MS in Public Health
Admission Requirements
In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, applicants must meet the following program requirements:
- Baccalaureate Field
- A major in the biological, physical, or social sciences is preferred (EOHS students).
- Students applying to the primary concentration in Environmental and Occupational Health must have completed one year of college math, one course in online chemistry, and one course in biology or physics prior to enrollment in the MS program.
- Those interested in the ASAC-ABET Accredited MS Program in Industrial Hygiene must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited school, have one year of college math, one course in college chemistry, one course in biology, and one course in physics.
- Exceptions may be granted for applicants with relevant work experience or high-level academic achievements. Exceptions may be admitted with an individually documented plan of study to compensate for deficiencies, although applicants are strongly encouraged to satisfy all deficiencies prior to matriculation. Applicants are invited to consult with the Industrial Hygiene program director about possible deficiencies.
- Grade Point Average At least 3.00/4.00.
- Tests Required GRE General. For GRE General Tests, the combined verbal and quantitative scores must be at least 300.
- Minimum English Competency Test Score
- TOEFL iBT 80, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21, OR,
- IELTS Academic 6.5, with 6.0 in each of the four subscores, OR,
- PTE-Academic 54, with subscores of Reading 51, Listening 47, Speaking 53, and Writing 56.
- Letters of Recommendation Three required.
- Personal Statement Required; the statement should address the applicant’s intended research, career goals, and reason for pursuing the MS degree in the chosen area.
Degree Requirements
In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, students must meet the following program requirements:
- Minimum Semester Hours Required Varies by concentration. 48 for the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Concentration; 40 for the Health Policy and Administration Concentration; 52 for the Industrial Hygiene concentration; 53 for the Occupational Safety concentration; and 48 for the Public Health Informatics concentration.
- Coursework At least 32 semester hours must be in courses other than IPHS 598, and at least 9 semester hours must be at the 500 level. No more than 4 hours of IPHS 596 may be applied to the degree.
- Comprehensive Examination Not required.
- Thesis, Project, or Coursework-Only Options Thesis only. No other options available.
- Thesis: Thesis required for all areas. Thesis students must earn at least 12 hours in IPHS 598.
School-Wide Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| School of Public Health Core Requirements (22 semester hours) | ||
| Biostatistics I a | ||
| Introduction to Epidemiology: Principles and Methods | ||
| Foundations of Public Health | ||
| Research in Public Health Sciences - M.S. (12 hours) | ||
| Required Non-Credit Training | ||
Human Subjects Research | ||
Title IX Training | ||
SPH Academic Integrity Tutorial | ||
- a
BSTT 400 is not required for students in the MS in Biostatistics or MS in Biostatistics, Concentration in Health Data Science programs.
Concentration Requirements
Remaining courses and their distribution depend on the student’s primary (and secondary, where applicable) area of concentration. MS students select from one of the following primary concentration areas:
- Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (EOHS)
- Health Policy and Administration (HPA)
Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Concentration
In addition to School of Public Health Core Requirements, students must complete the following concentration requirements:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses (20 semester hours) | ||
| Ethics and Justice in Environmental and Occupational Health | ||
| Systems Approach in Environmental and Occupational Health | ||
| Chemistry for Environmental Professionals | ||
| Environmental/Occupational Health Seminar | ||
| Exposure Assessment Strategies | ||
| Environment, Toxicology, and Disease | ||
| Risk Assessment in Environmental and Occupational Health | ||
| Computing Skills Selective (2-4 semester hours) | ||
| Select at least one of the following courses: | ||
| Introductory Special Topics in Biostatistics | ||
| Programming and Simulation in R | ||
| Special Topics in Biostatistics | ||
| GIS for Environmental and Public Health Professionals | ||
| Health Related Database Design and Analysis | ||
| Datamining Applications in Public Health | ||
| Injury Epidemiology and Prevention | ||
| Epidemiologic Computing | ||
| Geographic Information Systems for Planning and Policy | ||
| Electives | ||
Electives as needed to bring the total semester hours to 48 | ||
Health Policy and Administration Concentration
- MS students concentrating in Health Policy and Administration must complete all of the School of Public Health Core Requirements for the MS degree. In addition, 22 hours of coursework relevant to the disciplinary area of Health Policy and Administration are taken in consultation with the faculty advisor.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Public Health Policy | ||
| Introduction to the Economics of Health and Healthcare | ||
| Empirical Methods for Health Research I | ||
| Empirical Methods for Health Research II | ||
| Public Health Policy Analysis | ||
| Advanced Topics in Health Economics | ||
Electives - Selected in consultation with the faculty advisor (4 hours) | ||
Secondary Concentrations
Industrial Hygiene Secondary Concentration (EOHS students only)
MS students concentrating in the ASAC-ABET-Accredited Program in Industrial Hygiene must complete all of the SPH School-Wide Core requirements for the MS degree, including 12 semester hours of IPHS 598. In addition, students must take the following courses as their divisional and elective choices to attain 53 semester hours of credit:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Secondary Concentration Requirements | ||
| Biostatistics II | ||
| Environmental Calculations | ||
| Occupational Health and Safety Practice | ||
| Evaluation and Control of Physical Agents | ||
| Evaluation and Control of Airborne Contaminants | ||
| Evaluation and Control of the Psychosocial Work Environment | ||
| Industrial Hygiene Laboratory I | ||
| Air Quality Assessment and Management | ||
| Applied Industrial Hygiene and Safety | ||
| Occupational and Environmental Disease | ||
| Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems | ||
Occupational Safety Secondary Concentration (EOHS students only)
MS students concentrating in Occupational Safety must complete all of the SPH School-Wide Core requirements for the MS degree, including 12 semester hours of IPHS 598. In addition, students must take the following courses as their divisional and elective choices to attain 52 semester hours of credit:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses (30 semester hours) | ||
| Ethics and Justice in Environmental and Occupational Health | ||
| Systems Approach in Environmental and Occupational Health | ||
| Occupational Health and Safety Practice | ||
| Evaluation and Control of Radiation Exposures | ||
| Evaluation and Control of Physical Agents | ||
| Evaluation and Control of the Psychosocial Work Environment | ||
| Environmental/Occupational Health Seminar | ||
| Exposure Assessment Strategies | ||
| Environment, Toxicology, and Disease | ||
| Occupational Safety | ||
| Occupational Ergonomics and Biomechanics | ||
| Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems | ||
| Injury Epidemiology and Prevention | ||
Public Health Informatics Secondary Concentration (Online MS-HPA students only)
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Secondary Concentration Requirements | ||
| MS students concentrating in Public Health Informatics must complete all of the SPH requirements for the MS degree. In addition, students must take the following: | ||
| Required Courses | ||
| Biostatistics II | ||
| Health Information and Decision Support Systems | ||
| Development of Public Health Surveillance Information Systems | ||
| Selective Courses | ||
| A minimum of 16 hours from among the following: | ||
| Health Related Database Design and Analysis | ||
| Management of Communication Systems for Public Health Informatics Applications | ||
| Legal and Ethical Issues in Public Health Informatics | ||
| Survey of Public Health Information Systems | ||
| Public Health Information Systems Evaluation and Project Management | ||
| Web-Based Public Health Information Systems | ||
| Geographic Information System Application in Public Health | ||
| Datamining Applications in Public Health | ||
| Elective Courses | ||
| A minimum of 6 hours from among the following: | ||
| Informatics for the Clinical Investigator | ||
| Knowledge Management in Healthcare Organizations | ||
| Consumer Health Informatics | ||
| Strategic Planning and Budgeting/Finance | ||
| Organizational Leadership in Public Health | ||
| Geographic Information Systems Integrative Project | ||
| Survey of Public Health Information Systems | ||
| Students are strongly encouraged to complete at least one course recommended by the Director of Graduate Studies which provides a broad introduction to public health. | ||