Master of Public Health

In the College of Veterinary Medicine .

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The Cornell University Master of Public Health Program offers a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree through the Graduate School . Concentrations for the Cornell M.P.H. degree include:

• Food Systems and Health
• Infectious Disease Epidemiology

Requirements

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RequirementsThe M.P.H. program is made up of three types of courses: Core, Concentration, and integrative. All students take Core courses at the same time, in a prescribed sequence. All concentration cohorts take their Concentration courses at the same time, in a prescribed sequence. (moved) All students must complete both applied practice and integrative learning courses to complement their concentration course work. The entire program takes two academic years to complete (50 credits of in-person study). Alternative course of study pathways exist for students matriculated into the Accelerated or Part-time programs.

• Core courses: Students must take 30 credits of required core courses for graduation, reflecting the Program’s commitment to broad, generalizable professional public health education and training. A number of these courses are community engaged – students will work on real-life projects with and for community and government partners. Accelerated students take 26 credits of core courses.

• Concentration courses: Students must take 9 credits of required concentration-specific courses for graduation, reflecting the Program’s commitment to development of expertise in one area of public health. 

• Applied Practice and Integrative Learning: Students complete up to 7 credits of courses that prepare them for applied practice experiences, and facilitate integrative learning related to the student’s concentration area. As a part of this, students engage in extra-curricular project work under the supervision of a public health mentor, and develop products of benefit to the field of public health.

• Electives: Elective courses offer students an opportunity to pursue their individual interests through a system of structured choices. Most students take at least 4-credits of elective courses. (accelerated students are exempt)

Coursework

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Core Course Requirements

Core Courses (credits noted in parentheses)

• VTPEH 6100 - Public Health Colloquium  (1)
• VTPEH 6101 - Public Health Foundations I   (2)
• VTPEH 6102 - Public Health Foundations II   (3)
• VTPEH 6103 - Public Health Policy   (3)
• VTPEH 6104 - Epidemiology in Practice   (3)
• VTPEH 6105 - Biostatistics for Health Sciences   (3)
• VTPEH 6107 - One Health   (1)
• VTPEH 6108 - Applied Data Analysis   (2)
• VTPEH 6181 - Public Health Practice - Assessment   (3)
• VTPEH 6182 - Public Health Practice - Planning   (3)
• VTPEH 6183 - Public Health Practice – Monitoring, Evaluation, and Quality Improvement   (3)
• VTPEH 6184 - Public Health Practice - Communication  (3)

Concentration Area Requirements

Must complete 1 Concentration Area 

Infectious Disease Epidemiology     

• VTPEH 6111 - Infectious Disease and Health   (3) 
• VTPEH 6112 - [Biology of Disease Vectors]   (3) 
• VTPEH 6113 - Advanced Epidemiologic Methods   (3)

OR

Food Systems and Health

• VTPEH 6121 - Food Systems and Health   (3)
• VTPEH 6122 - Public Health Nutrition    (3)
• VTPEH 6123 - Food Systems Approaches to Food Safety    (3)

Applied Practice & Integrative Learning

Must complete Applied Practice & Integrative Learning courses

• VTPEH 6191 - Public Health Applied Practice Experience I  (1)
• VTPEH 6192 - Public Health Applied Practice Experience II  (1)
• VTPEH 6194 - Public Health Integrative Learning Experience I  (3)
• VTPEH 6195 - Public Health Integrative Learning Experience II  (2)

Curriculum Milestones

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Students must:

• Achieve at least a C in each course. Failure to achieve a C will require repeating the course until a C is achieved
• Be assessed as Competent in each competency area (40). If competence is not achieved, student must work with M.P.H. faculty or designee to build and demonstrate competence anew. In some cases, achieving competence may require repeating the course.
• Complete one or more Applied Practice Experience under the supervision of a public health practitioner.
• Develop and submit a portfolio to document competence
• Complete an Integrative Learning Experience/written capstone project that has value to the field of public health.

If sufficient concern exists at the end of the first or second semester  about student performance and/or competence mastery, students will meet with Program leadership about the appropriateness of continuing to the next phase of the program.

Other Requirements

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To receive the Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree, candidates must successfully: complete all curricular requirements, achieve a grade of C or above in each class, demonstrate competence in all 40-defined areas in their Portfolio, pay all fees, and be recommended for graduation by the faculty of the Program.

Learning Outcomes

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Master of Public Health Program learning outcomes are building blocks to develop student foundational knowledge and competence in the following ten domains defined by the Council on Education for Public Health. Students demonstrate competence in these areas through coursework and applied, real world training, so that students acquire the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to excel in the public health workforce:

Foundational Knowledge

• Knowledge of the science and practice of public health consists of history and values, core functions, causes and trends of health outcomes, science of prevention, and importance of evidence.
• Knowledge of factors related to human health consists of environmental, biological and genetic, behavioral and psychological, socioeconomic and political, globalization, and One Health.

Foundational Competence

• Evidence-based approaches to public health consists of applying, selecting, analyzing and interpreting epidemiology, quantitative and qualitative methods, and data.
•  Public health and health care systems consists of comparing and discussing structures and functions of different health systems, and structural bias and inequities in systems.
•  Planning and management to promote health consists of assessing, applying and designing population needs assessments, interventions, cultural competence, budget and resource management, and program evaluation.
•  Policy in public health consists of discussing policy-making processes, ethics and evidence, proposing strategies for coalition building, and advocating for and evaluating policies.
•  Leadership consists of creating visions, empowering others, fostering collaboration, guiding decision-making, negotiation and mediation.
•  Communication consists of selecting and applying communication strategies for different audiences, written and oral presentations, and cultural competence.
•  Interprofessional practice consists of collaborative teamwork across professions and disciplines.
• Systems thinking consists of applying different systems thinking tools to public health issues.

Concentration Competence

In addition, students develop competence in a specific concentration area:

• Food Systems and Health concentration students learn to analyze and depict food systems from production to consumption, apply interdisciplinary approaches to contextualize food systems and health, research and evaluate food system interventions, investigate and communicate food safety risks, and analyze public health nutritional problems and policies.
• Infectious Disease Epidemiology concentration students learn to understand and explain infectious disease events, assess epidemiological and statistical methodologies, interpret how environmental and socioeconomic systems affect infectious disease, compare prevention and control strategies, and critique diagnostic and detection systems.