Master of Public Health Program Overview

Read about MPH Concentrations.

MPH Requirements for Students Matriculating in Academic Year 2012/2013

• Completion of 48 graduate-level credit units numbered SPH XX 700 and above
• Completion of at least 40 of these credit units within the Boston University School of Public Health
• Completion of six core courses with a grade of B- or better in each core course
• Completion of concentration requirements
• Completion of a public health practicum according to guidelines
• Completion of a culminating experience according to guidelines
• A School of Public Health grade point average of 3.0 or better
• Completion of the MPH degree within five years

Note: Physical education (PDP), undergraduate, and non-approved graduate courses do not count toward the MPH degree.

MPH Core Course Requirements

MPH Core Course Selection

The School-wide core curriculum for the MPH program provides a strong foundation of knowledge and skills across the broad spectrum of public health. Courses are designed and continually revised as the field of public health changes.

The MPH core curriculum is organized around the five core disciplines of public health, and students must satisfy a core course requirement in each of these areas: Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Environmental Health, Health Policy and Management, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. With the exception of the Health Policy & Management core courses, students may take only one of the core course options in each of the six concentration areas for MPH degree credit. Additionally, public health practitioners need an understanding of the laws, ethics, and human rights implications of public health practices. As such, all MPH students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States must take a sixth core course in Health Law, Bioethics, & Human Rights. Knowledge and skills in these disciplines enable graduates to analyze and consider solutions to public health problems at the community, institutional, and societal levels.

To satisfy the MPH core course requirements, students must complete one course from each of the six concentrations, with a minimum passing grade of B-. Students who earn a grade below B- in a core course must follow the stipulations of the SPH grading policy.

MPH students must also adhere to the SPH Core Course Scheduling Policy: MPH degree candidates are encouraged to complete their core course requirements, particularly the core course(s) in their concentration, as early as possible in their academic program. MPH candidates must successfully complete at least one of the core course requirements in epidemiology, biostatistics or health law, bioethics & human rights within their first 12 credits of coursework, a second course by 24 credits, and all three of the aforementioned cores by the time they complete 32 credits.

Exemptions to the MPH core course requirements include:

1. Students who feel that they may have completed prior coursework similar to the core courses listed below should review the “Waiver and Transfer Credit” policy.
2. Students who are neither U.S. citizens nor permanent residents of the United States may be exempted from the Health Law, Bioethics, and Human Rights requirement. The exemption is established by a form submitted to the SPH Registrar’s Office before the drop without a “W” date for the semester in which the student matriculates.
3. Students who complete the following undergraduate courses at Boston University within the past five years and earned a B or better may waive particular MPH core course requirements. Students must note that courses that waive MPH requirements DO NOT count towards the minimum 48 graduate credit requirement for the MPH degree. Students will need to take additional coursework that will provide them with greater depth or breadth to meet the minimum 48-credit requirement for the MPH degree.
   •  Students who attain a grade of B or higher in both CAS MA 115 AND CAS MA 116 or CAS MA 684 will have fulfilled the MPH Biostatistics requirement.
   •  Students who attain a grade of B or higher in SAR HP 353 will have fulfilled the Health Policy and Management core course requirement for non-Health Policy and Management and non-International Health students. Students who plan to concentrate in Health Policy and Management or International Health must enroll in SPH PM 702 or SPH IH 704, respectively.
4. MSW/MPH students are waived from the core course requirement in Social & Behavioral Sciences upon completion of the MSW degree.
5. Students in the MA/MPH program who complete GMS MS 700 or GMS CI 760 with a B or better within the last five years are waived from the MPH Biostatistics core course requirement.
6. MBA/MPH students complete the Graduate School of Management core course equivalents for Biostatistics and Health Policy and Management. MBA/MPH Global Health students do enroll in IH 704 as an elective course for the MPH degree.

Students may waiver core courses by virtue of having completed similar courses outside of Boston University. The waiver policy and procedures are described in the Transfer Credit and Waiver policy.

The core course requirements for the MPH program are met by the following courses:

1. Biostatistics: The requirement for all MPH students is met by successfully completing SPH BS 704.
2. Environmental Health: Environmental health concentrators must successfully complete EH 765; all others meet the core course requirement by successfully completing either EH 765 or EH 717. Students who take EH 717 and subsequently become environmental health concentrators must speak with the MPH Program Director in Environmental Health regarding additional work required. Students may not take both EP 717 and EP 765 for degree credit.
3. Epidemiology: The requirement for all MPH students is met by successfully completing EP 713.
4. Health Law, Bioethics and Human Rights: Health law, bioethics and human rights concentrators must successfully complete LW 751; all others may meet the core course requirement by successfully completing either LW 751 or LW 719. Students who take LW 719 and subsequently become health law, bioethics and human rights concentrators must speak with the department faculty regarding additional work required. Students may not take both LW 751 and LW 719 for degree credit.
5. Health Policy and Management: All health policy and management (HPM) concentrators must take PM 702 to meet the health policy and management core course requirement. MPH students who are not health policy and management concentrators must take PM 702 unless they meet at least one of the following criteria:
   a.  They are international health concentrators: International health concentrators may take either PM 702 or IH 704 to meet the MPH health policy and management core course requirement.
   b. They are not U.S. citizens or are not permanent residents of the United States: Students who are not U.S. citizens or are not permanent residents of the United States may take either PM 702 or IH 704 to meet the MPH health policy and management core course requirement.
   c. They are Peace Corps/MI students: Peace Corps/MI students must take IH 704.  If they are health policy and management concentrators, they must take PM 702 first, and then IH 704 second.
   Students, in any concentration, may take both PM 702 and IH 704 for degree credit, though they must take the course that meets their core course requirement first, and the second course for elective credits. The School’s minimum grade requirement applies to the core course. If a student plans to take both PM 702 and IH 704 and earns below a B- in the first course taken, he/she will be considered to be in academic difficulty and must retake the course.
6. Social and Behavioral Sciences: Social and behavioral sciences concentrators must successfully complete SB 721. IH 720 fulfills the social and behavioral sciences MPH core requirement for international health concentrators and for international, non-U.S.-resident SPH students who are not SB concentrators. Students may take only one of these courses for degree credit. MSW/MPH students are waived from completing the MPH social and behavioral core course requirement when they complete the MSW degree.

Transfer Credit

MPH students must earn at least 40 credits at Boston University School of Public Health. MPH students are allowed to transfer in eight (8) credits of approved graduate courses from other Boston University graduate programs, from graduate courses taken at member schools in the Boston Consortium, or at accredited U.S. colleges or universities. These courses cannot have been counted towards the requirements for another degree at Boston University or elsewhere. Dual degree program students are not allowed to take courses for transfer credit.

Following is a list of graduate courses taught at other Boston University schools and colleges that are approved for the Master of Public Health degree. Students who wish to enroll should follow the procedures of the college in which the course is held. MPH students who want the class to “count” for their MPH degree must fill out the SPH Request for Transfer Credit form and submit it to the SPH Office of the Registrar. They do not need to submit any additional documents.

School	Course #	Title	Credits	Type	Notes
College of Communication (COM)
COM	JO 702	Advanced Science Writing	4	elective	must do public health projects
COM	JO 703	Magazine Writing	4	elective	must do public health projects
COM	JO 519	Narrative Radio	4	elective	must do public health projects
Graduate Medical Sciences (GMS)
GMS	CI 670	Biostatistics with Computer	waiver only for MA/MPH—2 credits for others	core course waiver or credit
GMS	MA 622	Religion & Public Health	3	concentration credit for IH; elective for other
GMS	MI 713	Comprehensive Immunology	4	concentration credit for EH concentrators
GMS	MS 700	Biostatistics	waiver only for MA/MPH—2 credits	core course waiver or credit
Graduate School of Management (GSM)
GSM	HM 833	Health Sector Marketing	3	elective
GSM	HM 840	Health Sector Consulting	3	elective
GSM	IM 853	Indian Field Seminar	3	elective	must be sure does not conflict with start of spring semester at SPH
GSM	OB 802	Leading Transformation in Health and Social Sector Organizations	3	elective
GSM	OB 830	Leading the Mission-Driven Organization	3	elective
GSM	OB 844	Managing Organizational Change	3	elective
GSM	OM 840	Managing and Improving Quality: Six Sigma Green Belt Certification	3	elective
Metropolitan College (MET)
MET	ML 721	U.S. Food Policy	4	elective
MET	CS 581	Electronic Health Records	4	elective
College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College (SAR)
SAR	HS 551	Human Nutrition Science	4	elective	must take as graduate student
SAR	HS 776	Nutritional Epidemiology	4	concentration credit for Epidemiology concentrators
SAR	OT 713	Developmental Disabilities	2	elective	for LEND Fellowship students
Tufts Friedman School (Boston Consortium)
Tufts *	NUTR 201	Fundamentals of Nutrition Science	4	elective	worth 4 BU credits; 1 at Tufts
Tufts *	NUTR 217	Monitoring & Evaluation for Nutrition & Food Security Projects	4	concentration credit for IH	cannot take this course and IH 745
Tufts *	NUTR 228	Community & PH Nutrition	4	elective	worth 4 BU credits; 1 at Tufts

* through Boston Consortium registration (register pay SPH)

MPH Elective Courses

Students must meet the core course, concentration, culminating, and practicum requirements for the MPH degree. The remaining credits of the MPH may be met by taking elective courses. Elective courses are SPH graduate courses not in the student’s stated concentration requirements. Students are free to register for any course numbered SPH XX 700 or above offered at the School of Public Health, assuming they meet the stated prerequisites. In addition, degree candidates may enroll in courses through other graduate schools at Boston University, the Boston Consortium, or other accredited universities in the United States. Courses taken outside of BU School of Public Health are subject to the Waiver and Transfer Credit Policy.

Directed Studies or Directed Research: In addition to classroom instruction, students may arrange a 1-, 2-, 3-, or 4-credit directed study or directed research project with a faculty member. Students may apply up to 8 credits of directed studies, directed research, or practicum courses toward an MPH degree. These projects require the written approval of a full-time School of Public Health faculty sponsor who will assume responsibility for the approval process and assigning grades. In addition to completing a paper registration for the Directed Study or Directed Research, students must complete a paper Directed Study or Directed Research Proposal form (available at the Office of the Registrar or online), obtain the required signatures, and return the completed forms to the SPH Office of the Registrar.

MPH Practicum

A public health practicum is an integral part of the MPH degree at BUSPH. All MPH students are required to complete an approved supervised practicum of at least 112 hours. The experience provides the opportunity to integrate and apply classroom learning in a public health work environment, enabling students to observe and learn from professionals in the field. A student contributes to a sponsoring agency/organization’s mission, the community, and the solutions of public health problems while developing personal confidence and practical skills as a public health professional.

An additional requirement of the practicum is completion of two skill-based professional development seminars. Please refer to the BUSPH Practicum Handbook for more detailed information.

The Public Health Practice Office provides the academic and administrative structure for the required practicum. Practica are available in local, state, national, and international settings on a wide variety of topics.

Most students may begin a practicum after completing a minimum of 12 academic credits at the School of Public Health. International students studying on an F-1 visa must be in F-1 status for one academic year prior to completing a practicum if they intend to complete a practicum in the United States. Students who are experiencing academic difficulty will need special approval from the assistant dean for practice before beginning a practicum.

Decisions about the choice of practicum and number of credits should be made by students to fit their individual academic and professional needs. It is strongly recommended that these decisions be made in consultation with the academic advisor. The options are as follows:

Options for Fulfilling MPH Practicum

Practicum Course	Practicum Requirements	Credits
PH 970	• Faculty approval • Agency oversight • Minimum of 112 practicum work hours • Poster presentation • 2 skill-based professional development seminars	0 pass/fail
PH 975	• Faculty approval • Agency oversight • Minimum of 112 practicum work hours • Poster presentation • 2 skill-based professional development seminars	variable (1–4) pass/fail
PH 984	Directed Practicum • Faculty approval and sponsor • Agency oversight • Minimum of 112 practicum work hours • Poster presentation • 2 skill-based professional development seminars • Final academic product	4 letter grade
PH 971	MPH/MSW Practicum Course • Required seminar • 2 skill-based professional development seminars MPH/MSW students may also take PH 970	1 pass/fail
varies	Peace Corps Master’s International Program	varies
IH 707	Kenya: Field Practicum in Public Health & the Environment • Course requirements plus 2 skill-based professional development seminars	6 letter grade
HC 840; HC 841; HC 842	Program in International Health Practice (PIHP) in the Philippines • Course requirements plus 2 skill-based professional development seminars	16 letter grade

Students initiate their practicum search in various ways: through personal and/or professional contacts, through faculty recommendations, or through opportunities posted with the Practice Office. An extensive list of opportunities can be found on the Practice Office website.

Once a practicum site has been secured, approval for a practicum must be provided by a departmental faculty practice representative. Signature from the Practice Office is required in order to register for a practicum course. Online registration is not available.

Students may fulfill the MPH practicum requirement by completing the assignments associated with one of the course options described in the table above. Dual concentrators need only complete one practicum.