Walden’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program is designed to provide public health practitioners with the specialized skills and core competencies required to improve health and prevent disease among individuals, communities, and populations. Students gain a solid foundation in core public health disciplines, including biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, public health administration, and social and behavioral sciences. Students learn to plan, implement, and evaluate public health programs and initiatives with a special focus on reducing disparities in health and serving underserved populations or communities. Students also receive additional instruction in widely used analytical tools, explore current issues in public health financing, and hone their leadership and communication skills.
Consistent with our commitment to continuous quality improvement, Walden redesigned the MPH curriculum to incorporate case studies on the latest public health issues, improve the student’s field and classroom experience, and reflect professional guidelines set forth by leading public health organizations.
Note on Accreditation
The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) Board of Councilors acted at its September 6, 2019, meeting to accredit the Master of Public Health (MPH) Program at Walden University for a five-year term, based on an application for accreditation submitted on February 3, 2018. On June 5, 2020, the CEPH Board of Councilors accredited the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) at Walden University, after reviewing an accreditation application submitted on April 21, 2020. CEPH is an independent agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit schools of public health and programs of public health. CEPH accreditation provides assurance that the program has been evaluated and met accepted public health profession standards in practice, research, and service. For a copy of the final self-study document and/or final accreditation report, please contact the dean of the School of Health Sciences (adchshealth@mail.waldenu.edu).
Note on Certification
The National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE) offers the Certified in Public Health (CPH) credential as a voluntary core credential for public health professionals. As the eligibility criteria may change periodically, students should visit https://www.nbphe.org/eligibility for more information about certification in public health. It is the individual’s responsibility to understand, evaluate, and comply with all requirements relating to national certification. Walden makes no representations or guarantees that completion of Walden coursework or programs will permit an individual to obtain national certification or practice as a public health professional in the state where they intend to practice.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this program, students will be able to:
- Utilize culturally appropriate communication skills to convey prevention and intervention strategies used to improve health outcomes among diverse local and global populations.
- Demonstrate an understanding of how research methods, biostatistical data and software, and the epidemiological approach impact the study of patterns of disease, disability, and injury.
- Evaluate biological, environmental, legal, and regulatory factors that affect the health of local and global communities.
- Evaluate the major social, behavioral, and cultural factors that affect the health of local and global populations.
- Appropriately access, interpret, and evaluate public health data that are available through the use of information technology.
- Analyze essential services, systems, public policies, and associated challenges that impact the health of local and global communities.
- Demonstrate skills needed for sound leadership and decision making in public health, including applications of ethics and professionalism.
- Apply health management and systems thinking to public health agencies, programs, policies, and issues.
- Apply the principles of program design, implementation, and evaluation to improve the health of local and global populations.
- Exhibit a commitment to professional and ethically responsible public health research and practice.
Degree Requirements
- 64 total quarter credits
- Foundation course (5 credits)
Students must receive a B or better in PUBH 6005 in order to continue with the MPH program.
- Core courses (51 credits)
- Practicum (8 credits)
- ePortfolio
Curriculum
Foundation Course (5 credits)
Core Courses (51 credits)
Practicum (8 credits)
Course Sequence
Students undertake courses in the following sequence.
| Quarter | Course | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter 1 |
PUBH 6005 - Perspectives on Health and the Developing Scholar-Practitioner |
5 credits |
| Quarter 2 |
PUBH 6038 - Health Behavior Theory |
5 credits |
|
PUBH 6127 - Public Health Policy, Politics and Progress |
5 credits | |
| Quarter 3 |
PUBH 6128 - Biological Foundations of Public Health |
5 credits |
|
PUBH 6032 - SPSS Revealed |
1 credits | |
| Quarter 4 |
PUBH 6129 - Global Perspectives on Health |
5 credits |
|
PUBH 6033 - Interpretation and Application of Public Health Data |
5 credits | |
| Quarter 5 |
PUBH 6031 - Public Health Administration and Leadership |
5 credits |
|
PUBH 6035 - Epidemiology: Decoding the Science of Public Health |
5 credits | |
| Quarter 6 |
PUBH 6475 - Program Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation |
5 credits |
|
PUBH 6034 - Environmental Health: Local to Global |
5 credits | |
| Quarter 7 |
PUBH 6245 - Applied Research in Public Health |
5 credits |
|
PUBH 6638 - Practicum I: Field Experience in Public Health |
3 credits | |
| Quarter 8 |
PUBH 6639 - Practicum II: Field Experience and Applied Project in Public Health |
3 credits |
|
PUBH 6640 - Applied Project in Public Health |
2 credits |