Public Health (PHP)
https://chhs.unh.edu/health-management-policy/program/mph/public-health
Degrees Offered:
Master of Public Health (MPH), and Public Health Certificate, (PHC)
The Public Health (MPH), and Public Health Certificate programs are pausing admissions to the program for the 2024-2025 academic year. Current students will continue to have access to the same high-quality education and resources until they graduate
The Department of Health Management and Policy offers a Master of Public Health (MPH) and a certificate of Public Health (PHC). The programs are designed to provide students with an integrated generalist certificate or MPH degree. The MPH program is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).
The Mission
Through instruction, research and service, the mission of the Master of Public Health (MPH) Program at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) develops public health professionals prepared to enter a collaborative public health workforce, while focusing on improving societal health and health equity.
The Vision
The Vision of the Public Health programs are guided by the overall values of the College of Health and Human Services:
- Cooperation in the planning, management, and work of the College.
- Curiosity as a core strategic concept.
- Excellence both in our individual and collective actions.
- Integrity to have ethical behavior in our working relationships, practices and decisions.
- Leadership for improving the health of individuals, families, and communities.
- Openness in communications and decision-making.
- Respect for individuals’ roles, diversity, contributions, and viewpoints.
- Service to UNH, the public, and others to improve health and health care.
- Sustainability of our College as an educational leader.
In addition, the MPH program promotes the development of our students into forward-thinking public health professionals by including curriculum and experience in:
- Advocacy: Promoting the health of populations
- Evidence-based practicing: Valuing best practices and maximizing faculty expertise through research, shared learning, and practical learning experiences
- Integration: Encouraging collaborative and critical thinking of strategies to better incorporate Public Health with health and health care systems.
- Social Justice: Health equity, and integrity
The Public Health Certificate Program provides a vehicle for individuals working in public or community health positions with the opportunity to earn a graduate certificate in public health. To enter the certificate program, an applicant must have a baccalaureate degree. Upon completion of the certificate program, students can apply to the MPH program. If admitted into the MPH program, the certificate credits will be applied to the MPH degree program.
The Master of Public Health (MPH) and Public Health Certificate (PHC) seek to enhance the capacity of public health professionals through the 22 competencies of Council on Education for Public Health, (CEPH), to perform the 10 Essential Services of Public Health. The program is a part-time program offered only on the University of New Hampshire Manchester Campus. Academic. Courses are typically offered for four hours once weekly for eight weeks. Working professionals can complete the MPH program in as little as five semesters, but have up to three years to complete the degree requirements.
For the purposes of determining academic standing, grades below the “B-” level in graded courses are considered failing grades. The MPH program director will recommend dismissal of a student to the Graduate School when a failing grade occurs in six or more credits, either in two courses or in one course taken twice. Repeating a course does not remove the original failing grade from the record. Students must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 (B), or higher, in order to graduate. Students admitted on a conditional or provisional basis must meet the conditions or provisions as stated in the letter of admission in order to remain in the Graduate School.
Admission Requirements
(Please note that this part-time program does not meet the full-time study requirements for international applicants requiring an F-1 or J-1 visas.)
Applications are accepted for fall, spring, and summer semesters. The program encourages applications from persons who hold a minimum of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university. The admission committee uses previous academic records, current public health experience, responses to five essay questions regarding your interest in pursuing graduate education in public health, and recommendations from three individuals as indicators of success. Interviews with the program director are encouraged.
For more information on admission requirements please see the Graduate School website.
Public Health (PHP)
PHP 900 - Public Health Care Systems
Credits: 3
The focus of this course is on the pattern of services in the United States and on the structure and function of their component parts. It examines the impact on the system of a wide range of external factors including social, political, economic, professional, legal, and technological forces.
Equivalent(s): HMP 960A
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PHP 901 - Epidemiology
Credits: 3
Exploration of factors underlying the distribution and determinants of states of health in various human populations. Emphasis is placed on investigative techniques, epidemiologic methodology, and disease prevention.
Prerequisite(s): PHP 900 with a minimum grade of B-.
Equivalent(s): HMP 960B
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PHP 902 - Environmental Health
Credits: 3
This course offers a general introduction to the ecological basis of health and disease. It applies the principles and framework of ecosystems to human health problems associated with environmental hazards, including toxic and infectious agents that contaminate our air, water, food, the work place and other special environments. Links between environmental and occupational health effects will be explored within the public health model. Policy required for regulation and alternative strategies for prevention will be discussed.
Equivalent(s): HMP 960C
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PHP 903 - Biostatistics
Credits: 3
This course introduces students to the principles of biostatistics. Students learn through classroom instruction, lab instruction and exercises, a variety of statistical methods in public health. Students review measures of central tendency, rates, and standardization, probability, sampling, hypothesis testing, comparisons, and simple, multiple and logistic regression techniques. Unlike other core courses in the MPH Program which are 8 weeks in length, this course is 16 weeks in length.
Equivalent(s): HMP 960D
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PHP 904 - Social and Behavioral Health
Credits: 3
A graduate level course which provides fundamental concepts of the behavioral sciences as they illuminate public health. Since public health practice is the application of physical, biological and behavioral knowledge to living societies, a firm understanding of human social organization and behavior is essential. Individual and community responses to prevention, identification of symptoms, diagnoses, treatments, chronic ailments and rehabilitation are discussed. In each of these areas, the course explores the interaction between community, family, patient, and health care provider.
Equivalent(s): HMP 960F
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PHP 905 - Public Health Administration
Credits: 3
This course focuses on public health managers, organizational culture, management process, management functions and roles, leadership, motivation, communication, and human resource management.
Equivalent(s): HMP 960E
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PHP 906 - Public Health Finance and Budgeting
Credits: 3
This course introduces and develops the financial concepts, financial management and budgeting tools important for managing public health organizations, including utilizing financial statements, basic accounting conventions, the process of developing and managing a programmatic budget, grant submission and management, and resource allocation. Questions, problems, and case studies will be used to reinforce discussions, develop, and utilize problem-solving skills to apply to real world situations. Cannot earn credit if credit receive for PHP 985A Special Topic: Financial Resource Mgt.
Prerequisite(s): PHP 900 with a minimum grade of B-.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PHP 907 - Public Health Policy
Credits: 3
An analysis of the public policy process, the development of public health policy in the United States, and a discussion of specific public health policy issues with international comparisons. This course begins with an analytical framework for analyzing the American political system and process. It is followed by a general introduction to health policy in the United States with examples of specific policies and programs. Students will be asked to examine specific public health policy in-depth.
Equivalent(s): HMP 960H
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PHP 908 - Public Health Ethics
Credits: 3
This course examines selected ethical issues arising in public health policy and practice and ethical dilemmas faced by public health professionals, practitioners, and researchers. Students analyze competing personal, organizational, professional, and societal interests, values, and responsibilities. Case studies apply different models of ethical decision making and provide MPH students with an added opportunity to explore and clarify their values and those of their colleagues.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PHP 912 - Public Health Law and Negotiation
Credits: 3
This course will provide an overview of legal systems as they relate to public health by addressing the legal basis needed to practice public health, enforce compliance with public health regulations, manage public health programs, and organizations. Core elements will be introduced such as, elements of law, legal practice, reasoning, negotiation, and their applications with public health, i.e., limitation and authority of state governments and agencies in matters affecting the publics' health will be discussed.
Prerequisite(s): PHP 900 with a minimum grade of B-.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PHP 922 - Public Health Economics
Credits: 3
This course gives each student a hands-on opportunity to become familiar with a broad range of health economics issues and analyses. The objective is to help its graduates successfully compete for advancement in careers requiring knowledge of health policy analysis.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PHP 924 - Policy and Practice of Community Health Assessment
Credits: 3
This course explores the process of community health assessment as a tool for bridging the gap between public health and the personal health care system. It provides an historical perspective of using population based measurements as a framework for health improvement initiatives. It examines several community health assessment methodologies and explores the complexity of developing a community-based health assessment.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PHP 926 - Evaluation in Public Health
Credits: 3
An introduction to program evaluation as it relates to public health practice and research, primarily in the United States. Public health-specific examples are presented throughout the course. Includes discussion of striking a balance between scientific rigor and the practicalities often faced by program evaluators.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PHP #934 - Work Environment Policy and the Health of Workers
Credits: 3
Overview of occupational safety and health policy in the U.S. Focus on the legal context, especially on OSHA, and provides an analytical framework for examining the role of social, economic, and political factors in the recognition and control of occupational hazards. Some attention to the more technical aspects of this field (e.g., industrial hygiene, ergonomics, general health and safety); emphasis on understanding current occupational health and safety policies and controversies.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PHP 985A - Special Topics in Policy and Management
Credits: 1-3
Study of a special topic in Public Health Policy and Management.
Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 3 credits.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PHP 990 - Field Study
Credits: 3
This course provides a 16-week long opportunity for students to synthesize, integrate, and apply the skills and competencies they have acquired during enrollment in the MPH Program and apply them to a public health problem or project in a professional public health practice setting. Students are expected to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the organization (not including preparation time) exploring how that organization deals with a particular public health issue and working on a project for that organization. In addition, students present the findings of their work in a poster session following the conclusion of the course. This public health experience is conducted under the direction of a faculty member and a community public health mentor. This class meets one hour prior to the regularly scheduled core and elective courses in the MPH Program.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PHP 995 - Independent Study
Credits: 1-3
Directed readings and other activities to explore a specific topic related to public health.
Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 3 credits.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PHP 998 - Integrating Seminar
Credits: 3
This final course in the MPH curriculum serves as the capstone to the MPH degree and provides the opportunity for students to work in teams, bringing both their individual and joint perspectives and expertise, to address a particular public health problem for a New Hampshire-based public health entity. This course incorporates substantive, analytical, administrative, and policy perspectives. Students make a formal presentation of recommendations at the conclusion of the course. This class meets one hour prior to the regularly scheduled core and elective courses in the MPH Program.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading