Graduate Program

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

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.

Degree Offered

Master of Public Health (M.P.H.)
Concentrations: Community Health; Epidemiology; Health Systems, Services, and Policy.

The Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) at UNM promotes an interdisciplinary and comprehensive approach to research and interventions to address health problems. It also provides multiple opportunities for students to practice public health skills in communities and organizations, and fosters critical thinking about issues addressed by the students. Students come to the program from a broad range of social science, biomedical science and clinical disciplines. To complete the degree, students must complete 42 credit hours that include completion of a practicum experience, and either a thesis, professional paper, or the integrative experience courses (PH 595 and 597). All students must also complete an oral master’s examination. Students may enroll either full-time or part-time and have seven years to complete the degree from the time they take their first course applying towards the M.P.H.

Two dual degrees are offered, M.D./M.P.H. and M.A. in Latin American Studies/M.P.H.

Individual dual degrees may be organized by students with any department.

Admission Requirements

The program considers applicants who satisfy all admission requirements as follows:

B.S., B.A., or equivalent from an accredited U.S. institution or a recognized foreign institution.
GPA of at least 3.0 is required in undergraduate upper-level courses (300- to 400-level), or 9 credit hours with GPA of 3.0 or better in public health-related graduate courses.
Undergraduate basic statistics course or graduate-level basic statistics course with a 3.0 GPA 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 491 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.
Foreign applicants must submit one of the following English proficiency tests:

	Paper Test	Computer Test	IBT
Graduate TOEFL	550	213	79-80
Graduate IELTS	7.0	7.0	7.0

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 grades of "B" or better to the program from other institutions or other non-degree or graduate programs within UNM. However, those credit hours cannot have been used to meet the requirements of another degree program.

For Graduate Studies admissions requirements, refer to Graduate Studies Web site.

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. 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.

Requirements

Completion of 19 credit hours of M.P.H. core courses and at least 18 credit hours in graduate-level courses in public and community health as outlined below.
Completion of 2 credit hours of practical field experience (PH 598 - Public Health Practicum) in a community public health setting.
Completion of at least 3 credit hours demonstrating competencies in integrating community health perspectives through one of the culminating experience options (Professional Paper, or Integrative Experience, or Thesis and the Oral Master’s Examination).
The chair of the culminating experience committee must be a core faculty member of the concentration.

		Credit Hours
	Required Core Courses
PH 501	Principles of Public Health	3
PH 502	Epidemiologic Methods I	3
PH 506	Environmental-Occupational Health	3
PH 508	Theory and Practice (Mandatory in second semester)	2
PH 511	Writing for Public Health Professionals	1
PH 513	Public Health Seminar	1
PH 538	Public Health Biostatistical Methods I	3
PH 552	Public Health Program Planning	3
	Subtotal	19
	Required Practicum Experience
PH 598	Public Health Practicum	2
	Subtotal	2
	Required Culminating Experience chosen from the follow options:
PH 595 -and- PH 597	Introduction to Public Health Integrative Experience Public Health Integrative Experience	3
-or- PH 596	Professional Paper	3
-or- PH 599	Master's Thesis	6
	Subtotal	3-6
	Required Concentration Courses
PH 510	Public Health and Health Care Management	3
PH 555	Public Health Evaluation Methods	3
	Subtotal	6
	Electives
	Choose two of the following:
PH 507	Health Care Systems	3
PH 533	Public Health Research Methods	3
PH 554	Health Policy, Politics and Social Equity	3
PH 556	Community Participatory-Based Research	2-3
PH 558	Intervention Research with Marginalized Populations	3
PH 564	Public Health and Health Care Communication	3
PH 575	Public Health Leadership on Facilitation	2
	Subtotal	5-6
	Two or more electives from other courses offered by the Public Health program and/or UNM colleges or departments. Electives are subject to approval of the academic advisor.
	Subtotal	5-6

Epidemiology Concentration

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

Requirements

Completion of 19 credit hours of M.P.H. core courses and at least 18 credit hours in graduate-level concentration and elective courses as outlined below.
Completion of 2 credit hours of practical field experience (PH 598 – Public Health Practicum) in an epidemiologic setting.
Completion of at least 3 credit hours demonstrating competencies in epidemiology through one of the culminating experience options (Professional Paper, or Integrative Experience, or Thesis and Master’s Oral Examination).
The chair of the culminating experience committee must be a core faculty member of the concentration.

		Credit Hours
	Required Core Courses
PH 501	Principles of Public Health	3
PH 502	Epidemiologic Methods I	3
PH 506	Environmental-Occupational Health	3
PH 508	Theory and Practice (Mandatory in second semester)	2
PH 511	Writing for Public Health Professionals	1
PH 513	Public Health Seminar	1
PH 538	Public Health Biostatistical Methods I	3
PH 552	Public Health Program Planning	3
	Subtotal	19
	Required Practicum Experience
PH 598	Public Health Practicum	2
	Subtotal	2
	Required Culminating Experience chose from the following options:
PH 595 -and- PH 597	Introduction to Public Health Integrative Experience Public Health Integrative Experience	1 2
-or- PH 596	Professional Paper	3
-or- PH 599	Master's Thesis	6
	Subtotal	3-6
	Required Concentration Courses
PH 507 -or- PH 510	Health Care Systems Public Health and Health Care Management	3
PH 520	Epidemiologic Methods II	3
PH 534	Epidemiology Data Analysis	3
PH 539	Public Health Biostatistical Methods II	3
	Subtotal	12
	Electives
	Select from:
PH 524	Social Epidemiology	2
PH 528	Infectious Disease Epidemiology	2
PH 529	Introduction to Developmental Epidemiology	2
PH 531	Perinatal Epidemiology	2
PH 532	Cancer Epidemiology	2
STAT 574	Biostatistical Methods: Survival Analysis and Logistic Regression	3
	Subtotal	6-9
	Other electives may be selected from Public Health courses and from courses offered by other UNM colleges and departments with approval of the academic advisor.

Health Systems, Services, and Policy Concentration

The concentration in Health Systems, Services, and Policy provides 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 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

Completion of 19 credit hours of M.P.H. core courses, and 18 credit hours in graduate-level courses as outlined below.
Completion of 2 credit hours of practical field experience (PH 598 – Public Health Practicum) in policy, public health or health care service settings.
Completion of at least 3 credit hours demonstrating competencies in integrating health systems, services, and policy perspectives through one of the culminating experience options (Integrative Experience, Professional Paper, Thesis and Master’s Oral Examination).
The Chair of the culminating experience committee must be a core faculty member of the concentration.

		Credit Hours
	Required Core Courses
PH 501	Principles of Public Health	3
PH 502	Epidemiologic Methods I	3
PH 506	Environmental-Occupational Health	3
PH 508	Theory and Practice (Mandatory in second semester)	2
PH 511	Writing for Public Health Professionals	1
PH 513	Public Health Seminar	1
PH 538	Public Health Biostatistical Methods I	3
PH 552	Public Health Program Planning	3
	Subtotal	19
	Required Practicum Experience
PH 598	Public Health Practicum	2
	Subtotal	2
	Required Culminating Experience chosen from the following options:
PH 595 -and- PH 597	Introduction to Public Health Integrative Experience Public Health Integrative Experience	1 2
-or- PH 596	Professional Paper	3
-or- PH 599	Master's Thesis	6
	Subtotal	3-6
	Required Concentration Courses	3
PH 507	Health Care Systems	3
PH 520	Epidemiologic Methods II	3
PH 539	Public Health Biostatistical Methods II	3
PH 554	Health Policy, Politics and Social Equity	3
	Subtotal	12
	Electives
	Choose two of the following:
PH 510	Public Health and Health Care Management	3
PH 524	Social Epidemiology
PH 534	Epidemiology Data Analysis	3
PH 555	Public Health Evaluation Methods	3
PH 564	Public Health and Health Care Communication
PH 565	Public Health Leadership on Facilitation	3
PH 575	Public Health Leadership on Facilitation	1-2
PH 579	New Mexico Border Health: US - Mexico Border Migration and Latino Health	3
PH 583	Advanced Topics in Health Sector and Globalization	3
PADM 500	Public Management and Policy	3
PADM 521	Institutional Development and Behavior	3
PADM 525	Human Resources Management in the Public Sector	3
PADM 544	Public Budgeting	3
	Other electives may be selected from Public Health Program and other NM colleges and departments with approval of the academic advisor.
	Subtotal	6

Public Health Minor

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 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.

		Credit Hours
	Required Core Courses
PH 501	Principles of Public Health (fall course)	3
PH 502 -or- PH 521	Epidemiology Methods I (fall course) Introduction to Epidemiology	3
	Subtotal	6
	One Other Core Course from:
PH 506	Environmental-Occupational Health	3
PH 507	Health Care Systems	3
PH 510	Public Health and Health Care Management	3
PH 552	Public Health Program Planning	3
	Subtotal	3
	Public Health Minor Selected Electives
	Choose a minimum of 6 credit hours from other Public Health program courses. The elective courses are selected to further the student's own research or professional project. All courses must be completed with a grade of "B" or better.
	Subtotal	6
	Total	15

Dual Degrees

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 are admitted to each program separately, and once admitted to both programs, 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. in Latin American Studies/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 help prepare graduates to work effectively either in Latin America, or with Latin American immigrant populations within the United States.

Individual Dual Degree

Individual dual degrees may be organized by students with any department. Students in dual degree programs must complete both degrees in the same semester. The students must prepare a written rationale for the dual degree and a chart outlining the requirements for both degrees and the shared credit hours. This must be approved by the Public Health program Director, the Director or Chair of the other Department and with student advisors of both departments. The agreement must be signed by all parties involved. The student must meet all requirements for both masters degrees; a maximum of 6 credit hours from each field may be shared between the two programs.

Keys and Symbols Reference