The Master of Public Health provides students with a high-quality, transdisciplinary perspective on public health and prepares them for diverse roles in a dynamic field. The MPH degree is the most widely recognized professional credential for leadership in public health. The Master of Public Health offers three concentrations in Generalist MPH, Global Health (GHLH), and Health Promotion, Education and Behavior (HPEB). The current Generalist MPH is intended for students who want broad and general training. The MPH in Global Health is intended for professionals who desire a career in international health and development as well as global health monitoring and evaluation. The Health Promotion, Education and Behavior concentration targets students interested in health promotion and behavior change and CHES certification. All MPH students complete the five foundational core courses in environmental health, epidemiology, social and behavioral sciences, biostatistics, and public health policy, providing them with foundational knowledge related to the principles, theory, and practice of public health, in addition to other required and elective courses within the chosen concentration. The program's foundational courses provide students with transdisciplinary and integrated perspectives in environmental health, epidemiology, social and behavioral sciences, biostatistics, health services administration, and a practicum at a public health or healthcare setting. The required and elective courses offer students the opportunity to tailor their degree to best fit their career goals in public health. Public Health is a broad field that is open to students from diverse academic disciplines including health sciences, education, business, social and natural sciences, and others. This is a fully online program.

The MPH Program is allied with several academic programs within the College of Health to broaden the educational opportunities available to students in the program, including Graduate Certificates in Environmental and Occupational Health (EOH), and Emergency Management and Infection Control. The certificates do not lead to industry certification. Close relationships with state public health agencies in the region as well as with area hospitals and the military provide a strong foundation in population and public health communities for enhancing and broadening the internship/practicum opportunities for students in the program. Out-of-area students may arrange appropriate internship sites approved by the Department of Public Health. The UWF MPH Program is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health.

Admission Requirements

In addition to the University graduate admission requirements described in the Admissions section of the catalog, the department bases decisions for regular admission on a holistic review of credentials in which the following criteria are used to assess the potential success of each applicant:

• Undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited or recognized University.
• Applicants must have an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale from an accredited US institution or recognized international institution.
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE) will be required for students with a GPA below 3.20 as follows:
  1. GRE minimum scores: Verbal: 150; Quantitative: 146
  2. GRE must have been taken in the last five years to be considered for admission.
  3. Submission of official GRE test scores (Under some circumstances the GMAT will be accepted); For students currently enrolled in a doctoral program in the public health or health professions the respective admission test scores may be accepted.
• A Statement of Purpose: The statement of purpose must convey the applicant’s reasons for pursuing graduate study in public health and how admission into the program relates to the applicant’s professional aspirations. The Statement of Purpose must include answers* to the following questions:

1. What personal and professional goals do you hope to meet through earning a master’s degree in public health, and why do you think the UWF MPH concentration you have chosen is a good fit for your goals?
2. What special knowledge, skills, and experiences would you bring to the chosen concentration, and how are these aligned with the mission of the Master of Public Health program as a whole? If you have had experiences that may have affected your academic performance, please provide an explanatory context.
3. Be careful to clearly articulate how your skillset and experiences align with the goals of the selected MPH concentration and show how these will impact your career trajectory in public health.
   *Note: Your responses to the three questions should be one and a half but no more than two double-spaced pages, 12-font size in Times New Roman, and using complete sentences. 

• Submission of two letters of recommendation.
• Applicants with terminal degrees (Ph.D. or Ed.D.) or advanced professional degrees (M.D., D.D.S., D.V.M., J.D., D.O., M.S., M.A., etc.) from accredited programs and licensed in the United States may request to waive the graduate admission test requirement but must complete the other admission requirements.
• Applicants with an MBBS or equivalent foreign medical degree must submit a course-by-course evaluation report from an acceptable credential evaluation agency to be eligible for the GRE waiver.

Applicants with insufficient training in statistics or those who have taken a statistics course more than seven years ago may be admitted conditionally pending demonstration of proficiency in statistics within the first year in the program by taking and passing STA 2023 Elements of Statistics or equivalent prior to enrolling in PHC 5050 Biostatistics for Public Health. This is required for students with no background in statistics (e.g., a student who has never taken a course in statistics at the college level). The credit earned in this course does not count toward the graduate degree.

If a student is an international applicant whose native language is not English or the student is from a country in which the primary language is not English, the applicant must take an acceptable English proficiency test before applying for admission. Applicants to the University of West Florida are considered international students if they are not U.S. Citizens, dual citizens, or permanent residents. All such students should refer to the International Graduate Admission section of the current UWF Graduate Catalog for information pertaining to international applicants, including requirements for completion of, and scores on the English proficiency test. Other criteria may apply.

Degree Requirements

Students must earn and maintain an average grade of "B" or better in the MPH program in order to remain in good standing within the program and in order to graduate from the program. Students must achieve no less than a grade of "C" in any course in the MPH program. All students must complete a minimum of 12 semester hours per year.

At the end of their academic program, all students are required to take and pass a Comprehensive Examination with a grade of 70% or better. See our department website for additional information. Supervised MPH Practicum consisting of PHC 6945 Applied Public Health Practice Experience [3.0 semester hours] and PHC 6946 Public Health Integrative Learning Experience [3.0 semester hours] for a total of 6 semester hours involving field experience in a public health-related area and submit written reflective report on the practicum experience, present conclusions and recommendations to the host agency and Departmental faculty. No more than 49% of the program requirements for the degree may be taken in traditional business subjects.

Students qualified to enroll in graduate studies but who do not have the required documents by the application deadline date, or those who do not intend to work toward a graduate degree, may complete up to 12 hours as non-degree seeking students. The Academic Learning Plan for programmatic assessment of the MPH Program includes Student Learning Outcomes. Some exams in this program may require proctoring at testing sites approved by the course instructor.

A student receiving an "I" grade should complete the remaining requirements for the course in the following semester. A student who does not resolve the "I" grade in the semester following initial registration in either PHC 6945 or PHC 6946 will lose access to the course within the Canvas eLearning system. A student whose initial incomplete ("I") grade in either PHC 6945 or PHC 6946 is not resolved within three semesters will receive an unsatisfactory ("U") grade in that course. In such cases, the student is required to re-register for the course where the "U" grade was assigned. Students who are no longer actively enrolled at the University are required to apply for readmission to the University and must register for at least one course in order to regain access to the Canvas eLearning system for course completion.

The Department of Public Health offers MPH concentrations in Generalist MPH Professional, Global Health (MPH - GHLH), and Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior (MPH - HPEB).

MPH General Practice

The Generalist MPH is intended for students and working professionals who desire a broad and general training in public health and population health science practice, including translational research. Our students include experienced clinicians from a broad range of health fields, including medicine, dentistry, nursing, social work, and other related fields. The program adheres to the Foundational Public Health competencies from the Council on Education for Public Health that integrate concepts for health equity, disease control, and prevention. We train students to assume leadership roles as members of multidisciplinary public health teams. 

Global Health (GHLH)

The MPH in Global Health concentration is designed for public health students and professionals in low-to-middle income countries working in leadership positions, program implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and disease prevention and control. The proposed track is designed to respond to the unique workforce needs across different regions of the world. The program builds on the Core Public Health foundational from the Council on Education for Public Health that integrate concepts from epidemiology, social and behavioral sciences, health policy, environmental health, and biostatistics, and a suite of other required courses relevant to global health practice including program implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, leadership and communication. 

Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior (HPEB)

Built on foundational public health competencies from the Council on Education for Public Health, the MPH in Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior concentration is geared towards students interested in health promotion and behavior change and includes certification through the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) exam. This concentration exposes students to current and emerging theories in social determinants of health and behavior working with diverse populations on a variety of health topics at all levels of the community including worksites, governmental, and non-organization agencies.

Generalist M.P.H.

Foundational Core Courses

All students seeking a Master of Public Health degree must take all of the following core courses:

General Practice Concentration Courses

Students must complete 15 semester hours of required coursework from the following courses:

Practicum and Culminating Experience

All students seeking a Master of Public Health degree must successfully complete 6 semester hours in the practicum and culminating experience. 

Electives

Students must choose 6 semester hours of coursework from the following in consultation with their academic advisor.

Or advisor approved electives. Contact the department (850-474-2650) for a current list of approved electives.

M.P.H. in Global Health (GHLH)

The M.P.H. in Global Health concentration is designed for students and professionals interested in global health practice or working in various roles in population-based health for health promotion, disease prevention and control including program implementation, monitoring, and evaluation; and health program entrepreneurship. The concentration is designed to respond to the unique workforce needs across different regions of the world. The program builds on the core public health foundational sciences and competencies from epidemiology, social and behavioral sciences, health policy, environmental health, and biostatistics, and a suite of required courses relevant to global health practice, program implementation, monitoring and evaluation, leadership, and communication for sustainable development.

Foundational Core Courses

All students seeking a Master of Public Health degree must take all of the following core courses:

Global Health Concentration Courses

Students must complete 21 semester hours of required coursework from the following courses: 

Practicum and Culminating Experience

All students seeking a Master of Public Health degree must successfully complete 6 semester hours in the practicum and culminating experience.

M.P.H. in Health Education, Promotion and Behavior (HPEB)

The M.P.H. in Health Education, Promotion and Behavior offered by the Department of Public Health prepares students as professional health educators based on a curriculum that concentrates on the responsibilities and competencies developed by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC). This professional preparation is designed to support students to become dynamic public health professionals with the skills to conduct needs assessment, implement, manage, and evaluate health promotion and education programs for the populations health for prevention and health promotion through behavior change. At present, eligibility for the CHES/MCHES examination is based on possession of a degree and/or academic preparation related to health education curricula that address the Seven Areas of Responsibility of Health Educators. However, accreditation of programs offering degrees in Health Education/Health Promotion is currently underway with the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) identified as the accrediting entity to provide a single coordinated accreditation mechanism for community/public health education/health promotion programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. This transition will require students to graduate from an accredited program to be eligible to sit for the CHES/MCHES exam.

Foundational Core Courses

All students seeking a Master of Public Health degree must take all of the following core courses:

HPEB Required Courses

All students seeking an MPH in Health Promotion, Education and Behavior must take the following courses:

Practicum and Culminating Experience

All students seeking a Master of Public Health degree must successfully complete 6 semester hours in the practicum and culminating experience.

Electives

To be selected following consultation with the student's academic advisor:

Emergency Management and Infection Control Certificate

Department: Public Health

Method of Instruction: Online

Semester Hours: 18

Admission Requirements

In addition to the University graduate non-degree seeking requirements described in the Graduate Admissions section of the UWF graduate catalog, the department requires the following:

• Submission of Graduate Non-Degree Seeking Application.
• Current UWF graduate students interested in completing the graduate certificate are not required to complete the non-degree seeking application but will need to contact the MPH academic advisor to review their degree audit and initiate the declaration of certificate process.

Once admission to the University has been approved, students will need to contact the Public Health Academic Advisor to start the declaration of certificate process. This includes reviewing the requirements for each Graduate Certificate in Public Health and completion and submission of the Declaration of Certificate form to the Office of the Registrar.

Questions regarding the graduate certificate should be directed to the MPH Academic Advisor.

Course Requirements

Environmental and Occupational Health Certificate

Department: Public Health

Method of Instruction: Online

Semester Hours: 18

Admission Requirements

In addition to the University graduate non-degree seeking requirements described in the Graduate Admissions section of the UWF graduate catalog, the department requires the following:

• Submission of Graduate Non-Degree Seeking Application.
• Current UWF graduate students interested in completing the graduate certificate are not required to complete the non-degree seeking application but will need to contact the MPH academic advisor to review their degree audit and initiate the declaration of certificate process.

Once admission to the University has been approved, students will need to contact the Public Health Academic Advisor to start the declaration of certificate process. This includes reviewing the requirements for each Graduate Certificate in Public Health and completion and submission of the Declaration of Certificate form to the Office of the Registrar.

Program Description

The Environmental and Occupational Health (EOH) Certificate is designed to prepare those working in public health, health care, and environmental sectors to deal with the plethora of environmental issues that impact human health.

EOH Foundational Core Courses

All EOH Certificate students must complete the 3 foundational core courses.

Non-Aerospace Students

Non-Aerospace students must successfully complete the following 3 courses in addition to the foundational core courses.

RAM Residents

RAM residents must successfully complete the following 3 courses in addition to the foundational core courses.