2023-24 Edition

Public Health, M.S.

The distinctive mission of the Master of Science in Public Health is to prepare the next generation of researchers for global health and disease population around the world in order to advance global health research and reduce the burden of disease, especially in the world’s most vulnerable and risk-associated populations. Graduates of the M.S. program will be prepared to contribute to the improvement of global health and the solution of disease prevention.

Only students in our existing Public Health Ph.D. program who determine that the Ph.D. track is not fit for them, or due to extenuating circumstances are not able to continue toward the Ph.D. would be able to earn the M.S. Public Health. Students cannot apply to the M.S. program.

Thesis

M.S. students will engage in thesis research with their faculty advisor. The students’ final thesis will be submitted to a M.S. thesis committee. Students must submit thesis committee members and thesis topic to their faculty mentor for approval, before advancement to candidacy will be approved. The thesis should reflect an original research investigation and must be approved by a thesis committee of at least three full-time faculty members, all of which must be public health faculty. The final examination is an oral presentation of the thesis to the committee.

Program Requirements

All M.S. students are required to complete 64 quarter-units according to the following modules: 

A. Complete the Preparatory Module:
PUBHLTH 200 Foundations of Public Health
PUBHLTH 206B Intermediate Epidemiology
PUBHLTH 207A Probability and Statistics in Public Health
PUBHLTH 207B Analysis of Public Health Data Using Statistical Software
PUBHLTH 283 Geographic Information Systems for Public Health
PUBHLTH 287 Qualitative Research Methods in Public Health
PUBHLTH 292 Ethics and Responsible Conduct of Research in Public Health
PUBHLTH 294 Research Communication in Public Health
PUBHLTH 298 Directed Studies in Public Health
B. Students must complete one of the following Concentration modules:
Concentration Module: Disease Prevention
PUBHLTH 208 Advances in Social Epidemiology
PUBHLTH 244 Health Behavior Theory
PUBHLTH 245 Health Promotion Planning
PUBHLTH 246 Social Research Methods
or
Concentration Module: Global Health
PUBHLTH 213 Epidemiology in Global Health
PUBHLTH 280 Global Burden of Disease
PUBHLTH 286 Advanced Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Epidemiology
C. Complete the Elective Module: Risk Factors and Vulnerable Population
Select three courses from the following:
Introduction to Clinical Epidemiology
Disparities in Health and Health Care
Cultural and Historial Precedents for Latinos and Medical Care
Cultural and Historical Precedents for Latinos and Medical Care
Latinos/Latinas and Medical Care: Contemporary Issues
Latinos/Latinas and Medical Care: Contemporary Issues
Hate Crime
Psychosocial Occupational Epidemiology
Health Psychology
Cancer Epidemiology
Genetic Epidemiology
Environmental Epidemiology
Introduction to Statistical Genetics
Chronic Disease Epidemiology & Prevention
Toxic Chemicals in Environment
Global Physical Climatology
Molecular Virology
Clinical Cancer
Health Psychology
Biobehavioral Aspects of Health and Illness
Advances in Social Epidemiology 2
Methods of Demographic Analysis
Advanced Epidemiologic Methods
Epidemiology in Global Health 1
Health Policy and Management
Risk Communication
Theories of Health Communication
Health Behavior Theory 2
Health Promotion Planning 2
Social Research Methods 2
Program Evaluation
Fundamentals of Maternal and Child Health - Programs, Problems, and Policy
Introduction to Environmental Health Science
Air Pollution, Climate, and Health
Target Organ Toxicology I
Target Organ Toxicology II
Special Topics in Environmental & Occupational Health
Global Burden of Disease 1
Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Advanced Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Epidemiology 1
Special Topics in Global Health and Disease Prevention 1
Special Topics in Public Health
Race and Ethnicity
Special Topics: Social Inequality
Special Topics: Social Demography
Special Topics

The M.S. in Public Health prepares graduates to pursue careers in policy analysis, monitoring and evaluation of public health programs, and academic and programmatic research. They will engage and develop global health research at national and international government agencies, NGOs, the private sector and academic institutions.