700

This course introduces epidemiological concepts and tools to study patterns of disease and injury, incidence, prevalence, and risk, with the goal of broadening the understanding of population health, health inequality, and the influence on public policy. Epidemiological methods as applied to environmental health, infectious disease, and the behavioral and social factors of disease are explored.

This course develops the skills required to understand how to identify and address major nutrition-related public health problems. It covers topics such as malnutrition, excess nutrition, complex eating disorders, maternal and child health, and chronic diseases that affect people globally.

This course gives students an overview of the ethical issues that arise from public health medicine, and includes topics such as determinants of health, vaccination, infectious diseases, and genetics. It also explores how ethical theories affect public health practice and focuses on the implications of health policy for various populations.

This course allows students to synthesize the knowledge and skills acquired in all previous courses and apply them to the development of a thesis proposal. Students are guided through the preparation of the research question(s) and hypothesis, literature review, and a proposed methodology for answering the research question(s). Students are expected to work closely with their thesis chairperson/advisor and committee member throughout the semester. Students are expected to write and defend a scientifically sound thesis proposal.

This course is the second part of the thesis process. It focuses on students’ ability to collect and analyze data, and interpret the findings. Students use the methodology presented in their proposal to conduct their research and develop their thesis. Students must complete their thesis independently, and are expected to work closely with their thesis chairperson/advisor and committee member throughout the semester. Students are expected to write and defend a scientifically sound thesis.

This course examines the nature of the scientific method and basic techniques in social science research as applied to the collection, analysis, and interpretation of social and public data. It explores the use of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods as different approaches to research design, and covers the ethical issues in research involving human subjects.

This course is designed to provide an introduction to epidemiological research theory, methods, and practice.  The course focuses on the design, implementation, analysis, and interpretation of cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional epidemiological studies.  Students will become proficient in the interpretation of epidemiologic data and the application of epidemiologic approaches to the investigation of infectious and non-infectious diseases.

This course is a continuation of PH-771, Epidemiological Research Methods I, and as such will further refine students' ability to analyze and interpret data form various epidemiologic study designs.  Students gain experience in analysis of original research reports, writing critiques of epidemiologic articles, data management, preparing appropriate tables and graphs, designing and analyzing observational studies.

This course provides students with the knowledge of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Spatial Analysis as they apply to public health.  Students focus on the collection, maintenance, and interpretation of spatial data to study health concerns, specifically disease clusters, access to health care, health outcomes, risk factors, health status disparities, and emergency response operations.  Students will use a variety of downloadable software such as ArcGIS to gain hands-on experience and supplement the case studies provided.

This course prepares students to design, evaluate, and operate a public health surveillance system, analyze and interpret surveillance data, apply surveillance to various settings, diseases, and public health emergencies, understand how surveillance is used to develop public policy, and appreciate the legal and ethical implications of surveillance.  This course focuses on the procedures that are utilized to investigate and track infectious and communicable diseases as well as non-infectious chronic diseases in the United States and developing countries.   

The Public Health internship provides students with the ability to integrate the theories learned in the classroom with real world practical experiences. It also allows students to gain valuable skills to be effective in the workplace and to demonstrate public health competencies to their assigned tasks.

This course serves as the Capstone experience for the Biostatistics and Epidemiology concentration of the MPH degree.  Students utilize the information acquired from the core and concentration courses to design, execute, and present a scholarly project.  The course integrates and enhances student learning in several different areas: content, key process skills including project management and teamwork, and methods for gathering, analyzing, and reporting data.