Application Info | Apply | Graduate Handbook | Overview | Curriculum | Experiential Learning | Faculty| FAQS| Orientation

Application deadlines are 5/1 for the Fall semester and 11/1 for the Spring semster.

Overview
MPH Program at Northeastern University focuses on addressing the most compelling public health problems facing cities today. These include:

1. complex air, water, and food quality management issues
2. control of infectious diseases
3. prevention and treatment of chronic diseases
4. illnesses associated with the built environment
5. health threats connected to density and poverty including substance abuse, community violence, and the potential of international terrorism
6. racial and ethnic health disparities
7. the challenges of effective health education and promotion for diverse populations; and access to timely, appropriate health services.

Central to addressing all of these concerns, but in particular those associated with racial and ethnic health disparities, is the commitment the program undertakes to build a diverse and activist public health workforce, well-trained in the complex issues associated with disparate health status and health care access.

The MPH in Urban Health trains public health professionals who understand their concomitant obligations to advocacy and evidenced-based practice and research and who are animated by the urgent need to reduce racial, ethnic, and class-based health disparities that currently burden urban populations in the US and globally. A graduate from MPH in Urban Health program has both the technical expertise to address specific urban health issues as well as the strategic and cultural competency needed to interact effectively with, and be an advocate for diverse urban populations.

The MPH Program can be completed on a full-time or part-time basis.   We seek highly motivated applicants who have solid communication and analytical skills and a demonstrated commitment to public health through previous academic studies and/or experience. The admissions committee reviews each application closely in order to admit students who will achieve success in the program and after graduation. Students from a variety of backgrounds and fields of study, who are committed to improving the health of urban communities, are encouraged to apply.

Requirements for admission to the MPH program include:

• Completed online application
• Official transcript(s) of all   college-level study
• Undergraduate grade point average of 3.00 (B) or higher.
• Three letters of recommendation
• Personal goal statement
• Interview (in person or via phone)
• International students must also submit official scores of the TOEFL examination
• GRE Scores

MPH Program Objectives

• To provide students with community-oriented pedagogy and practice opportunities that will prepare them to effectively address the social, behavioral, and environmental health risks faced by diverse urban populations.
• To provide students with the analytic, technical, and advocacy-related skills needed to excel in urban public health practice.
• To provide students with training in applied epidemiology, statistics, behavioral sciences, program management and evaluation, community collaboration, and policy development and analysis.
• To facilitate student academic and practice-based experiences in emerging interdisciplinary areas of urban public health concern including: Violence Prevention; Urban Public Health Management; Health Informatics; and Chronic Disease Prevention and Management.

Mentor Program
Each student will work with a mentor (selected from practicing urban public health professionals) engaged in education, service or research in the student’s area of interest. This mentor-mentee relationship is designed to facilitate students’ professional development and complement the support and guidance students receive from the interdisciplinary MPH program faculty. 

Career Opportunities
Graduates with an MPH degree are employed in number of varied professional settings including: federal, state and local health agencies, universities and colleges, hospitals, ambulatory medical centers, nonprofit organizations, community-based agencies, insurance and pharmaceutical industries, health maintenance organizations, and private foundations. 

Curriculum
The MPH in Urban Health is a non-thesis (professional) master’s degree program offered by the Bouvé College of Health Sciences Department of Health Sciences.  All MPH degree candidates must complete a total of 42 semester hours consisting of 15 semester hours of core public health courses, 9 semester hours of core urban health courses, 12 semester hours of elective courses, and a 6-credit Community-based Practicum and related Capstone Project in urban health. Characteristics of the curriculum include academic rigor and competency-based education in a supportive and engaging learning environment.  The curriculum components meet the Council on Education in Public Health accreditation requirements. 

Students may enroll in the MPH program on a part-time or full-time basis.  In general, the curriculum requires two years of full-time study to complete.

MPH Core Courses (5 courses, 3 credits each = 15 credits):

• Epidemiology
• Biostatistics
• Occupational & Environmental Health
• Health Services Policy and Administration
• Social & Behavioral Health

Core Urban Health Courses (3 courses, 3 credits each = 9 credits):

• Principles and History of Urban Health          
• Race, Ethnicity, and Health in the United States
• Urban Community Health Assessment

Course Descriptions

Capstone Project (6 credits)
Instead of a thesis, students are required to complete a Capstone Project associated with the required 6 credit Community-based Practicum in Urban Health. The Capstone project provides students with the opportunity to work on-site in a range of diverse public health practice settings reflective of their particular urban health focus.  The Capstone Project provides students with the opportunity to integrate their theory and practice experiences in a major research, program planning, policy development, management, service delivery, or evaluation project.  Community-based participatory projects are actively encouraged and, to the extent possible, Capstone Projects have as a goal the active contribution to the health of the local community.  Capstone Projects are student led and designed in consultation with community partners. Faculty members provide guidance and mentoring.  Students participate in a Capstone Seminar intended to support the integration of their practice and analytic experiences.

Bouve Institute for Healthcare Leadership and Professional Development
The mission of the Bouvé Institute is to provide opportunities for career advancement and professional development within the health sciences that will ultimately improve worldwide healthcare delivery and clinical outcomes. Working in concert with the Bouvé College of Health Sciences, and the School of Professional and Continuing Studies, the Institute supports Northeastern University’s mission as a practice-oriented, student-centered, urban research institution.

Graduate Fellowships in Urban Health Research
The Student Research Fellowship Program will provide graduate students valuable opportunities to gain hands-on experience working on urban health research studies, learn about preparation of grant applications, attend research seminars, receive mentoring from experienced researchers, and meet local and national experts in the field. To date, the IUHR has funded 25 fellowships (2 undergraduates and 23 graduate students) in its Student Research Fellowship Program. Some of these student fellows have had multiple year awards. Student Fellows are assigned to an ongoing research project at the Institute through which they receive training in: data management, coding and analyses; conducting critical literature reviews; grant writing; preparation of manuscripts and presentations; and field data collection.

Institutes
Institute on Urban Health Research
The IUHR’s seven faculty, three graduate fellows and nine research staff are focusing research on health issues that disproportionately impact urban communities, such as substance abuse, HIV/AIDS prevention and policy, interventions for children diagnosed with asthma, cardiovascular disease behavioral interventions, nutrition behavioral interventions with school age children, traditional Chinese health practices, racial and ethnic differences in service delivery patterns, and brain mechanisms involved in opiate tolerance. The goal of the IUHR is to improve the health of urban populations through the generation of knowledge that informs health policies, disease prevention programs and health services. In its first year of funding, the IUHR received more than $1.4 million in research and training grants and has partnered with the Boston Public Health Commission, Massachusetts Department of Public Health and community health centers. In addition to these agencies, the IUHR’s Advisory Board includes representation from Partners Health Care, Boston Public Schools, Blue Cross/Blue Shield as well as nationally renowned scholars from diverse institutions throughout the country.

Director: Hortensia Amaro, Distinguished Professor of Health Sciences and Counseling and Applied Psychology.

Faculty
Students enrolled in the MPH Program at Northeastern University benefit from an interdisciplinary faculty committed to public health research, service and education. 

Mary Watson
Hortensia Amaro
Shan Mohammed
Theresa Osypuk
Alisa Lincoln
Elmer Freeman
Lusine Poghosyan
Roger Edwards
Mary Ballou
George Atkinson


Fall Orientation
TBA

Fall 2009 Semester Registration Information

Registration starts on July 13.
For information on how to register:
http://www.northeastern.edu/registrar/banner-fl09-gs.html

Courses for which you need to register can be found by clicking here.  In the first box scroll down to your program.  (Note:  you may find your program with the letters CPS behind it.  DO NOT Select that program.)

Courses:

For more information, please contact:
Shan Mohammed MD, MPH
MPH Program Director
Northeastern University
(617) 373-7729
s.mohammed@neu.edu

If you’re in Boston and would like to have a personalized tour please call 617-373-7729 to schedule a visit and meeting with the program director, Shan Mohammed MD, MPH.