH program, please contact askmph@phhp.ufl.edu.

Graduation Requirements

Requirements for graduation from the traditional MPH program are:

  • Five public health core courses (15 credits)
    • PHC 6050—Statistical Methods for Health Science I (3) OR PHC 6052—Introduction to Biostatistical Methods (3)
    • PHC 6001—Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health (3)
    • HSA 6114—Introduction to the U.S. Health Care System (3)
    • PHC 6313—Environmental Health Concepts in Public Health (3 or 2)
    • PHC 6410—Psychological, Behavioral, and Social Issues in Public Health (3)
  • Core courses in an area of concentration (12-15 credits)
  • Elective courses relevant to the chosen concentration and individual career goals (9-12 credits)
  • Applied Practice Experience (3-6 credits)
  • Capstone Project (i.e., Integrated Learning Experience; 3 credits)
  • The Interprofesional Learning in Healthcare (IPLH) course
  • MPH ProSeries

MPH Core Courses

All MPH students take five core public health courses in Environmental Health, Epidemiology, Public Health Management and Policy, Biostatistics and Social and Behavioral Sciences concentrations. The core Biostatistics course varies across concentration areas. Students in the Biostatistics, Environmental Health, and Epidemiology concentrations must take PHC 6052 Introduction to Biostatistical Methods. All other MPH students must take PHC 6050 Statistical Methods for Health Science I.

In addition, students must take one credit of Seminar in Contemporary Public Health Issues and five to eight credits of PHC 6946 Public Health Internship. Students must take three credits of PHC 6940 Capstone and three to six credits of PHC 6941 Applied Practice Experience.

Required core public health courses that all MPH students must take:

  • PHC 6050—Statistical Methods for Health Science I (3) OR PHC 6052—Introduction to Biostatistical Methods (3)
  • PHC 6001—Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health (3)
  • HSA 6114—Introduction to the U.S. Health Care System (3)
  • PHC 6313—Environmental Health Concepts in Public Health (3 or 2)
  • PHC 6410—Psychological, Behavioral, and Social Issues in Public Health (3)

Concentrations

MPH students are admitted into one of six concentration areas, from which the number and type of advanced specialty course credits are determined. Each concentration has unique requirements that have been designed to prepare students to become public health professionals in their chosen area of interest.

Please select a concentration to review credit hours and course requirements:

MPH Competencies

All students in the MPH program are expected to master a set of public health competencies during their studies. The core competencies are defined by the Council on Education in Public Health (CEPH, 2021). The concentration competencies, defined by the faculty of the College of Public Health and Health Professions, were developed with consideration to the specialized concentration area and the 10 Essential Public Health Services.

Our core courses’ learning objectives were adapted, with minor changes, from the competencies that serve as the basis of the public health credentialing examination. In August 2008, The National Board of Public Health Examiners offered the first credentialing exam for graduates of accredited schools of public health. Those who pass the exam will be Certified in Public Health (CPH). Get up-to-date information about the exam.

PHC 6941 Applied Practice Experience (3-6 credits)

Students in the 48-credit program must log 200 total hours of Applied Practice Experience, while students in the 42-credit program must log 150 total hours of Applied Practice Experience. For both programs, students must obtain 150 hours through a planned internship.

Options for gaining additional Applied Practice Experiences include:

  • Experiences gained through a public health service learning course or public health study abroad course
  • Public health service and volunteer activities organized by a student association
  • Participation on a Putting Families First team
  • Participation in the Clarion Competition
  • Participation in the Global Health Case Competition
  • Attending a city or county agency meeting when a public health issue is on the agenda
  • Serving as a board member for a public health agency

Required Additional APE hours include:

  • Participation in Interprofessional Learning in Healthcare (10 PHS Hours)
  • Participation in Afternoon of Learning (3 PHS Hours)

The Applied Practice Experience course is taken in the final semester of the MPH program. During this course, students complete their 150 hour internship, for which they must create at least two professional work products that benefit the internship organization and demonstrate achievement of at least five public health competencies.

PHC 6940 MPH Capstone (3 credits)

Students are registered for PHC 6940, MPH Capstone in the final semester of their program. The Capstone course comprises content in leadership and professionalism; and is the course in which students complete their Integrative Learning Experience (ILE), also called the Capstone project. Completion of the ILE/Capstone project allows each student to demonstrate synthesis of foundational and concentration competencies. The Capstone project, completed while enrolled in the Capstone course, serves as the basis for a formally written paper and a professional presentation (delivered on Public Health Day), which serves as the final examination milestone for the MPH program.