Undergraduate Program

Explores the role culture and meanings play in the conceptualization, experience, and treatment of health and illness, including healthcare interactions and outcomes. Cultural humility and respect are foundational concepts in this course.

Restriction: Admitted to the Pre-Health Scholars Certificate Program. Exceptions can be made by petition to the Director.

Explore the importance of integrating psychology into healthcare and gain skill development in patient communication, especially about difficult or uncomfortable topics.

Specific and explicit instruction on critical thinking and problem-solving in healthcare through group practice, discussion, and practical application in critical and integrative thinking using a variety of scenarios, case studies, and examples.

Restriction: Accepted into the Pre-Health Certificate Program. Exceptions can be made by petition to the Director.

Heavily weighted on skill development with a focus on engaged, respectful, and meaningful communication including engaged listening, narrative, metaphors, and facework. Praxis will focus on narrative medicine, motivational interviewing, writing, and interview skills.

Prerequisites: 400 and 402. 

Shadowing and Community Engagement field trips designed to help students make deep connections between social determinants of health, culture, and health professions with real-world contexts in both cognitive and affective ways.

Prerequisites: 400 and 402. 

Introduction to Population Health provides a population perspective on the multi-level (ecologic) determinants of health, disease and injury; the programs, policies and services that protect and promote health and prevent disease; and the analytic tools used by population health professionals.

Meets New Mexico General Education Curriculum Area 4: Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Global health is concerned with developing theories and methods to understand the roots of social, economic, political and environmental determinants of health, with a focus on the nature of health inequalities across the world.

Meets New Mexico General Education Curriculum Area 4: Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Introduction to biological disease basis, including cellular, physiological, genetic, immunologic, and environmental determinants. Pathologic mechanisms and host susceptibility for infectious and non-infectious diseases of population health importance including disease prevention/control delivered in a team-based format.

Prerequisite: BIOL 1110 or BIOL 1140 or BIOL 2110C or BIOL 2210 or BIOL 2305.

Examine and apply social, cultural, and behavioral theories and models that inform and strengthen population health practice. Theories are used to diagnose health and social problems and plan interventions to improve the public's health.

Prerequisite: 101 and 102.

Environmental and occupational health and safety; including regulatory processes, compliance, pollution prevention, drinking water, wastewater management, solid/hazardous waste, air quality, food protection, zoonotic and vector-borne disease control, radiation, injury prevention.

Prerequisite: 101 and 102.

Increase the analytical capacity and critical thinking in regards to the US health system, services and related policies. Reinforce the students¿ sense of social responsibility and further their understanding of population health approaches. 

Prerequisite: 101 and 102.

Introduction to health care finance for Population Health students.  The course will introduce basic concepts of health care finance: access, affordability, quality, and portability.

Prerequisite: 101 and 102.

Topics in population health that are not covered in the existing curriculum that are mutually agreed upon by students and faculty. May be repeated for credit provided the subject matter varies.

Foundational understanding of scientific paradigms, approaches, methods and designs on population health research; definitions of health research problems at population, community, social group, system and service levels; and ethical procedures.

Prerequisite: 201 and 221 and 230 and 240 and 241 and 311.

Introduction to analytic tools and methods used to quantify population health problems. Epidemiologists monitor, quantify and map disease, and critically assess the impact of medical treatments and population health interventions.

Prerequisite: MATH 1350.

Introduces population health data systems in clinical and public health settings including electronic health records, data standards, legal aspects of health information, coding, and reimbursement. Big healthcare data sources will be explored.

Prerequisite: 201 and 221 and 230 and 240 and 241 and 311.

Examine policies and interventions regarding population health outcomes. Methods to predict patient risk and engagement. Quality and safety strategies and benchmarks, and information technology for use in population health management decision support.

Prerequisite: 221 and 311.

Introduces students to core concepts in population-based primary and secondary prevention strategies for population health issues. Students will critically examine evidence-based guidelines used to informed population health interventions.

Prerequisite: 221.

Describe and apply assessment and planning processes to determine priorities for population health interventions. Provide overview of planning and development of population health interventions from a systems perspective, with attention to evidence-based, theoretical, and ethical approaches.

Prerequisite: 420.

Describe and apply the implementation/management and evaluation processes for population health interventions. Provides an overview of the implementation and evaluation of population health interventions from a systems perspective.

Prerequisite: 421.

Variable topics in population health provides students to work with faculty on topics that are not part of the curriculum.

This course focuses on the public health concepts related to determinants of health status and health disparities; behavioral, cultural, social, and political theories of disease and health inequities; prevention and health promotion; community-based interventions; and health policy.

This seminar focuses on the description and history of Maternal and Child Health programs, Title V programs (national and state), the populations served by Title V programs along with their specific needs, the life course perspective, and the developmental cycles.

This course focuses on career paths and the variety of professions working in maternal child health, policy initiatives in maternal child health on the national, state and local level, and evidence-based research on best practices in maternal child health programs.

MCH Seminar focuses on MCH in local communities.  Because New Mexico is primarily a rural/ frontier state with many diverse communities and high rates of poverty and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), this seminar will focus on the needs of communities, the services available, and the challenges involved in receiving services.

Provides an opportunity to earn credit hours (1-class, 5-field) through an experiential population health issue in a clinical or public health venue. This facilitates integration of classroom learning and practical experience during the Capstone.

Offered on a CR/NC basis only.

Prerequisite: 421.

Students work individually with faculty members on projects with individual supervision.

Prerequisite: 101 and 102.

Restriction: permission of advisor.

Concepts of public health related to determinants of health; cultural, social and political concepts of disease; disease prevention; health promotion, including individual behavior change and community based intervention; health policy.

Restriction: admitted to M.P.H. Public Health.

Provides an overview of the methods of epidemiologic research. Designed to provide students with the capability of understanding epidemiologic measures of disease occurrence, interpreting the findings of epidemiologic studies and integrating the results of epidemiologic research into public health practice.

Prerequisite: MATH 1350 with a grade of "B" or better.

Co-requisite: 538.

Applies the public health perspective to environmental and occupational disease. Students will learn to apply the ecologic principles of agent, host and environment to diseases associated with exposures to the physical environment and chemical contaminants.

Prerequisite: 501.

Provides an overview of how health care is delivered in the United States. A wide variety of delivery and payment methods are examined. In addition, the U.S. health care delivery systems will be compared to Native American, U.S. Mexican Border, Canadian and Cuban systems. Core option for students admitted any year; required for students year 2000 and later.

This course will examine the history and organization of the U.S. Healthcare System and will focus on the core functions in public health healthcare management. The role and elements of professionalism and ethics will be integrated throughout the course.

A graduate seminar and journal club focusing on a wide range of PH topics. Speakers present original research. Journal club guides students to critically assess literature. Two semesters required for credit.

Prerequisite: 502.

Social Epidemiology provides students with principles and methods of design, conduct analysis, and interpretation of epidemiologic research using a social epidemiology approach.

Prerequisite: 502 with a grade of "B" or better. 

Restriction: permission of instructor.

Learn basic epidemiological principles of infectious diseases. Learn and understand the multiple factors associated with spread of infectious agents within populations and development, application and evaluation of control measures to stop or prevent transmission.

Prerequisite: 502.

Review of a wide range of topics central to perinatal epidemiology. Highlighted topics will include conception and early fetal loss, design issues in studies of adverse reproductive outcomes and epidemiologic aspects and public health approaches to prevention of congenital malformation.

Prerequisite: 502.

Quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods of applying and understanding the scientific inquiry used in health and social sciences research. Identify health-related problems and formulate questions that can be translated into sound research designs.

Students will learn how to conduct a careful epidemiologic data analysis. The focus of the course is developing the practical and critical thinking skills to conduct an epidemiologic data analysis. This course is required for epidemiology concentration students.

Prerequisite: 502, 537, 538, and 539.

This course is designed to provide students with a greater depth of knowledge of the principles and methods central to the design, conduct, analysis, and interpretation of epidemiologic work.

Prerequisite: 502 and 538.

Restriction: permission of advisor.

Covers basic statistical methods including statistical summaries and inference. Methods of summarizing data include graphical displays and numerical summaries. Statistical inference includes hypothesis testing and confidence intervals. Methods for continuous and categorical data are studied.

Prerequisite: MATH 1220 with a grade of "B" or better.

Co-requisite: 502

Covers basic models used in the statistical analysis of studies in the medical sciences and public health field, with an emphasis on epidemiology. Linear regression, analysis of variance, logistic regression, and survival models are studied.

Prerequisite: 502 and 538.

An exploration of rational health planning methods. Methods will be applied in the development of a health program plan within a social context where public health planning actually occurs. Involves the development of a realistic program plan addressing a health-related problem and writing a proposal for funding.

Provides students with understanding of factors within and outside of health care system. Reviews social policy in addressing coverage of uninsured, improving population health and reducing social inequities. Examination of frameworks and politics of policy programs.

Introduces students to the language and theory of program evaluation to undertake their own evaluation design: how to pose evaluation research questions; data collection methodologies available to them; how to make decisions about appropriate data collection methods for different types of evaluation objectives.

Presents historical background, underlying assumptions, principles and steps for conducting CBPR. Introduces indigenous and decolonizing theories and methodologies of CBPR. Develops perspective on roles of culture, race, gender, and power in academic-community research partnerships.

The course is designed for investigators planning to conduct population or clinical research within a public health approach, and provides an overview to fundamental conceptual and methodological considerations.

Restriction: admitted to M.P.H. Public Health.

Communication for health and social change is a process of public/private communication through which people define who they are, what they need, and how to get what they need in order to improve their lives.

This course focuses on the public health concepts related to determinants of health status and health disparities; behavioral, cultural, social, and political theories of disease and health inequities; prevention and health promotion; community-based interventions; and health policy.

This seminar focuses on the description and history of Maternal and Child Health programs, Title V programs (national and state), the populations served by Title V programs along with their specific needs, the life course perspective, and the developmental cycles.

This course focuses on career paths and the variety of professions working in maternal child health, policy initiatives in maternal child health on the national, state and local level, and evidence-based research on best practices in maternal child health programs.

MCH Seminar focuses on MCH in local communities.  Because New Mexico is primarily a rural/ frontier state with many diverse communities and high rates of poverty and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), this seminar will focus on the needs of communities, the services available, and the challenges involved in receiving services.

Gives students applied understanding of public health disparities, equity challenges, and assets in the U.S.-Mexico border region. Community-based learning via site visit to border region with Web-CT enhanced instruction.

Course integrates physical, cultural, social, political, intellectual and emotional wellbeing of Indigenous populations globally. It examines health as a collective and individual inter-generational continuum that links to health status, practices, data, equity, policy and systems.

The course will follow a seminar format to analyze the U.S. health sector reform debate and legislation submitted to Congress while using other country experiences to highlight similarities and differences/pros and cons.

Restriction: permission of advisor.

Students work individually with faculty members on projects with individual supervision.

The Master of Public Health Culminating Experienc is designed to integrate knowledge and skills of the core MPH and concentration competencies by applying these skills and knowledge to address relevant public health problems. Students also discuss and reflect on their own growth as public health professionals.

Introduction and preparation for PH 597 Public Health Integrative Experience. Students will evaluate and define the public health status and needs of a community. Preparation for construction and evaluation of interventions in PH 597.

Restriction: admitted to M.P.H. Public Health.

The professional paper allows the student to engage in analyzing or solving a real public health problem. Offered on a CR/NC basis only.

One of three options for Culminating Experience. Students will conduct a computer-based systematic review of the epidemiologic and health intervention literature, perform epi data analysis and apply other planning and evaluation techniques to develop a prevention plan for a New Mexico population.

Restriction: admitted to M.P.H. Public Health.

Individually arranged field experience to develop and refine professional public health skills.

Offered on a CR/NC basis only.

Restriction: permission of instructor.

Faculty-supervised investigative study that results in the development and writing of a master’s thesis.

Offered on a CR/NC basis only.

Restriction: permission of instructor.

Special topics in advanced epidemiology for doctoral students in the Epidemiology Concentration.

Students will be trained to members of a multi-disciplinary research team and generate study designs including statistical power calculation and analysis plans for research grant proposals; conduct analysis, and communicate results for dissemination.

The course will explore the intersectionality of culture, race, class, gender, education, and other forms of identity, from a socio-political context, with implications for policy, practices, and programs that can transform socio-environmental conditions towards health.

Provides Community Based Participatory Research doctoral concentration students with a mentored research lab to apply their understandings of community-engaged and participatory theories, principles, design and methods in a concentration or community-engaged research project.

This is a special topics course created for the PhD in Health Equity Sciences.

This course provides an overview of the core topics on global health, including global conditions, policies that shaped the field, governance and cooperation systems, and the complex itinerary of the health systems during globalization.

This course discusses and explores theoretically driven methods in applied policy analysis through equity and social justice lens. Students will learn the application of five-steps in policy analysis from the approach of evidence informed policy making.

General Seminar course for the PhD in Health Equity Sciences.

Faculty-supervised investigative study that results in the development and writing of a doctoral dissertation

Offered on a CR/NC basis only.