Public Health

Director
Kristine Tollestrup, Ph.D., M.P.H., University of California, Berkeley

Professors
Robert Rhyne, M.D., University of New Mexico
Nina B. Wallerstein, Dr. P.H., M.P.H., University of California, Berkeley

Associate Professors
James E. Cheek, M.D., M.P.H., University of New Mexico, M.P.H., Johns Hopkins
Jonathan Eldredge, Ph.D., M.L.S., University of New Mexico
Andrew Rowland, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Francisco G. Soto Mas, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., University of New Mexico
Kristine Tollestrup, Ph.D., M.P.H., University of California, Berkeley

Assistant Professors
Lisa Cacari-Stone, Ph.D., Brandeis University
Floyd Frost, Ph.D., University of Washington
Alexis Handel, Ph.D., University of Michigan
Celia Iriart, Ph.D., University of Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Victoria Sanchez, Dr. P.H., M.P.H., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Research Assistant Professors
William Athas, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
Margaret Menache, Ph.D.,Duke University

Professors Emeriti
David Bennahum, M.D., University of Geneva, Professor of Law, University of New Mexico
Lily Velarde, Ph.D., University of New Mexico
William H. Wiese, M.D., M.P.H., Harvard Medical School
Scott Sanders, Ph.D, University of Colorado

Other Faculty
David Broudy, Ph.D., University of New Mexico
Cheryl Ferguson, M.P.H., University of New Mexico
Craig Kippels, M.H.S.A., M.B.A., University of Michigan
Frankie Perry, M.A., R.N., University of Michigan,

Corinne Shefner-Rogers, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins
Bettie Skipper, Ph.D, Case Western Reserve University
Victor Strasburger, M.D., Harvard Medical School


Introduction

Mission Statement
The mission of the Public Health Program at the University of New Mexico is to provide leadership in graduate and community-based education and research grounded in social justice to improve the health of the diverse populations in New Mexico and the Southwest.

Program Offerings
The program offers a Master of Public Health degree and a graduate public health minor. The M.P.H. degree prepares learners to improve the health of populations with a primary focus on New Mexico, the Southwest, the United States / Mexico border region and south of the border. Graduates leave the program prepared to work in partnership with New Mexico’s diverse communities, tribes and the public and private sectors.

Two dual degrees are offered, an M.D./M.P.H and an M.A.L.A.S. / M.P.H.



Master in Public Health

The M.P.H. Degree prepares learners to improve the health of populations with a primary focus on New Mexico, the Southwest, the United States/Mexico border region and south of the border.  Graduates leave the program prepared to work in partnership with New Mexico’s diverse communities, tribes and the public and private sectors.

Degree Requirements for the Master in Public Health

1.  
The following four core courses must be taken:    
  PH 501 Principles of Public Health 3
F
  PH 502 Epidemiologic Methods I 3
F
  PH 506 Environmental/Occupational Health 3
Sp
  STAT 538 Biostatistical Methods 3
F
2.  
Choice of one of two health systems courses:    
  PH 507 Health Care Systems 3
Sp
  PH 510 Public Health and Health Care Management 3
Sp
3.   Choice of one of these two courses:    
  PH 505 Social and Cultural Theories and Models: Community Interventions 3
F
  PH 552 Public Health Program Planning 3
F
4.   Additional required courses:    
  PH 508

Theory and Practice
(Mandatory in 1st semester, CR/NC.)

2
F
  PH 511 Writing for Public Health Professionals (CR/NC) 1-2
F
  PH 513 Public Health Seminar 1 F,Sp
  PH 598 Public Health Practicum 2  
5.   Choice of one of three culminating experience options:    
  PH 596 Professional Paper 3  
  -or-

 
  PH 597 Public Health Integrative Experience 3  
  -or-

 
  PH 599 Master's Thesis 6  
  

M.P.H. Admissions Requirements

The program will consider applicants who satisfy all admission requirements as follows:

  1. B.S., B.A. or equivalent from an accredited U.S. institution or a recognized foreign
    institution.
  2. G.P.A. of at least 3.0 or demonstrated ability to complete graduate courses with a B or better.
  3. All students must have:
    Recent (within five years) GRE scores with preferred verbal and quanititave scores of 500
    each and analytical writing of 4 and above,
    OR
    MCAT with preferred score of 10 and N in writing,
    OR
    GMAT with preferred score of 500 and above.
    M.D.s & Ph.D.s who received their degrees from a U.S. university are exempt from submitting the above test scores.
    All students must have an undergraduate biostatistics class
    Note: Foreign students must take the TOEFL examination and score at least 560.

Preference is given to students who have public health experience. Their experience may be in community development, research, health education, health science, health promotion, or other health-related work. Experience can be paid or voluntary.

Students may transfer 17 credit hours to the program from other institutions or other non-degree or graduate programs within UNM. However, those hours cannot have been used to meet the requirements of another degree program. Students must complete at least half of the program requirements after admission to the program.

For Office of Graduate Studies admissions requirements, please refer to OGS website: http://ogs.unm.edu


Master in Public Health Concentrations

Community Health Concentration

The mission of the Community Health Concentration is to prepare students for leadership roles in population-based disease prevention and health promotion in public and private settings. The philosophical foundation of the concentration relies on a community capacity building, empowerment approach to promote social justice and equity in health. The concentration is designed for students with prior experience, education or interest in community-focused public health practice or research that values diversity, self-reflection and critical analysis of evidence-based practice and practice-based public health approaches.

 Guided by the social-ecological approach, the Community Health Concentration emphasizes training in the basic core principles and skills of community needs and assets assessment, program planning, implementation and evaluation, and policy development and their application to a broad array of health and social issues in population and community-based public health disease prevention and health promotion. The purpose of this concentration is to provide students with the multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills necessary to plan, implement, and evaluate public health programs at multiple levels of the social-ecologic framework.


  Community Health Concentration Required Curriculum Total Units-12
PH 505 Social and Cultural Theories and Models:  Community Interventions 3
PH 510 Public Health and Health Care Management 3
PH 552 Public Health Program Planning 3
PH 555 Public Health Evaluation Methods 3
  Community Health Concentration Selected Electives  
  Choose one course:   
PH 554 Public Health Policy, Politics and Social Equity 3
PH 564 Public Health & Health Care Communication 3
CJ 550 Health Communication 3
 
One other elective with community health intervention skills. The following are recommended. Other options require guidance from your advisor. (minimum 2 credits)
  Two courses among the following:  
PH 504 Rural Health 3
PH 507 Health Care Systems 3
PH 568 Popular and Empowerment Education 2
PH 577 Public Health Leadership in Policy and Advocacy (2 cr hours required for CHC students.) 2
PH 580 Community Assessment 3
PH 560 CBPR Research Methods  

Epidemiology Concentration

The Epidemiology Concentration will provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to collect, analyze and interpret epidemiologic data for the solution of public health problems. The concentration will prepare students for employment as a master’s level epidemiologist or research scientist in various settings such as the New Mexico State Department of Health, The University of New Mexico School of Medicine, and other public health research and service organizations.


In addition to the core curriculum the Epidemiology concentration requires:

  1. Completion of 15 credits in graduate-level courses in epidemiology and biostatistics as outlined below and
  2. Completion of a field experience (PH 598–Public Health Practicum) emphasizing epidemiologic practice in an applied public health setting;
  3. Demonstration of competencies in epidemiology through the culminating experience.

For students concentrating in epidemiology, the chair of their culminating experience committee should be a core epidemiology faculty member, or an epidemiologist or biostatistician agreed upon by the Epidemiology Curriculum Committee.

  Epidemiology Concentration Required Curriculum
 
PH 520 Epidemiologic Methods II 3
PH 534 Epidemiology Data Analysis 3
STAT 539 Biostatistical Methods II 3
 
Epidemiology Concentration Selected Electives (6 credits)
 
 
Likely to be offered at least once every two years.   
PH 527 Chronic Disease Epidemiology 2
PH 528 Infectious Disease Epidemiology 2
PH 531 Perinatal Epidemiology 2
PH 532 Cancer Epidemiology 2
STAT 574 Biostatistical Methods: Survival Analysis and Logistic Regression 3


Health Systems, Services, and Policy Concentration

The concentration in Health Systems, Services, and Policy will provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to analyze health systems, public health and health care services and programs, and related governmental and non-governmental policies. Students will develop the capacity to analyze and develop interventions and health policies at local, national, and global levels. The goal of the concentration is to prepare students to work in health organizations and policy arenas to improve population health and decrease health inequities.

Requirements

In addition to the M.P.H. core curriculum the Health Systems, Services, and Policy Concentration requires:

  • The completion of 21 credits in graduate-level courses in health policy, health care systems, community health, or epidemiology as outlined below;
  • Completion of a practical field experience (PH 598 Public Health Practicum) in policy, public health or health care service settings; and
  • Demonstration of competencies in integrating system, service, and policy perspectives throuch the culminating experience.

In addition, for students in this concentration, the chair of their culminating experience committee must be a core faculty member of the concentration.

Required Courses Total Units 15
PH 507 Health Care Systems 3
PH 554 Health Policy, Politics, and Social Equity 3
PH 520 Epidemiologic Methods II 3
STAT 539 Biostatistical Methods II 3
PH 552 Public Health Program Planning 3
Electives Total Units 6
PH 510 Public Health and Health Care Management 3
PADM 500 Public Management and Policy 3
PH 583 Advanced Topics on Health Sector and Globalization 3
PH 579 New Mexico Border Health 3
PH 560 Social Epidemiology 3
PH 534 Epidemiologic Data Analysis 3
PH 577 Public Health Leadership in Policy and Advocacy 3
PH 564 Public Health and Health Care Communications 3
CJ 550 Health Communications 3
PH 505 Cultural and Social Theory and Health 3
PH 575 Public Health Leadership on Facilitation 1-2
PH 555 Public Health Evaluation Methods 3
PH 559 History of Public Health 3
PH 565 Public Health: Law, Policy, and Ethics 3
PH 588 Tuberculosis, HIV and Malaria: Local and Global 3
PADM 521 Institutional Development and Behavior 3
PADM 525 Human Resources Management in the Public Sector 3
PADM 544 Public Budgeting and Finance 3

Public Health Minor
(15 credit hours)

The public health minor will provide a basic understanding of the core principles, sciences, and skills behind the discipline of public health. The two core classes in the minor include the basic behavioral and social sciences and the science of disease causation and distribution. One other course is required from a menu of M.P.H. core courses. Two other M.P.H. electives can be of student choosing.

  Required Core Classes (6 credit hours)
PH 501 Principles of Public Health (fall course)
PH 502 Epidemiology Methods I (fall course)
  One Other Course from M.P.H. Core Courses
(3 credit hours)
PH 505 Social and Cultural Theories and Models:
Community Interventions
PH 506 Environmental/Occupational Health
PH 507 Health Care Systems
PH 510 Public Health and Health Care Management
PH 552 PH Program Planning

Public Health Minor Selected Electives (6 credit hours)
Students may choose other M.P.H. courses constituting a minimum of 6 credit hours. It is expected that these courses will further the student’s own research or professional project. All courses must be completed with a ‘B’ or better.


Dual Degrees

**M.P.H./M.S.N.

** In moratorium, currently not accepting new students.

The student completes the core requirements in each discipline. The prototype is designed for the Master in Public Health and M.S.N./Community Health Nursing.

The non-thesis option requires the professional paper to be completed while enrolling in a course designed to facilitate this activity in M.P.H. This paper will also serve to meet the requirements of the Master’s Comprehensive Examination in Nursing under the non-thesis option, and is expected to reflect a combination of perspectives in the dual degree plan.

The thesis option requires the thesis to be completed while enrolling in thesis work under the Nursing number; again, the expectation is that the research will combine the perspectives of both degree plans. Contact M.P.H. program advisor for more information on M.P.H./M.S.N. dual degree.

M.D./M.P.H.

The dual status M.D./M.P.H. requires five years of integrated learning. This integrated learning enhances opportunities for medical students to acquire public health knowledge and skills with the goals of 1) reducing disparities in health status within New Mexican populations 2) strengthening physician advocacy and leadership skills in health policy development 3) fostering evidence-based interventions and 4) using assessment skills to better determine population needs and interventions. Each M.D./M.P.H. student would be able to successfully complete both degrees in an integrated fashion.

Student applies simultaneously to both the M.D. and the M.P.H. programs and indicates on the two applications that they are applying for dual status. Students must meet the requirements of both programs and be accepted into both programs in order to be considered dual status.

Students will be admitted to each program separately, yet once they are admitted to both programs, they qualify as dual status students. For more information on the M.D./M.P.H. dual status, contact the M.P.H. program.

M.A.L.A.S./M.P.H.

The Master of Arts in Latin American Studies and Masters of Public Health dual degree program is intended to prepare graduates to improve the health of Latin American populations and Latino populations in the United States, with a primary focus on New Mexico, the Southwest, the United States/Mexico border region, and regions south of the border. It supplements the MPH program with in-depth study of languages, cultures, and societies that will help prepare graduates to work effectively either in Latin America, or with Latin American immigrant populations within the United States.


Courses in Public Health (PH) are categorized in content areas.  The category for each course appears in parenthesis at the end of the course description according to the following legend:

Core (C); Community Health (CH); Epidemiology (E); General Electives (G).


Courses

PH 501. Principles of Public Health. (3)



PH 502. Epidemiologic Methods I. (3)



PH 504. Rural Health. (3)



PH 505. Social and Cultural Theories and Models: Community Interventions. (3)



PH 506. Environmental/Occupational Health. (3)



PH 507. Health Care Systems. (3)



PH 508. Theory and Practice [Theory and Practice Seminar I]. (2 [1])



PH 510. Public Health and Health Care Management. (3)



PH 511. Writing for Public Health Professionals. (1 to a maximum of 3 Δ [1-2])



PH 513. Public Health Seminar. (0-1 to a maximum of 3 ∆)



PH 520. Epidemiologic Methods II. (3)



PH 521. Introduction to Epidemiology. [Web-Based Introduction to Epidemiology.] . (1-3 to a maximum of 3 ∆)



PH 522. Seminar in Epidemiology. (0-1 to a maximum of 4 ∆)



PH 524. Social Epidemiology. (2)



PH 525. Epidemiology Surveillance. (2)



PH 527. Chronic Disease Epidemiology. (2)



PH 528. Infectious Disease Epidemiology. (2)



PH 530. Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology. (2)



PH 531. Perinatal Epidemiology. (2)



PH 532. Cancer Epidemiology. (2)



PH 533. Public Health Research Methods. (2-3)



PH 534. Epidemiology Data Analysis. (3)



PH 540. Disparities in Health: Introduction to Public Health for Medical Students. (3)



PH 541. Epidemiology and Biostatistics. (1-4 to a maximum of 4 ∆)



PH 542. Community-Based Service Learning. (3)



PH 543. Evidenced-Based Practice. (2)



PH 552. Public Health Program Planning. (3)



PH 554. Health Policy, Politics and Social Equity. (3)



PH 555. Public Health Evaluation Methods. (3)



PH 556. Community Participatory-Based Research. (2-3)



PH 557. International Health. (2)



PH 560. Special Topics in Public Health. (1-3, no limit ∆)



PH 563. Social Medicine in Latin America. (2)



PH 564. Public Heath and Health Care Communication. (2-3)



PH 565. Public Health: Law Policy and Ethics. (3)



PH 568. Popular and Empowerment Education. (2)



PH 569. American Indian Health Issues. (2)



PH 572. Community Health Intervention Models. (2)



PH 573. Introduction to Public Health Planning and Evaluation. (1-2)



PH 574. Community Health Improvement Strategies. (1)



PH 575. Public Health Leadership on Facilitation. (1-2)



PH 576. Public Health Leadership in Cross Cultural Communication and Conflict. (1-2)



PH 577. Public Health Leadership in Policy and Advocacy. (1-2)



PH 579. New Mexico Border Health. (2)



PH 580. Community Assessment. (3)



PH 581. Fundamentals of Public Health. (1-2)



PH 582. Basic Public Health Epidemiology. (1-2)



PH 583. Advanced Topics in Health Sector and Globalization. (3 to a maximum of 6 Δ )



PH 584. Child Health & Child Rights. (3)



PH 585. Public Health Mental Health. (3)



PH 586. Public Health Law. (3)



PH 587. International and US Health Policy Reform. (2)



PH 588. Tuberculosis, HIV and Malaria: Local and Global Perspectives. (3)



PH 593. Independent Studies. (1-3, no limit ∆)



PH 596. Professional Paper. (1-3 to a maximum of 3 ∆)



PH 597. Public Health Integrative Experience. (3)



PH 598. Public Health Practicum. (1-6 to a maximum of 6 ∆)



PH 599. Master’s Thesis. (1-6 to a maximum of 6 ∆)



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Office of the Registrar

MSC 11 6325
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131

Phone: (505) 277-8900
Fax: (505) 277-6809