The MPH Programs

There are four concentrations for which the MPH is awarded:

• Biostatistics is quantitative field in which students learn how to collect, manage, and analyze public health data. This curriculum provides instruction in basic analytical methods and the use of statistical software.

• Community Health concentration prepares individuals to plan and conduct public health assessments and evaluations using collaborative organizational and community partnership skills.

• Epidemiology is the “basic science of public health,” and as such epidemiologists are health professionals who study disease, illness, and injuries and attempt to determine: who becomes ill; why certain people are more likely to become ill; and how to prevent the spread of illness.

• Health Services Administration concentration prepares individuals for a wide array of administrative positions in private and governmental health agencies. Students receive training in personnel management, marketing, finance, and health policy.

• Graduate Course Listings

Graduate Certificate Programs

Biostatistics Certificate Progam is a 15 hour graduate certificate in biostatistics designed to meet the needs of public health practitioners who desire additional training in biostatistics. A student electing this program will desire a career as a public health practitioner. Public health practitioners staff traditional health departments, managed care organizations, community-based organizations, international health agencies, and state and federal agencies.

Gerontology Graduate Certificate Program is an interdisciplinary 16-credit-hour program of study designed to provide the learner with leadership and management tools specifically for the health care environment. The focus of the program is to educate students who will become leaders in improving the quality of life for older individuals and their families in Tennessee, the nation, and the world. Faculty from the departments of Sociology, Psychology, Applied Human Sciences, Exercise and Sports Sciences, Public Health, Adult Nursing, Communicative Disorders, Physical Therapy, Social Work, and Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology design and teach the courses within the program.
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Epidemiology Certificate Program is a 15-credit- hour graduate program designed to provide the learner with a basic understanding of the concepts of epidemiology used in public health practice. Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of disease, illness, and injury. Epidemiologist are public health professionals who study disease, illness, and injuries and attempt to determine who becomes ill; why certain people are more likely to become ill; and how to prevent the spread of illness.

Health Care Management Graduate Certificate (HCM) is a structured, graduate level 18-credit-hour interdisciplinary program of study designed to provide the learner with leadership and strategic management tools specifically tailored to the health care environment. The focus of the program is to assist students in envisioning a broadened career perspective on the changing scope of health care delivery and management. Faculty from the colleges of Business, Nursing and Public Health design and teach the courses in the program.
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Program Admission Requirements

Admission to the graduate program in public health is based upon scholarship, health-related work experience, letters of recommendation, and evidence of previous achievement or potential.

1. Students must have a minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.75.
2. Complete the Graduate Record Examination.
3. At least two years of full-time public health related work experience is preferred.

ETSU School of Graduate Studies

Please contact the M.P.H. Coordinator at 423.439.4332 for additional information.

Master of Public Health Core

Master of Public Health Core		credit hours
PUBH 5020	Philosophy of Public Health	1
ENVH 5100	Environmental Health Practice I	3
PUBH 5200	Social & Behavioral Foundations of Public Health	3
PUBH 5310	Principles of Biostatistics	3
PUBH 5400	Principles of Epidemiology	3
PUBH 5500	Health Services Administration	3
total		16

Advisement

All graduate students must meet with their academic advisor each semester to discuss the program of study. Students are ultimately responsible for their program; however, counsel with an advisor will help to avoid problems in program planning. An advisor is assigned by the MPH coordinator upon the student's admission / acceptance into the program.

Tuition and fees are published in the ETSU Schedule of Classes Bulletin and Graduate Catalog. The student will incur the costs of tuition, room, board, and books. In addition, each student is responsible for all expenses related to the Field Internship including travel, housing, meals, tuition, health and liability insurance, personal, and incidental expenses. Financial aid through graduate assistantships, tuition scholarships, and student loans is available.

All students in the non-thesis option of the MPH program spend at least one semester in a planned, supervised work assignment in business / industry / voluntary health agency in order to enhance their classroom knowledge. Students participate in the planning and implementation of community health programs relating to the subject matter under discussion.

The Department of Public Health has undertaken the challenge of developing an aggressive research agenda. Students are presented with opportunities to gain skills in applied research methods to explore public health issues. Current research activities in the department address rural and community health, environmental epidemiology, health services delivery and primary care.