Graduate Program

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

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.

Dual Degree Programs

Master of Public Health and Doctor of Medicine: The College of Population Health and the School of Medicine offer a Dual Degree Program leading to the M.P.H. and the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) See the Graduate and Professional Dual Degree Programs section of this Catalog.

Master of Public Health and Master of Arts in Latin American Studies: The College of Population Health and the Latin American Studies program in the College of Arts and Sciences offer a Dual Degree Program leading to the M.P.H. and the Master of Arts (M.A.) in Latin American Studies. See the Graduate and Professional Dual Degree Programs section of this Catalog.

Master of Public Health and Master of Science in Nursing: The College of Population Health and the College of Nursing offer a Dual Degree Program leading to the M.P.H and the Master of Science (M.S.) in Nursing. See the Graduate and Professional Dual Degree Programs section of this Catalog.

Individual Dual Degree Program: Individual dual degrees with the M.P.H. 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 M.P.H. Program Director, the Director or Chair of the other Department and the student advisors of both departments. The agreement must be signed by all parties involved. The student must meet all requirements for both master's degrees; a maximum of 6 credit hours from each field may be shared between the two programs. See the Graduate Program section of this Catalog.

Admission Requirements

The program only reviews applicants who have met all admission requirements listed below:

1. B.A., B.S., or equivalent from an accredited U.S. institution or a recognized foreign institution.

2. 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.

3. An undergraduate basic statistics course or a graduate-level basic statistics course with a 3.0 GPA or higher must have been completed within the previous 7 years.

4. 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
Cambridge English: CAE or CPE	grade of "C" or better.

Additional Information

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.

Master of Public Health

The M.P.H. is completed in four required components:

M.P.H. core courses.
Practicum experience.
Culminating experience.
Concentration courses and electives as described in individual concentration sections below.

		Credit Hours
	M.P.H. Core Courses
PH 501	Determinants and Equity in Public Health	4
PH 502	Epidemiology and Biostatistics I	4
PH 503	Epidemiology and Biostatistics II	3
PH 538	Epidemiology and Biostatistics Workshop	1
PH 552	Interventions for Health Equity	3
	Subtotal	15
	Practicum Experience
PH 598	Public Health Practicum	2
	Subtotal	2
	Culminating Experience (choose from):
PH 595 -and- PH 597	Introduction to Public Health Integrative Experience Public Health Integrative Experience	3
-or- PH 596	Professional Paper	3
	Subtotal	3

Concentrations

Community Health

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

		Credit Hours
	Concentration Courses
PH 533	Public Health Research Methods	3
PH 555	Public Health Evaluation Methods	3
PH 564	Public Health and Health Care Communication	3
	Subtotal	9
	Electives	13
	Degree Total	42

Epidemiology

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

		Credit Hours
	Concentration Courses
PH 534	Epidemiology Data Analysis	3
PH 537	Advanced Epidemiology Methods	3
PH 539	Advanced Biostatistics	3
	Subtotal	9
	Electives	13
	Degree Total	42

Health Systems, Services, and Policy

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

		Credit Hours
	Concentration Courses
PH 507	Health Care Systems	3
PH 510	Public Health and Health Care Management	3
PH 554	Health Policy, Politics and Social Equity	3
PH 583	Adv T: Health Sector and Globalization	3
	Subtotal	12
	Electives	10
	Degree Total	42

Graduate Minor

The graduate minor in Public Health provides a basic understanding of the core principles, sciences, and skills behind the discipline of public health. The four core courses in the minor include basic behavioral and social sciences, and the science of disease causation and distribution. The additional course is chosen from a selection of PH courses.

		Credit Hours
	Required Core Courses
PH 501	Determinants and Equity in Public Health	4
PH 502	Epidemiology and Biostatistics I	4
PH 513 -or- PH 538	Public Health Seminar Epidemiology and Biostatistics Workshop	1
PH 552	Interventions for Health Equity	3
	Subtotal	12
	Additional Course (Choose from):
PH 506	Environmental-Occupational Health	3
PH 507	Health Care Systems	3
PH 510	Public Health and Health Care Management	3
PH 554	Health Policy, Politics and Social Equity	3
	Subtotal	3
	Total	16