Degree Requirements: 42 Credit Hours

The Master of Public Health (MPH) is an applied professional graduate degree that prepares professionals for broad-based practice in public health, through the integration of skill-based core MPH competencies that focus on cross-cutting skills with specialized knowledge and expertise in the offered concentration areas. The program serves both the full-time student preparing for a career in public health, as well as currently employed health professionals seeking advanced education to augment their existing skills and background. Community-based program activities and field/ laboratory research provide students with multiple opportunities to develop public health competencies. The MPH program is committed to producing public health practitioners that possess the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to produce an effective public health workforce.

Specific skill sets related to the core functions of public health practice and the 10 Essential Public Health Services are as follows:

• Assess and monitor population health
• Investigate, diagnose, and address health hazards and root causes
• Communicate effectively to inform and educate
• Strengthen, support, and mobilize communities and partnerships
• Create champion and implement policies, plans and laws
• Utilize legal and regulatory actions
• Enable equitable access
• Build a diverse and skilled workforce
• Improve and innovate through evaluation, research, and quality improvement
• Build and maintain strong organizational infrastructure for public health

The MPH program requires a minimum of 42 credits and is offered on a full and part-time basis. The overall curriculum model includes:

The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) MPH Competencies: 

At the completion of the MPH degree program, all students 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 & Health Care Systems

5. Compare the organization, structure and function of health care, public health and regulatory systems across national and international settings
6. 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 & Management to Promote Health

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

Policy in Public Health

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

Leadership

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

Communication

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

Interprofessional Practice

21. Perform effectively on interprofessional teams

Systems Thinking

22. Apply systems thinking tools to a public health issue

MPH Concentration Competencies

Competencies for each concentration are outlined below:

Applied Public Health

1. Demonstrate how data and information are used to improve the individual, program, and/or organizational performance (e.g., selection and use of valid and reliable quantitative and qualitative data, data-driven decision-making, data management, performance measurement).
2. Explain the importance of evaluation for improving programs, and services.
3. Target/Tailor messages for disseminating public health data and information (e.g., social media, newspapers, newsletters, journals, town hall meetings, libraries, neighborhood gatherings).
4. Recognize the role of cultural, social, and behavioral factors in the accessibility, availability, acceptability, and delivery of public health services.
5. Engages community members to improve health in a community (e.g., input in developing and implementing community health assessments and improvement plans, feedback about programs and services).
6. Participate with stakeholders in identifying key public health values and a shared public health vision as guiding principles for community action.

Biostatistics

1. Provide the biostatistical components of the design of a public health or biomedical experiment.
2. Demonstrate proficiency in SAS programming to solve biomedical problems.
3. Demonstrate comprehension of ethical issues in biomedical studies, such as treatment efficacy and patient safety.
4. Translate the biomedical experimental objectives into biostatistical questions via hypothesis testing or confidence interval framework.
5. Describe key concepts and theory underlying biostatistical methodology used in probability and inferential, analytical and descriptive statistics.

Community Health

1. Apply basic theories, concepts and models from a range of social and behavioral disciplines in public health research and practice.
2. Evaluate the contribution of logic models in program development, implementation, and evaluation.
3. Develop a culturally appropriate social marketing plan to address a social or behavioral issue in the target population.
4. Develop intervention recommendations based on community analysis of determinant sequencing and causal diagrams.
5. Evaluate a variety of participatory methods that can be used in community health analysis and assessment.

Environmental Health

1. Describe the direct and indirect environmental and occupational health hazards with respect to infectivity, toxicity, and physiological impacts on communities and the adverse effects on the ecosystem.
2. Explain exposure pathways, and transmission mechanisms by which environmental/occupational agents influence human and ecosystem health.
3. Analyze environmental and occupational health risk assessment methods, directed towards prediction and management of these hazards to address community concerns, including environmental justice and equity, while adhering to pertinent regulatory guidelines.
4. Specify appropriate environmental monitoring and impact assessment methods and intervention strategies to support or advocate for environmental/occupational health policy development.
5. Develop age-appropriate educational material to relay public health risk information to lay audiences

Epidemiology

1. Identify, utilize, and interpret routinely collected epidemiologic data from a variety of settings.
2. Apply advanced data management and analysis methods to epidemiologic data using statistical software, as appropriate.
3. Draw valid inferences from epidemiologic data at an intermediate level to assess the burden of disease or exposure-disease associations.
4. Evaluate the strengths and limitations of epidemiologic reports.
5. Disseminate epidemiologic findings suitable for professional or scientific audiences using a format appropriate for a scientific journal.

Health Policy and Management

1. Evaluate a health policy and its implications for different populations, healthcare, and public health systems.
2. Describe the legal and ethical dilemmas in public health systems.
3. Apply principles of healthcare financing, reimbursement methodologies, and budgeting to public or private health settings.
4. Explain the principles of informatics, data management, and using data to inform public health policy and programming.
5. Demonstrate applications of theoretical foundations of leadership principles and styles.

Health Informatics

1. Explains the importance of public health informatics for designing, implementing, evaluating, and improving policies, programs, and services
2. Appraise concepts, theories, and strategies involving information science, data analytics, and other aspects of health informatics for decision-support or service improvements in public health and healthcare settings.
3. Select and use public health informatics methods, tools, and information systems to capture, store, and maintain data.
4. Demonstrate use of analytics software and statistical techniques to access, evaluate, and interpret public health data to support evidence-based public health/healthcare.
5. Employ Geographic Information Systems and other data visualization methods for public health or healthcare decision support.

Admission Requirements and Advisement Information

Admission into the graduate programs within the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health (JPHCOPH) is competitive and decisions are based on the application as a whole. The Master of Public Health (MPH) admission requirements apply to the following MPH degrees in the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University: MPH

Regular

1. Application - Completion of an application in Schools of Public Health Application Service (SOPHAS).
2. Degree - Completion of a Bachelor’s degree or higher from a college or university accredited by an appropriate institutional accreditor.
3. Transcripts - Official transcript(s) from each college or university previously attended. A transcript is required even if the courses from one school appear on the transcript of another school. (NOTE: SOPHAS will NOT process your application without receiving all official transcripts. Please refer to the SOPHAS FAQs page for instructions on HOW TO SEND TRANSCRIPTS.)
   • All foreign transcripts must be evaluated by World Education Services (WES). Visit http://www.wes.org/ to view which documents are required for your country and to request an International Credential Advantage Package (ICAP) Course-by-Course Report
4. Grade Point Average (GPA) - Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75/4.0 scale in either:
   • Upper division undergraduate courses; OR
   • Upper division graduate courses
5. The GRE is not required for entrance to the MPH program.  However, concentrations may elect to request additional information to support an application for admission.  If additional questions or examples of previous work are required, the request will be included in the SOPHAS application
6. English Language Proficiency - International applicants and U.S. Citizens whose native language is not English must demonstrate English proficiency. Prior to consideration for admission, international applicants whose native language is not English must take and post acceptable scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) (http://www.ets.org/toefl) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) (http://www.ielts.org) unless they have received a degree from an accredited college or university in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada (except Quebec), Australia, or New Zealand. The TOEFL and IELTS examinations are administered at various times of the year and in many centers throughout the world.
   • A score of at least 75 (internet-based test, IBT) or 537 (paper-based test) on the TOEFL and 6.0 on the IELTS is normally required to be considered for regular admission. The official TOEFL and the official IELTS scores may not be more than two (2) years old. Those who do not meet the minimum proficiency standard may be recommended for enrollment in University English courses or for English courses offered by the English Language Program (ELP) on campus. Successful completion of Intensive English Programs (IEPs) at other English Language Program (ELP) providers will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Request that your official TOEFL scores be sent directly to SOPHAS. Official IELTS scores should be sent to: Georgia Southern University, Office of Graduate Admissions, P.O. Box 8113, Statesboro, GA 30460-8113.
7. Letters of Recommendation - Three (3) letters of recommendation. It is strongly advised that two letters be from individuals who can address your past academic performance and it is encouraged that the third letter is from a work or internship supervisor.
8. Curriculum Vitae/Resume - A CV/Resume that includes the following: a) educational experiences, b) professional goals and objectives, c) work history, d) professional experiences, memberships and/or participation in professional organizations, e) experiences in public health programs.
9. Statement of Purpose - A Statement of Purpose (500-1000 words) that conveys the applicant’s reasons for pursuing graduate study in public health and how admission into the specific concentration program relates to the applicant’s professional aspirations.

*Some students may be required to take prerequisite coursework prior to beginning the program of study. Conditions of admission will be presented at the student’s first advisement appointment.

Provisional

Admission may be granted to those individuals who do not fully satisfy the admission requirements. You must earn grades of “B” or better in your first nine (9) semester hours taken at Georgia Southern University following the effective admission term to obtain Regular Admission. A provisional student may enroll in graduate courses leading to a degree and such courses may count in a degree program once the student has changed to Regular Admission. Only credit earned in graduate courses at Georgia Southern University will satisfy provisional admission requirements. Failure to satisfy these requirements will result in an ineligibility to continue studies in the College of Graduate Studies. Provisional students are not eligible for Graduate Assistantship positions.

For more information on our programs, visit our website at http://jphcoph.georgiasouthern.edu/degrees/.

Transfer Credit Hours

Students may request that up to, but no more than, nine (9) graduate credits are applied toward the 42 credits required for the MPHTransfer credit must also satisfy the same requirements as courses taught for masters training within the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health be consistent with the student’s approved program of study, and have been received from an appropriately accredited college or university. Thesis and dissertation credits cannot be transferred. The student must provide documentation in support of equivalence, such as a course syllabus, transcript, term paper, and/or instructor testimony. Equivalence is determined by the Graduate Student coordinator in consultation with the MPH program director. 

Course Time Limit

All requirements for the MPH must be completed within seven academic years from the date of the first enrollment for study following admission to the master’s program. For transfer students, the seven-year time limit commences with the semester during which transfer credit hour was earned.

Grades

MPH level degree-seeking students are required to maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 to remain in good academic standing and to be eligible to graduate. In the event the cumulative GPA falls below 3.0, the student will be placed on academic probation. Students have nine (9) credits to elevate their cumulative GPA to at least 3.0 or will be excluded from the program. Students earning grades of “D” or below will be excluded from the program.

Advisement

Graduate students are advised by their program. Graduate students should reach out to their graduate program director for information regarding the structures in place to facilitate advisement. For more information visit Graduate Academic Advisement.

Graduate students can also contact the Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies for more information about their program director.

Phone: 912-478-COGS (2647)
Email: gradschool@georgiasouthern.edu