Public Health, M.P.H.

(Major Code: 12141) (SIMS Code: 557301)

Admission to the Degree Curriculum

Applicants seeking admission to public health concentration areas leading to either the Master of Public Health or Master of Science degree should contact the School of Public Health requesting appropriate descriptive materials. Detailed application instructions can be obtained from http://publichealth.sdsu.edu.

JDP students from Clinical Psychology seeking the concurrent MPH degree should consult with their program director and fill out the appropriate form to request admission to the degree program.

Students who do not fully meet the requirements for admission with classified graduate standing may be considered for conditionally classified graduate standing upon recommendation of the admissions committee and the graduate adviser.

Advancement to Candidacy

All students must: (1) meet the general requirements for advancement to candidacy as described in Requirements for Master’s Degrees ; (2) satisfactorily pass a faculty evaluation of the progress that they are making in their graduate course of study; (3) complete the core courses, P H 601 , P H 602 , P H 603 , P H 604 , P H 605 (students in health management and policy will substitute P H 641 for P H 605 , and students in health promotion and behavioral science will substitute P H 661 and P H 662 for P H 603 ); have a grade point average of at least 3.0 and no grade less than a B- in each core course completed; and (4) have completed at least 12 semester units of approved public health coursework.

In addition, the student must be recommended for advancement to candidacy by the faculty of the School of Public Health.

Specific Requirements

(Students in health management and policy will substitute P H 641 for P H 605 and students in health promotion and behavioral science will substitute P H 661 and P H 662 for P H 603 )

In addition to meeting the requirements for classified graduate standing and the basic requirements for the master’s degree as described in Requirements for Master’s Degrees , the student must complete an officially approved course of study of not less than 51 units (59 units for students in Health Management and Policy) including:

P H 601 - Epidemiology Units: 3
P H 602 - Biostatistics Units: 3
P H 603 - Behavioral and Social Science in Public Health Units: 3
P H 604 - Environmental Determinants of Human Health Units: 3
P H 605 - Health Services Administration Units: 3
A minimum of 21 units of graduate courses in the area of concentration
A minimum of three and a maximum of 12 units of supervised field placement
Electives selected with the approval of the graduate adviser

In Addition

In addition, P H 797 - Research , P H 798 - Special Study , or P H 799A - Thesis , must be included in the program as a capstone experience.

Concentrations in epidemiology, health promotion and behavioral science require three units of field placement for the Master of Public Health degree. The concentration in health management and policy and the concentration in environmental health both require six units of field placement.

Up to nine units of graduate credit may be accepted in transfer, with the approval of the graduate adviser. For students who have completed the Certificate in Public Health (SIMS code 557389), up to 15 units will be accepted for transfer to the MPH degree.

In special circumstances, the graduate adviser may approve one course not on the list of prescribed electives. The substitution must be approved prior to enrollment in the course.