DEPT. OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
& BIOSTATISTICS

GRADUATE PROGRAMS

Public Health

A Master of Public Health degree is designed to prepare students to address the broad mission of public health, defined as "enhancing health in human populations, through organized community effort," utilizing education, research, and community service. Public health practitioners are prepared to identify and assess the health needs of different populations, and then to plan, implement and evaluate programs to meet those needs. It is the task of the public health practitioner to protect and promote the wellness of humankind. A Master of Public Health degree requires education in knowledge basic to public health, including biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health sciences, health services administration and social and behavioral sciences. Individual interest, experience, and program resources guide emphasis for different students.

While a Master of Science degree in epidemiology, biostatistics, or other health-related fields prepares the student for research or further training, a Master of Public Health program provides a broad base of knowledge and skills necessary in various areas of public health. In addition to providing students with this broad foundation, an MPH program provides students with experience in the application of this knowledge and their newly developed skills to community health problems. The Case MPH Program has a particular emphasis on urban health and care of the underserved.

Anyone with career interest in working with communities to improve the health of their members should consider the Case MPH Program. The program is especially suited to those with previous experience in public health, those with advanced degrees, or those in training for advanced degrees. Degrees with shared interest and content with public health include medicine, nursing, dentistry, law, anthropology, sociology, bioethics, management and social work. Joint degrees between different graduate programs are strongly encouraged.

There is no shortage of disease and high-risk health behavior. The population of the United States in general and Ohio specifically are severely impacted by numerous preventable diseases and injuries for which we have been unable to find causes or cures, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV and other infectious diseases, cancer, and intentional and unintentional injury. The demand for health care workers, including individuals trained in public health, has grown consistently at both the regional and the national levels.

The Master of Public Health degree is considered to be a prerequisite for professional employment and advancement in many sectors of the health field. Graduates of the MPH program will be qualified for employment in local and state health departments, universities and colleges, hospitals, ambulatory medical centers, nonprofit organizations, community-based agencies, insurance and pharmaceutical industries, health maintenance organizations, and private foundations. Many employers, particularly in private industry, are willing to support all or part of the tuition costs of an MPH degree program for current employees.

Case MPH Program Curriculum

The Case MPH Program has a two-year curriculum requiring 36 credit hours. A total of 15 credits are accumulated in five core required courses, representing the fundamental domains of public health: biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health sciences, health services administration, and social and behavioral sciences. Students will receive nine credits for three courses in the Concentration of their choice, three credits for an elective course, and nine credits from the "Capstone Experience," a public health field practicum encompassing one semester of the MPH program. Previous experience or education pertaining to public health may increase the student's flexibility in course selection. Students may also enroll part-time and take courses over a period of five-years.

Concentrations

Currently, seven different tracks or "concentrations" are offered by the MPH Program: Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Health Services Research, Health Care Administration, Urban Health, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, and Genetic Epidemiology. Plans are underway to establish additional concentrations in Adolescent Health (Spring 2002) and International Health. Each concentration has required courses (in addition to the core requirements plus selective offerings to be combined for a total of 9 credit hours in concentration coursework. Individual emphasis will differ from student to student within each concentration.

Required Concentration Courses

Biostatistics MPHP 432: Statistical Methods II MPHP 442: Biostatistics II MPHP 447: Survey Sampling Methods in Health Sciences Health Services Research MPHP 432: Statistical Methods II MPHP 460: Health Research Methods I EPBI 461: Health Research Methods II Urban Health MPHP 447: Survey Sampling Methods in Health Sciences EPBI 488: Gender, Ethnicity and Health Research Genetic Epidemiology EPBI 451: Principles of Genetic Epidemiology EPBI 455: Genetic Epidemiology of Complex Diseases

Epidemiology MPHP 491: Statistical Methods in Epidemiology MPHP 494: Infectious Disease Epidemiology Health Care Administration MPHP 408: Public Policy and Aging MPHP 467: Cost Effectiveness MPHP 468: Continuous Quality Improvement Health Promotion and Disease Prevention MPHP 463: Survey Design & Data Collection MPHP 433: Community Interventions & Program Evaluation (fall 2001)

Capstone Experience

The Capstone Experience is the centerpiece of the MPH Program. The Capstone Experience will provide students with a semester-long field placement, affording students the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired through their academic course work in a real life setting in their area of personal interest. During the field practicum, the student will complete a service-oriented project mutually beneficial to the student's academic progress and the needs of the field placement site. The nature of the project will be determined jointly by the student, the field site director and the student's faculty advisor. The student will also complete a Master's Essay describing and evaluating the project. Examples of available placement sites are listed below. It is anticipated that more practicum sites will be added as the program matures. The Capstone Experience is supplemented by the Public Health Capstone Seminar Series. The series provides a forum for Public Health students to meet with and learn about community organizations, brainstorm about possible "Capstone" experiences that might be developed, troubleshoot current projects as needed, and to forge and maintain ongoing relationships with community organizations.

Capstone Field Practicum Placement Sites

AIDS Task Force of Greater Cleveland
Community Health Access Project, Inc.
County of Cuyahoga, Health Policy and Programs
Cleveland Department of Public Health
Cuyahoga County Early Start Program
Case Dept. of Family Medicine
Case School of Medicine-Dept. of Continuing Medical Education
Federation for Community Planning
Free Clinic of Greater Cleveland
Geauga County Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Metro Health Medical Center
Shaker Heights Department of Health

 

Examples of Capstone

Domestic Violence
The Talibans' War on Women
Community Physician Network
Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health: It Takes a Whole Community
Infant Death
Public Health, Bioterrorism & the Medical Community's Response
Adolescent Health
War & Public Health
Infections & Inequalities
Federation for Community Planning
Free Clinic of Cleveland
Substance Abuse Initiative
Cuyahoga County Board of Health
The Value and Need for Academic Research and Practical Research in the Real World
MetroHealth System

Admission Requirements for the Case MPH Program

Prospective students are required to submit an application, three letters of recommendation, official transcripts of previously completed undergraduate and graduate course work, and the official scores from the General Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Students may substitute scores from the LSAT, the MCAT, or the DCAT for the GRE. Applicants must have good academic records from fully accredited universities and colleges. Accordingly, the Case MPH Program requires that student demonstrate an overall grade point average of 3.0 in previously completed undergraduate and graduate course work. Students must demonstrate verbal and quantitative skills, as tested by the Graduate Record Examination. It is anticipated that students admitted to the program will, 1) already hold other advanced degrees, such as an MD, JD, MSW, MBA, MS, MEd, or PhD degree, 2) will be in pursuit of an advanced degree at the time of their application or, 3) in cases where the student does not hold an advanced degree, will have had substantial public health experience or interest.

For more information contact Program Administrator, Virginia Morrison, Room WG74, Case School of Medicine, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106-4945.
Phone: (216) 368-3128; E-Mail: vxg6@case.edu