The School of Graduate Medical Sciences established the Professional Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in fall 2003 to provide working health professionals with a high quality education in a scheduling format that is convenient to full-time professionals. Robert A.J. Fernandez, DO, MPH, director of the MPH degree program discusses the purpose of the new MPH at Barry and what careers graduates may pursue in the public health arena.
The events of 9-11 demonstrated how ill prepared the United States and the world was to deal with the physical, psychological, social and environmental challenges generated by this calamity and its aftermath. Barry University responded by developing the Master of Public Health program designed for working health professionals to enable them to address some of the toughest issues in health care today. From health promotion and disease prevention, to epidemiology and environmental health, to access to health care, Public Health is a fast changing multidisciplinary field. Describe the type of students who are participating in the program?
While being a health care professional is not a requirement for admission, the Professional MPH program was designed with practicing health care professionals in mind. In reality, our students come from all walks of life but they share an interest in the broad field of Public Health. Discuss the core curriculum, knowledge areas, and specific requirements?
The 40 credit-hour program instills the knowledge and skills fundamental to contemporary public health practice with a focus on health administration. The curriculum is grounded in the five core areas of public health: epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health sciences, health services administration, and social and behavioral sciences. Research activities working toward a publishable paper and a public health practicum prior to graduation complete training. The core courses are Basic Research Methodology, Public Health Issues, Environmental and Occupational Health, Special Topics, Clinical Epidemiology, Principles of Health Services, Essentials of Health Behavior, Health Law, Applied Biostatistics, Health Care Leadership, and Research. What careers can you pursue after receiving the degree?
Graduates can expect to seek opportunities in local and county public health departments, state health departments, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Public Health Service, hospital or health administration, corporations in the occupational safety and health unit, National Institutes of Health, universities with public health schools, among others. What makes your program different?
This unique cohort oriented program is designed specifically for working health professionals. Barrys MPH program can be completed in 20 months by attending class every other weekend (Friday night 6pm-10pm and Saturday 9am-4pm) and completing reading, computer based assignments, and on-line courses while away from campus. This means that work status is not interrupted. You can continue to work fulltime and even have every Sunday and every other weekend off for other pursuits. Tuition is $20,000 for the full program. How can a prospective student learn more?
I believe the Barry University Professional Master in Public Health program offers an excellent opportunity for health care professionals to broaden their scope of practice and involvement in community medicine at various levels. The innovative scheduling coupled with our ability to recruit renowned and the finest faculty for an individual course makes this program one of the best in the country. For more information contact Marc Weiner at (305) 899-3130, or Toll-free: 1-800-756-6000, ext. 3130, or email publichealth@mail.barry.edu, or log onto www.barry.edu and click on graduate programs.