• Description of Program
• Degree Requirements
• Special Opportunities
• Careers

Description of Program

The Family Health concentration trains students to develop and implement effective strengths based interventions, educational programs, and policies to enhance the health and wellness of individuals and families across the lifespan. Students learn how families can affect individual health, how individual health affects families, how the social and cultural experiences of diverse families influence health, and how external social systems influence health through their effects on families. Students have the opportunity to work with an interdisciplinary faculty with expertise in a variety of topics including: lifespan development, gerontology, adolescent health, life crises, family diversity, as well as family transitions and interactions.

Degree Requirements

A minimum of 43 graduate credit hours is required for this program.  A minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA) is required for graduation. A minimum grade of C– is required in each course. All electives for completing the degree must be approved by the advisor. Prerequisite courses may be prescribed for students lacking sufficient background for graduate study in public health.

Master of Public Health Degree Requirements (43 credits)

MPH Degree Common Course Requirements (22 credits)

Complete each of the following public health core courses (15 cr.):

• SPH-B 589 Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health (3 cr.)
• SPH-E 651 Epidemiology (3 cr.)
• SPH-P 510 Organization and Administration of Public Health Programs (3 cr.)
• SPH-Q 501 (Formerly: HPER-T 591) Introduction to Statistics in Public Health (3 cr.)
• SPH-V 541 (Formerly: HPER-V 512) Environmental Health Science (3 cr.)

Complete each of the following required public health courses. (7 cr.):

• SPH-F 696 Field Experience in Public Health (5 cr.) (prerequisite: GPA of at least 3.0)
• SPH-F 698 MPH Culminating Experience (2 cr.)

Family Health Concentration (21 credits)

Complete each of the following courses (12 cr.):

• SPH-F 510 African American and Latino Families (3 cr.)
• SPH-F 557 Stress and Resilience in the Family and Community (3 cr.) (p: SPH-E 611)
• SPH-F 654 Conceptual Frameworks in Human Development and Family Studies (3 cr.)
• SPH-F 656 Families and Health (3 cr.)

Complete one of the following courses (3 cr.):

• SPH-B 615 Health, Longevity and Integrative Therapies in the Later Years (3 cr.)
• SPH-F 531 Human Development I: Preconception to Age 6 (3 cr.)
• SPH-F 532 Human Development II: Ages 6-19 (3 cr.)
• SPH-F 533 Human Development III: Adulthood (3 cr.)

Complete six credits of graduate-level electives selected in consultation with the student's advisor (6 cr.):

Special Opportunities

Degree programs in public health balance theoretical knowledge with professional experiences through internships and opportunities to work with faculty on research, teaching, and service projects. Students in the Family Health concentration will have the opportunity to work with faculty with diverse research and program focuses to develop knowledge and skills in their area of interest. The Master of Public Health (MPH) degree program is accredited by the Council for Education in Public Health (CEPH).

Careers

Graduates of the MPH in Family Health have numerous employment opportunities including:

• Family, youth, or senior services program director
• Director of family or caregiver support agency
• Family or senior services case worker
• Family resource coordinator
• Parent and family educator
• Family advocate
• Rehabilitation coordinator
• After school program director or coordinator
• Pastoral care