Public Health

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

Associate Director
Celia Iriart, Ph.D., University of Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Professors
Robert Rhyne, M.D., University of New Mexico
Betty Skipper, Ph.D., Case Western Reserve
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
Celia Iriart, Ph.D., University of Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Andrew Rowland, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Francisco G. Soto Mas, M.D., University of Granada, Spain; Ph.D., University of New Mexico
Kristine Tollestrup, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley; M.P.H., University of Washington

Assistant Professors
Lisa Cacari-Stone, Ph.D., Brandeis University
Floyd Frost, Ph.D., University of Washington
Alexis Handel, Ph.D., University of Michigan
Lauren Hund, Ph.D., Harvard University
Victoria Sanchez, Dr. P.H., M.P.H., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Elizabeth Yakes, Ph.D., R.D., University of California, Davis

Research Assistant Professors
William Athas, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

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

Other Faculty
Craig Kippels, M.B.A., M.H.A., University of Michigan
Sarah Lathrop, C.V.M, University of Minnesota; Ph.D., The Ohio State University
Laura Nervi, Ph.D., M.P.H., University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Frankie Perry, M.A., R.N., University of Michigan
Corinne Shefner-Rogers, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins

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 of Public Health

The Master of Public Health (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 of Public Health

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 is preferred, or 9 credit hours with G.P.A of 3.0 or better in public health-related graduate courses.
3. Undergraduate basic statistics course or graduate-level basic statistics course with a 3.0 or higher. M.D. and Ph.D. students who have received their accredited degrees from U.S. institutions are exempt from this requirement. All students must have recent (within five years) GRE scores with preferred verbal, quantitative and analytical writing scores around the 50th percentile, or MCAT with preferred total score of 22 and N in writing, or GMAT with preferred score of 500 and above. M.D. and Ph.D. applicants who received their degrees from a U.S. university are exempt from submitting the above test scores. Foreign medical graduates must be licensed to practice in the U.S. or must have received their degrees from an accredited U.S. institution to be exempt from the test scores requirement. Foreign applicants must take the TOEFL examination and score at least 550.
4. Foreign applicants must submit one of the following English proficiency tests: 

The Cambridge test may also be accepted with a satisfactory score of "C" or better for graduate students.

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

Students may transfer up to 17 credit hours with "B" or better 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.

For Office of Graduate Studies admissions requirements, refer to OGS Web site.

Master of 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.

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.

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.

Public Health Minor (15 credit hours)

The Public Health minor provides 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 additional M.P.H. electives can be of student choosing to further his/her 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, and not currently accepting new students.

The student completes the core requirements in each discipline. The prototype is designed for the Master of 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 Master 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 M.P.H. 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).