Departments and Degree Programs
Biostatistics
Environmental Health
Epidemiology
Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights
Health Policy & Management
International Health
Maternal & Child Health
Social & Behavioral Sciences
Pharmaceutical Assessment, Management & Policy
Contact Information
Master of Science (MSc)
Doctor of Science (DSc)
Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)
Biostatistics
The goal of the faculty of the Department of Biostatistics is to participate actively in innovative research, advance medical and statistical science, and work closely with students so that they may acquire the knowledge to pursue productive careers in medical and public health research at the highest levels.
The mission of the department is:
- to teach students the proper conduct of research studies through rigorous study design and appropriate descriptive and analytic methods that enable valid, interpretable conclusions to be drawn;
- to collaborate in research projects to ensure that studies are properly designed, appropriately analyzed, and suitably interpreted; and
- to develop and evaluate new methods of biostatistical analysis and strategies for study design.
Academic Programs
Members of the Biostatistics faculty also collaborate with Boston University’s Graduate School of Arts & Sciences in offering a Master of Arts in Biostatistics and a Doctor of Philosophy in Biostatistics. Admission to the Master of Arts and PhD programs in Biostatistics is through the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. For more information, call 617-638-5207.
MPH Concentration
The Master of Public Health program, with a concentration in Biostatistics, provides the skills to design, analyze, and interpret the results of public health studies.
The Master of Public Health degree program, with a concentration in Biostatistics, trains students in study design and provides quantitative skills to prepare them for collaboration in public health research and surveillance projects that will aid in prevention and treatment of diseases and development of public health policy. The program emphasizes the statistical aspects of research, including study design, data management, and statistical analysis. Through such courses as statistics, advanced regression analysis, and statistical computing, students learn the statistical applications important to research, including study design, data management, and statistical analysis. Graduates are prepared for further study or careers in research, project management, academia, or the private sector.
Core Biostatistics learning objectives for all MPH students:
- Identify probabilistic and statistical terminology and statistical methods common in the public health literature; interpret statistical results, tables, and figures from public health literature.
- Evaluate the methodological strength of published public health research papers on the basis of the appropriateness of statistical methods and internal validity, and the extent to which the results can be generalized.
- Organize a data set and perform basic statistical analyses.
Core Courses
It is strongly recommended that Biostatistics concentrators take SPH BS 703 Biostatistics and SPH EP 712 Epidemiologic Methods to satisfy the core epidemiology and biostatistics MPH requirements.
Concentration Requirements
In addition to the recommended MPH core courses all concentrators must take 16 credits in courses and participate in the Biostatistics in Public Health Day, the culminating experience. Biostatistics concentrators must take all three of the following courses:
BS 723 Introduction to Statistical Computing, with a B or better
BS 805 Intermediate Statistical Computing and Applied Regression Analysis
BS 852 Statistical Methods for Epidemiology
And, one course among the following five:
BS 722 Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials
BS 820 Logistic Regression and Survival Analysis
BS 821 Categorical Data Analysis
BS 851 Applied Statistics in Clinical Trials I
BS 858 Statistical Genetics I
Additional courses offered in the Department of Biostatistics:
BS 401 Summer Institute in Biostatistics (undergraduates only)
BS 701 Elementary Biostatistics
BS 771 Topics in Biostatistics
BS 790 Data Management in Public Health Research
BS 810 Meta-Analysis for Public Health and Medical Research
BS 822 Advanced Statistical Computing
BS 830 Design and Analysis of Microarray Data
BS 845 Applied Statistical Modeling and Programming with R
BS 853 Application of Generalized Linear Models
BS 855 Bayesian Modeling for Biomedical Research and Public Health
BS 857 Analysis of Correlated Data
BS 859 Applied Genetic Analysis
BS 860 Statistical Genetics II
BS 861 Applied Statistics in Clinical Trials II
BS 871 Advanced Topics in Biostatistics
BS 901 Directed Studies in Biostatistics
BS 902 Directed Research in Biostatistics
Culminating Experience
Biostatistics in Public Health Day is held once a semester in order for concentrators to present analyses of public health data, prepared beyond required coursework. Concentrators will create and present a poster on their research question, methods, analysis, and results and will be called upon to explain their poster to the faculty and students. Study questions must address issues relating to other fields within public health that concentrators have studied during their MPH training.
The following are offered through Boston University’s Graduate School of Arts & Sciences:
The Master of Arts in Biostatistics program offers training for students interested in pursuing advanced study in the theory and methods of biostatistics. Students must pass two comprehensive examinations demonstrating proficiency in biostatistical theory and methods and then may select additional advanced courses in mathematics, biostatistics, and epidemiology.
The PhD in Biostatistics program offers advanced training for students pursuing careers as a professional, academic, or industrial biostatistician. Providing specialized training for health professionals seeking deeper expertise in statistics and analysis, the program is also suitable for experienced statisticians who wish to specialize in statistical methods for biomedical or epidemiologic applications.
Environmental Health
Environmental factors are the predominant determinants of health in individuals and communities. The twentieth century saw public health triumphs in developed nations by providing a safe water supply; clean air; and lead-free gasoline, though these problems remain critical in other parts of the world. In the new century we face such challenges as global climate change, “mad cow”-like illnesses caused by novel infectious agents, and environmental pollutants that act like hormones.
Research in the Department of Environmental Health has its scientific roots in toxicology and epidemiology, the disciplines that tell us most of what we know about environmental hazards. The department houses two basic research laboratories in immunotoxicology and is home to a Superfund Basic Research Center, which investigates reproductive and developmental hazards. The department’s research agenda is also firmly rooted in community health and environmental justice; for example, a collaborative project with public officials and community groups seeks to better the health of low-income families by improving conditions in public housing.
Members of our faculty are innovative and committed teachers whose doors are open to students in both the Master of Public Health and Doctor of Science programs. In teaching, we combine a strong foundation in environmental health science with an emphasis on community and environmental justice, bringing the real world into the classroom at every opportunity. Our graduates exemplify the same twin commitments to science and community as they work to bring about a healthier environment for all.
Academic Programs
The Department of Environmental Health offers the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree program with a concentration in Environmental Health, and the Doctor of Science (DSc) in Environmental Health.
MPH Concentration
The MPH program, with a concentration in Environmental Health, prepares students to move into the front lines of public health. The curriculum first gives a firm grounding in environmental health science and policy, and then allows students to tailor further coursework to their interests in global health and sustainability, environmental epidemiology, environmental exposures and risk assessment, urban health and environmental justice, or environmental health management. A final academic project and hands-on experience in a work setting complete the MPH concentration in Environmental Health. Our graduates find rewarding careers in public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and research and consulting settings.
It is strongly recommended that concentrators in Environmental Health take the 4-credit core courses in Biostatistics and Epidemiology (that is, BS 703 Biostatistics and EP 712 Epidemiologic Methods).
Concentration Requirements (minimum 16 credits)
The core courses in the Environmental Health concentration are:
EH 765 Survey of Environmental Health
EH 768 Introduction to Toxicology
In addition to EH 765 and EH 768, Environmental Health concentrators are required to complete at least 8 credits from the following list of courses:
EH 710 Physiologic Principles for Public Health
EH 713 Molecular Biology and Public Health
EH 714 Public Health Response to Emergencies
EH 745 Wastewater and Health/Sustainable Sanitation
EH 757 Environmental Epidemiology
EH 764 Work and Health
EH 771 Topics in Environmental Health
EH 780 Great Calamities and Their Consequences in Public Health
EH 783 Application of Environmental Health Principles in Practice
EH 804 Exposure Assessment
EH 805 Scientific Basis of Environment and Occupational Health Standards
EH 806 Development and the Environment
EH 807 Urban Environmental Health
EH 810 Surveillance Methods and Applications in Environmental Health
EH 811 Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Public Health
EH 818 The Built Environment: Design Solutions for Public Health
EH 820 Mathematical Modeling for Public Health and Medicine
EH 840 Intermediate Toxicology
EH 866 Risk Assessment Methods
EH 871 Advanced Topics in Environmental Health
EH 961 Directed Studies in Environmental Health
EH 962 Directed Research in Environmental Health
PH 805 The Role of Human and Environmental Factors in Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases
Courses from other concentrations that carry Environmental Health credit:
EP 752 Cancer Epidemiology
EP 755 Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Other courses (not for concentration credit):
EH 708 Introduction to Environmental Health
EH 790 Professional Writing in Environmental Health
Tracks of Study
Although students do not formally declare a track within the Environmental Health concentration, most students chose to focus in one of the following areas.
Global ecology, environmental sustainability, and health. Students pursuing this track study the environmental health impacts of industrial development in the world’s poorer nations, sustainable methods of sanitation, and infectious diseases. Classroom instruction prepares students for work in international settings and for nongovernmental organization (NGO), governmental, and advocacy work.
Environmental epidemiology. This track focuses on the design and conduct of studies of specific environmental exposures and of diseases with environmental causes, tracking diseases and hazards (surveillance), and the methodology used to assess patterns of environmentally related diseases. Classes are taught in close collaboration with the Department of Epidemiology and include specialized instruction in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) methods and mathematical modeling. This track prepares students for research and public health department positions.
Environmental exposures and risk assessment. The hands-on courses in this track teach the tools for assessing exposure to, and associated health risks of, environmental hazards found in air, water, soil, and other parts of the environment. Public health department practice, work with agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, research, consulting, and exposure assessment positions are all compatible with the training offered in this track.
Urban environmental health, the built environment, and environmental justice. This track focuses on key environmental health issues of inner-city neighborhoods and explores the intersections of race, class, health disparities, and local environment. Metropolitan areas, sprawl, and health are also analyzed. Models of community-based environmental health interventions are provided together with the social and historical contexts of current environmental exposures and health disparities. Students from this track typically go on to work in public health and environmental protection agencies and nongovernmental organizations.
Managing health, safety, and the environment. This track equips graduates with the knowledge and skills necessary to develop strategies for current and emerging issues in environmental health. It provides information on natural resources and community sanitation as well as related legal, policy, and regulatory matters. It also addresses air quality, disaster preparedness, drinking water, food protection, hazardous materials, solid waste, and wastewater.
Culminating Courses
The following classes are considered culminating courses in Environmental Health; students must declare the course as the culminating class in the semester in which they are enrolled:
EH 757 Environmental Epidemiology
EH 804 Exposure Assessment
EH 811 G.I.S. in Public Health
EH 840 Intermediate Toxicology
EH 866 Risk Assessment Methods
EH 961 Directed Studies in Environmental Health (when completed for 4 credits and approved specifically as a culminating course)
The following courses were previously considered culminating classes and would apply only if a student was enrolled as a degree candidate in that specific semester and declared the class a culminating course:
EH 805 through Spring 2004 only
EH 807 through Spring 2007 only
EH 840 through Fall 2006 only
EH 876 through Fall 2006 only
PH 970 through Spring 2006 only
At the end of each semester, the department holds a seminar session in which students completing a capstone course present their projects to one another and to the faculty involved in the students’ work. In this final seminar, students explain their work and its significance to people with different perspectives and situate their work within the broader framework of environmental health.
Epidemiology
The results of epidemiologic investigations have attracted much public attention. Epidemiologic studies were the basis of the 1964 Surgeon General’s report linking smoking and disease, determined the distribution and methods of the transmission of AIDS, and established the relationship between high levels of cholesterol and heart disease. Epidemiologists from Boston University have taken part in this research. For example, they determined that drinking a glass of red wine each day is associated with a decreased risk of heart disease.
In recent years, the field has expanded tremendously in size, scope, and influence and is now being used to investigate a wide range of important public health topics. During this period, important changes have also occurred in the theory and methods of epidemiologic research, including the development of new views on disease causation and new study designs. These changes, along with the availability of sophisticated computer hardware and software, are enabling epidemiologists to explore new public health questions.
Academic Programs
The Department of Epidemiology offers the Master of Public Health (MPH) with a concentration in Epidemiology, the Master of Science (MSc), and the Doctor of Science (ScD) in Epidemiology.
MPH Concentration
The Master of Public Health program with a concentration in Epidemiology provides training in the principles and methodology of epidemiological research and practice. Students in this program explore the theories and methodologies underlying the science and learn how to design, conduct, analyze, and interpret research studies in such areas as genetic epidemiology, cardiovascular epidemiology, and infectious disease epidemiology. Graduates pursue advanced degrees in research or management careers in the public, private, or academic sectors.
Concentration Requirements
Epidemiology concentrators are required to complete 16 credits within the department in addition to the Epidemiology core requirement of either EP 712 (recommended) or EP 711.
All concentrators must take:
BS 723 Introduction to Statistical Computing (Course outside of epidemiology department: only 4 credits in addition to BS 723 may be counted toward the Epidemiology concentration from these courses.)
EP 813 Intermediate Epidemiology
Students who are unable to take EP 813 due to scheduling conflicts must meet with their advisor to get approval to take EP 854 instead.
The remaining 8 credits may be taken from any of the courses listed below. However, only 4 credits of 900-level courses may be applied to the concentration requirements.
EP 721 Survey Methods for Public Health
BS 722 Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials (Course outside of epidemiology department: only 4 credits in addition to BS 723 may be counted toward the Epidemiology concentration from these courses.)
EP 730 Survey of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
EP 745 Pharmaco-Epidemiology: Topics and Controversies
EP 751 Cardiovascular Epidemiology
EP 752 Cancer Epidemiology
EP 753 Cancer Prevention as a Public Health Problem
EP 755 Infectious Disease Epidemiology
EH 757 Environmental Epidemiology (Course outside of epidemiology department: only 4 credits in addition to BS 723 may be counted toward the Epidemiology concentration from these courses.)
EP 758 Nutritional Epidemiology
EP 759 Reproductive Epidemiology
MC 759 Perinatal Epidemiology
EP 760 Applying Epidemiology to the Study of Aging
EP 762 Clinical Epidemiology
EP 763 Genetic Epidemiology
EP 764 Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in the Developed and Developing World
EP 765 Epidemiology of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
EP 771 Special Topics in Epidemiology
EP 788 The Epidemiology of Tuberculosis
EH 804 Exposure Assessment
IH 805 Controversies in Global Control and Eradication of Infectious Diseases
PH 805 Role of Human & Environmental Factors in Emerging & Re-emerging Infectious Diseases
EH 810 Surveillance Methods and Applications in Environmental Health (Course outside of epidemiology department: only 4 credits in addition to BS 723 may be counted toward the Epidemiology concentration from these courses.)
PM 811 Health Services Research Methods (Course outside of epidemiology department: only 4 credits in addition to BS 723 may be counted toward the Epidemiology concentration from these courses.)
EP 817 A Guided Epidemiologic Study
SB 822 Quantitative Methods for Program Evaluation (Course outside of epidemiology department: only 4 credits in addition to BS 723 may be counted toward the Epidemiology concentration from these courses.)
MC 825 Maternal and Child Health Research and Evaluation (Course outside of epidemiology department: only 4 credits in addition to BS 723 may be counted toward the Epidemiology concentration from these courses.)
EP 830 Drug Epidemiology
EP 855 Advanced Epidemiology Seminar: Issues in Study Design
EP 856 Selected Topics in Epidemiologic Methods
EP 857 Design and Conduct of Cohort Studies
EP 858 Design and Conduct of Case-Control Studies
EP 871 Advanced Topics in Epidemiology
EP 911 Directed Studies in Epidemiology
EP 912 Directed Research in Epidemiology
EP 915 Research Methodology and Medical Literature
Culminating Experience
Epidemiology concentrators must pass a 4-hour comprehensive exam prior to graduation. This exam should be scheduled after the student has completed Intermediate Epidemiology (EP 813) or Modern Epidemiology (EP 854). The exam is offered every year in April and November. Students are encouraged to take the exam the semester prior to their last semester.
Tracks of Study
Within the epidemiology concentration, students are able to take courses that fulfill their interests and can follow certain tracks to help prepare themselves for the specific field of epidemiology in which they would like to work. The following are tracks that students may take and suggested courses for fulfilling the requirements.
Clinical Trials
BS 723 Introduction to Statistical Computing
BS 722 Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials
BS 805 Intermediate Statistical Computing and Applied Regression Analysis
EP 813 Intermediate Epidemiology
BS 851 Applied Statistics in Clinical Trials I
EP 854 Modern Epidemiology
BS 861 Applied Statistics in Clinical Trials II
Infectious Diseases
BS 723 Introduction to Statistical Computing
EP 813 Intermediate Epidemiology
EP 854 Modern Epidemiology
EP 764 Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in the Developed and Developing World
EP 755 Infectious Disease Epidemiology
EP 765 Epidemiology of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
EP 788 Epidemiology of Tuberculosis
Non-Infectious Diseases
BS 723 Introduction to Statistical Computing
EH 757 Environmental Epidemiology
EP 758 Nutritional Epidemiology
EP 759 Reproductive Epidemiology
EP 813 Intermediate Epidemiology
EP 854 Modern Epidemiology
EP 751 Cardiovascular Epidemiology
EP 752 Cancer Epidemiology
EP 753 Cancer Prevention as a Public Health Problem
EP 762 Clinical Epidemiology
Genetic Epidemiology
BS 723 Introduction to Statistical Computing
EP 813 Intermediate Epidemiology
EP 854 Modern Epidemiology
EP 763 Genetic Epidemiology
BS 858 Statistical Genetics I
BS 859 Applied Genetic Analysis
BS 860 Statistical Genetics II
LW 800 Genetics, Law, and Public Health
Epidemiologic and Research Methods
EP 721 Survey Methods for Public Health
BS 723 Introduction to Statistical Computing
EP 813 Intermediate Epidemiology
EP 817 A Guided Epidemiologic Study
BS 852 Statistical Methods in Epidemiology
EP 854 Modern Epidemiology
EP 855 Advanced Epidemiology Seminar: Issues in Study Design
EP 856 Selected Topics in Epidemiologic Methods
EP 857 Design and Conduct of Cohort Studies
EP 858 Design and Conduct of Case-Control Studies
EP 915 Research Methods and Medical Literature
BS 805 Intermediate Statistical Computing
EH 810 Surveillance Methods and Applications in Environmental Health
PM 811 Health Services Research Methods
SB 822 Quantitative Methods for Program Evaluation
Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights
Law is the primary means for putting public health policy into effect. Students in the Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights department will discover this dynamic process in a wide range of subjects, such as genetic testing and privacy, tobacco control, dangerous consumer products, workplace hazards, managed care, biomedical research, and national emergencies. The department’s teaching and research activities explore both individual rights and governmental authority to protect health. In the human rights arena the department considers connections between health and social justice in the United States and abroad. Its bioethics courses analyze not only what can be done in the health care system but what should be done, and explicitly examines the values and beliefs that govern both the people and the institutions that affect health today.
Academic Programs
The Department of Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights offers the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree with a concentration in Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights.
MPH Concentration
The Master of Public Health degree program, with a concentration in Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights, provides foundational instruction in public health law, which students complement with advanced studies in bioethics or other selected topics within the discipline. This degree is appropriate for students planning careers in law, public policy, advocacy, or academia. In addition, the program prepares students for a variety of careers across the spectrum of public health, including hospital administration, biomedical research, law, and regulatory affairs.
Concentration Requirements
Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights concentrators may follow either the law track or the bioethics track within the concentration. Concentrators must take department courses totaling 16 credits.
For law track concentrators, this must include:
LW 751 Public Health Law (4 credits)
LW 850 Legal Strategies to Reduce Health Risks (4 credits)
For bioethics track concentrators, this must include:
LW 751 Public Health Law (4 credits)
LW 725 Ethical Issues in Medicine and Public Health (4 credits, as prerequisite for LW 825)
LW 825 Ethical Dimensions of Public Health Policy (4 credits)
The writing requirement for Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights concentrators fulfilled with LW 850 or LW 825, is to produce a problem-solving paper, using legal and public policy analysis and making a specific recommendation for legal change (legislative, regulatory, judicial, or private-sector policy, including a health facility policy) to solve an important public health problem.
The remaining credits must be taken from the following courses:
LW 709 Health Care Rationing: Needs and Options
LW 721 Introduction to Human Rights and Health
LW 725 Ethical Issues in Medicine and Public Health
LW 800 Genetics, Law, and Public Health
LW 805 Regulation of Research with Human Beings
LW 825 Ethical Dimensions of Public Health Policy
LW 830 Health Insurance, Managed Care, and the Law
LW 840 Health Law, Bioethics, and Human Rights
LW 850 Legal Strategies to Reduce Health Risks
LW 854 Mental Health Law and Ethics
LW 951 Directed Studies in Health Law
LW 952 Directed Research in Health Law
Culminating Experience
There is an annual Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights Day at which graduating concentrators in Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of law, ethics, and public health. These students will make oral presentations on the topics addressed in their papers in LW 825 Ethical Dimensions of Public Health Policy or LW 850 Legal Strategies to Reduce Health Risks. This day takes place annually in May.
Health Law concentrators should not take LW 707 Essentials of Public Health Law, because LW 751 is required for concentrators and also fulfills the MPH core requirement for health law. Students who change concentrations must speak with the department chair.
Health Policy & Management
The Department of Health Policy & Management is an internationally renowned academic department for studying the financing, organization, and delivery of health care. The Department is committed to training students to be health care leaders who help to solve problems of high costs, the large number of Americans without insurance, and deficiencies in quality of care.
Academic Programs
The Department of Health Policy & Management offers the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree with a concentration in Health Policy & Management as described here. The Department’s two other degree programs, described elsewhere, are the Master of Science (MSc) degree in Health Services Research, and Doctor of Science (DSc) degree in Health Services Research.
MPH Concentration
The Master of Public Health program, with a concentration in Health Policy & Management, provides students with the skills and knowledge necessary to formulate and implement sound, creative solutions to complex problems in the health care system. Students examine the link between health policy and effective management, incorporating studies in health program administration and organization, health policy and planning, and financial analysis for health care. This degree is appropriate for students who are interested in highly responsible careers as either managers of health care organizations or analysts for public or private organizations involved in the financing, delivery, or evaluation of health care services.
Concentration Requirements
The Health Policy & Management concentration curriculum is designed to develop a solid base of analytic expertise and knowledge in the four key areas of health policy and management:
- health administration/management;
- policy, politics, and planning;
- finance; and
- organization and delivery of care.
Concentrators complete the core course, PM 702 Introduction to Health Policy and Management, and complete a minimum of 16 additional credits in the department, including 4 credits in each of the four key distribution areas above. Course selections must include a course that meets the research paper requirement and the culminating requirement for the department. A single course can be used to meet a distribution requirement as well as the research paper and culminating course requirements.
These courses meet the distribution requirements:
Management
PM 721 Organizational Behavior in Health Management
PM 733 Health Program Management
PM 736 Human Resource Management in Public Health
PM 776 Management Skills for Solving Practical Problems
Policy and Planning
PM 758 Introduction to Mental Health Services
PM 810 Introduction to American Government for Public Health
PM 834 Health Regulation and Planning
PM 838 Health Politics and Public Policy
PM 840 Analysis of Current Health Policy Issues
PM 850 Organizing for Health System Change
Financial and Quantitative Skills
PM 734 Principles of Nonprofit Accounting
PM 735 Health Care Finance
PM 833 Health Economics
PM 842 Health Economics for Health Services Research
Organization and Delivery of Care
PM 755 Organization and Delivery of Health Care
PM 827 Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations
PM 836 Survey of Managed Care (2 cr, will satisfy the Organization & Delivery of Care distribution requirement, but students will still need to complete a minimum of 16 PM credits after taking PM 702.)
The following courses satisfy the department’s research paper requirement. Each requires a reasonably substantial research paper, with the outline and complete first draft of the paper reviewed by the instructor.
PM 721 Organizational Behavior and Health Management
PM 736 Human Resource Managment (beginning spring 2009)
PM 776 Management Skills for Solving Practical Problems
PM 834 Health Regulation and Planning
PM 840 Analysis of Current Health Policy Issues
PM 931 Directed Studies in Health Policy and Management (subject to approval)
PM 932 Directed Research in Health Policy and Management (subject to approval)
Students must also complete a culminating course. One course can meet a distribution, research, and culminating requirement. The following courses meet the culminating course requirement in Health Policy & Management:
PM 776 Management Skills for Solving Practical Problems
PM 827 Strategic Management of Healthcare Organizations
PM 834 Health Regulation and Planning, and
PM 840 Analysis of Current Health Policy Issues
PH 984 Practicum (with approval)
PH 931 Directed Study for minimum of 4 credits, with approval
Examination—prepared on request
Courses that currently satisfy the departmental requirements are listed above. If the department adds courses after a student enters the MPH program, students may satisfy the requirements by taking courses under any list in effect while they are enrolled.
In addition to courses that fulfill departmental requirements, the Department of Health Policy & Management also offers the following elective courses:
PM 715 The Impact of Insurance on Health Care
PM 741 Consultation Techniques
PM 742 Pharmaceutical Assessment, Management, and Policy
PM 744 Introduction to Health Facility Planning and Design
PM 752 Disability and Public Health
PM 771 Topics in Health Policy and Management
PM 811 Health Services Research Methods
PM 814 Contemporary Theoretical and Empirical Issues in Health Services Research
PM 815 Statistical Methods for Health Services
PM 818 Health Information Technology
PM 821 Advanced Health Services Research Methods
PM 824 Theory and Research on Organizations
PM 826 Health, Illness, and the Use of Health Services
PM 828 Advanced Seminar in Qualitative Methods for Health Services Research
PM 830 Developing Patient-Based Health Status and Outcomes Measures
PM 837 Evaluating Health Care Quality
PM 845 Econometrics for Health Services Research
PM 855 Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and Decision Analysis
PM 871 Advanced Topics in Health Policy and Management
PM 931 Directed Studies in Health Policy and Management
PM 932 Directed Research in Health Policy and Management
Optional Tracks
If you are a Health Policy & Management (HPM) concentrator who would like to focus your career or your MPH degree studies on health policy, health care management, or pharmaceutical administration and policy, you have the opportunity to complete an educational track.
Pharmaceutical Assessment, Management & Policy (PAMP) Program
The Pharmaceutical Assessment, Management & Policy (PAMP) program is a supplementary option within the MPH program. For information about track objectives, entry requirements, and course requirements, see description on page 24.
Management Track and Policy Track
The department’s long-standing distribution requirements offer breadth, while new track options offer depth. If you complete a track, this will be noted on your transcript from Boston University School of Public Health.
Completing a track is optional. The department appreciates that you may wish to take a broad range of courses because you are not certain about your career path or for other reasons.
If you complete a track, the department expects that you will develop conceptual, analytical, and practical knowledge that can facilitate your entry into the job market in the field of your choice. Completing a track requires coursework beyond what is needed for the HPM concentration, and a track-related practicum. Therefore, if you are interested in a track, please meet with your academic advisor to plan how to satisfy the additional requirements.
Credit requirements. You will complete a track by taking 12 or more credits in approved courses. Since 4 of these are credits already required to satisfy the HPM distribution requirement in that area—either policy or management—you would need to complete an additional 8 credits from the approved courses shown in lists below. (These may include a course also used to satisfy the distribution requirement in another area.)
Health policy track. For example, to complete the health policy track, you would choose at least eight credits from the following list—in addition to the four credits taken to satisfy your politics/policy/planning distribution requirement.
PM 735 Health Care Finance
PM 758 Introduction to Mental Health Services
PM 810 Introduction to American Government for Public Health Students
PM 833 Health Economics
PM 834 Health Regulation and Planning
PM 838 Health Politics and Public Policy
PM 840 Analysis of Current Health Policy Issues
PM 850 Organizing for Health System Change
PM 855 Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and Decision Making
Health care management track. Similarly, to complete the track in health care management, you would choose at least 8 credits from the following list—in addition to the 4 credits taken to satisfy your management distribution requirement for the MPH degree in health policy and management.
PM 721 Organizational Behavior
PM 733 Health Program Management
PM 734 Principles of Nonprofit Accounting
PM 735 Health Care Finance
PM 736 Human Resource Management
PM 776 Management Skills for Solving Practical Problems
PM 818 Health Information Systems
PM 827 Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations
Practicum. Completing the health policy track requires a practicum that is closely associated with health policy. Completing the health care management track requires a practicum that is closely associated with health care management. Both your faculty advisor and the department practicum coordinator must approve the practicum.
International Health
The Department of International Health’s mission is to improve the health of populations in resource-poor and transitional economies through teaching, research, and service activities. Members of the faculty are drawn from public health, clinical, and social/behavioral sciences providing a multidisciplinary faculty equipped to address the complex issues of health and development and meet the needs of a diverse student body.
The department has a strong emphasis on issues related to infectious diseases (particularly HIV/AIDS, malaria, and pneumonia), drawing on the active research program of BUSPH’s Center for International Health and Development (CIHD). The department has historical strengths in management and finance in developing countries, pharmaceutical policy, and the public health needs of the former Soviet Union.
Faculty are involved in major research projects designed to identify and resolve economic, clinical, and behavioral issues in more than 15 countries, with a focus on activities in Africa and Asia. There are specific research programs on child survival, the social and economic impacts of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and pharmaceutical policy. CIHD is the host institution of the BUSPH/Harvard Medical School WHO Collaborating Center for Pharmaceutical Policy.
Academic Programs
The Department of International Health offers the Master’s of Public Health (MPH) with a concentration in International Health and a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) in International Health.
MPH Concentration
The Master of Public Health with a concentration in International Health provides students with the skills and knowledge necessary to work effectively in an overseas setting. Students have the flexibility to combine coursework from a wide variety of fields to gain skills in program design, management, and evaluation along with core international health knowledge to address the social and cultural issues that affect access to health care across the globe. Employment in international health is highly competitive and experiences living and working abroad are essential prerequisites for many jobs. Students matriculating into the program without substantive overseas work experience should be prepared to devote extra time and resources to gain the experience they will need to develop a competitive résumé. Graduates with a concentration in International Health are equipped for further study or for careers in relief and development, consulting, research, and government, both domestically and abroad.
Concentration Requirements
All IH concentrators must complete 16 credits of courses that carry International Health credit. IH 704 and IH 720 do not count toward the 16 credits (nor do the domestic cores).
MPH Course Electives
The following courses may be applied toward IH concentration credit. Schedule is subject to change. Check the current course schedule to confirm which courses will be taught.
IH 700 Health in Lower-Income and Transitional Countries: Issues and Approaches
IH 701 Principles of International Health
IH 702 Skills in Critical Analysis and Evidence-based Writing for Public Health Professionals
IH 707 Field Practicum in Public Health and the Environment
IH 719 Community-based Approaches to Health and Development
IH 731 Leadership and Negotiations
IH 733 Managing Teams and Groups for the New or Emerging Leader
IH 735 Power, Gender, and Ethnicity: Issues in Inequality and Health
IH 737 International Organizational Behavior: A Cross-Cultural Approach
IH 741 International Health Consultation Techniques
IH 742 Medical Anthropology in Public Health
IH 745 Monitoring and Evaluation of International Health Programs
IH 753 Beyond Reproductive Health: Women’s Health in Developing Countries
IH 755 Managing Disasters and Complex Humanitarian Emergencies
IH 757 Fighting Corruption Through Accountability and Transparency
IH 758 Applied Mental Health in Low-Resource Countries
IH 762 Essentials of Economics and Financing for International Health
IH 766 Reproductive and Sexual Health in Disaster Settings
IH 771 Topics in International Health
IH 772 SIIH Pilot Course
IH 773 Financial Management for International Health
IH 776 SIIH Pilot Course
IH 777 International Health Culminating Experience Writing Seminar
IH 778 SIIH Pilot Course
IH 780 Global Tobacco Control: Issues and Approaches
IH 785 Health Financing Policy and Health System Performance
IH 790 Leading Organizations to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals for Health
IH 795 Global AIDS Epidemic: Social and Economic Determinants, Impact, and Responses
IH 805 Controversies in Global Control and Eradication of Infectious Diseases
IH 808 Research Proposal Development: A Practical Approach to Team Grant Writing
IH 809 Essential Quantitative Techniques in Population Analysis for Public Health
IH 811 Applied Research Methods in International Health
IH 820 Global Issues in Pharmaceutical Policy and Programming
IH 854 Using Excel for Health Program Decisions: Advanced Computer Modeling
IH 866 Controversies in IH: Does Evidence Support Policy
IH 870 Managing Disasters and Complex Humanitarian Emergencies
IH 871 Advanced Topics in International Health
IH 880 Chronic Diseases in the Developing World: A Public Health Pandemic
IH 881 Evidence-based Strategies for International Reproductive Health Programs
IH 883 Reproductive Health Programming in Developing Countries
IH 885 Global Trade, Intellectual Property, and Public Health
IH 887 Planning and Managing Maternal and Child Health Programs in Developing Countries—with an Emphasis on Child Health
IH 888 Seminar on International Health Policy Issues
IH 941 Directed Study in International Health
IH 942 Directed Research in International Health
HC 840, 841, 842, PIHP Program in International Health Practice in the Philippines
EH 714 Public Health Response to Emergencies
EH 745 Wastewater and Health/Sustainable Sanitation
EH 780 Great Calamities and Their Consequences for Public Health
EH 806 Development and the Environment
EP 721 Survey Methods for Public Health
EP 764 Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in the Developed/Developing World
EP 755 Infectious Disease Epidemiology
EP 788 The Epidemiology of Tuberculosis
LW 721 Introduction to Health and Human Rights
PM 735 Health Care Finance
PM 736 Human Resource Management in Public Health
MC 810 Community Needs Assessment
PH 805 Role of Human and Environmental Factors in Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases
SB 822 Quantitative Methods for Program Evaluation
Areas of Focus
The Department of International Health believes that students should graduate with basic analytic and public health skills (addressed by the School’s core courses) and with sufficient in-depth knowledge to be employable in an international health program. Students are encouraged to specialize and are urged to take at least two higher-level (800) courses. The areas of special research and substantive strength in the department include: pharmaceutical policy, impact of HIV/AIDS, applied research, clinical trials in developing countries, program evaluation and health systems of the former Soviet Union.
Culminating Experience
All students must complete a Culminating Experience. Students have three options for completing the Culminating Experience. Students enrolled prior to Fall 2007 can also choose a fourth option (see below.) All written work will involve a multi-draft process. Most students write and submit three drafts to their advisor and the IH writing instructor. A fourth version is often necessary to complete the paper. In order to successfully complete the culminating experience the student must demonstrate application of a broad range of core skills from across the curriculum and synthesis and integration of knowledge. The paper must be of superior quality.
Options for the Culminating Experience
Option 1: Policy Document
This option is related to the trip report that students produce as part of the IH practicum requirement. Students focus on a policy- or program-related issue relevant to the host organization, gather and analyze evidence and background information, and propose recommendations.
The advisor and the IH writing instructor will approve the policy document. The policy document should be 2,500 to 3,000 words long (6–10 pages,single-spaced). The audience will be the organization for whom the student worked during his or her practicum.
Multiple drafts of the policy document are critiqued by an IH faculty member.Students are not required to register for the policy document option. Those who choose to register may register for either IH 777 or IH 941.
Option 2: Journal Article
In this option the student will develop and submit a manuscript to an academic journal for publication. The department will issue a call for submission three times a year to accommodate the January, May, and September graduation cycles. In response to the call for submission, students intending to participate in this option will submit paper proposals consisting of a problem purpose statement, an outline of the intended analytical methods, details about the data set to be used, and a timeline for completion. An IH faculty committee will approve projects based upon the soundness of the proposal and the feasibility of getting the project completed within the intended timeline.
Students applying for this option must have a faculty mentor from the IH department who will agree to work intensively with the student throughout the semester. The faculty mentor will need to sign off on the project proposal formally, and plan regular meetings with the student throughout the writing process. The mentor’s role will be similar to that of a Senior Author or Scientific Director—giving direction and advice to the student—but the student will do the actual analysis and writing.
In order to be eligible to submit a proposal, the student must have completed 32 credit hours at the end of the semester in which the proposal is submitted.
Submission of the paper to a journal is necessary for successful completion. The manuscript will be submitted to the target journal at the end of the semester, with both the student and mentor as coauthors, as appropriate.
The student will be required to register for this option as a 2-credit directed study (IH 941) with an IH faculty mentor.
Option 3: Independent Project
This option is intended to encourage creative and innovative projects that do not fit into the previous two options. Similar to the previous option, students will be invited to submit proposals three times a year. The selection committee will entertain any fully articulated proposal that meets the guidelines for a culminating experience as outlined above. Possible examples of independent projects might include film documentaries, draft legislation, advocacy campaigns, etc.
The student will be required to register for this option as a 2-credit directed study (IH 941), with an IH faculty mentor.
Option 4: Concentration Paper
Students who matriculated before Fall 2007 will have the option of completing a concentration paper, as defined by the Concentrators Guide for the year in which the student matriculated. Guidelines for the concentration paper can be found under Course Info at International Health Online Writing Workshop.
Culminating Experience Deadline
Students are expected to complete their Culminating Experience (for IH students, this is one of the three options listed above) in the same semester in which they finish their coursework. Students must submit a Culminating Experience Contract at the beginning of the semester. Unfinished projects are subject to the incomplete grade policy. International students must be in compliance with visa regulations and any student who will not finish his/her paper in time should speak with the Academic Services Coordinator as soon as possible.
Maternal & Child Health
The Department of Maternal & Child Health’s mission is to improve the health of women, families, and communities, with a strong commitment to address health inequities and the systems and policies that contribute to them. To this mission we bring life-course, gender-based, and ecologic perspectives. Our primary focus is on the United States; however, our faculty, curriculum, and scholarly activities include countries across the development spectrum. We conduct research, education, and service in partnership with community-based organizations, advocates, and local, national, and international government agencies. Graduates from the MCH department are equipped with the knowledge, critical thinking, technical skills, and professional vitality essential to assessing community needs and assets, designing and evaluating programs and policies, and advocating for health equity. They are employed as managers, researchers, and advocates within private- and public-sector organizations in the U.S. and across the world.
Academic Programs
The Department of Maternal & Child Health offers the Master of Public Health (MPH) with a concentration in Maternal & Child Health and a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) in Maternal Health.
MPH Concentration
The Master of Public Health with a concentration in Maternal & Child Health is directed at students who seek to protect and enhance the health and well-being of women, children, and families. Students explore the unique physical needs of this population through coursework in maternal and infant health, child and adolescent health, and community-based needs assessment in maternal and child health. They then place this knowledge into a sociopolitical context, obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the cultural influences affecting women, children, adolescents, and the larger community. Graduates are equipped for careers in community and international health organizations, advocacy groups, and government agencies that address compelling issues in maternal and child health.
The Maternal and Child Health curriculum:
- assumes the health of women, children, adolescents, families, communities, and society at large are integrally related;
- emphasizes learning by doing;
- translates research into practice; and
- launches a life-long process of self-directed learning and action.
Concentration Requirements
Concentrators work directly with their advisors in planning a course of study that addresses both the students’ interests and the MCH concentration requirements. In addition to meeting the School’s degree requirements, MCH concentrators must earn a minimum of 16 concentration credits with an overall grade point average of at least 3.0.
MCH Required Courses:
To complete the 16 concentration credits, the following MCH courses are required:
MC 725 Women, Children, and Adolescents: Public Health Approaches
MC 810 Community Needs Assessment in MCH
Elective (8 credits)
(The 8 credit elective requirement may be selected from a list of all SPH courses that are MCH related (as determined by the MCH faculty). Other SPH departments offer MCH-related courses that complement the courses currently offered by the MCH program faculty. Therefore, MCH concentrators are encouraged to select courses that broaden their areas of expertise and prepare them for future public health careers.)
MCH Elective Courses:
MC 759 Perinatal Epidemiology
MC 763 Maternal and Child Health Policymaking
MC 770 Children with Special Health Care Needs
MC 771 Topics in Maternal and Child Health
MC 775 Health Disparities and Vulnerable Populations
MC 782 Women and Substance Use: Issues and Promising Practices
MC 785 Reproductive Health Advocacy
MC 820 MCH Planning and Program Development
MC 825 MCH Research and Evaluation
MC 831 Infant, Child, and Adolescent Mental Health: Integrating Developmental Science and Public Health
MC 840 Women and Health Policy: Gender, Evidence, and Politics
MC 845 Perinatal Health Services
MC 871 Advanced Topics in Maternal and Child Health
EP 759 Reproductive Epidemiology
IH 735 Power, Gender, and Ethnicity: Issues in Inequity and Health
IH 753 Beyond Reproductive Health: Women’s Health in Developing Countries
IH 881 Evidence-based Strategies for International Reproductive Health Programs
IH 883 Reproductive Health Programming in Developing Countries
IH 887 Planning and Managing MCH Programs in Developing Countries
SB 750 Family Violence and the Practice of Public Health
SB 751 Sexual Violence: Public Health Perspectives in Intervention and Prevention
SB 802 Public Health and Women: Social and Behavioral Approaches
SB 808 Merging Clinical and Population-based Perspectives in Public Health Practice: Tension and Resolution
Social & Behavioral Sciences
The Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences focuses on the effects of social factors and individual behaviors on health. By understanding these social and behavioral factors, public health professionals can help people to change their unhealthy behaviors and act as advocates in changing the social conditions that have an adverse impact on health. Departmental faculty have testified on behalf of plaintiffs seeking to curb destructive marketing practices by tobacco companies and have advocated for stricter gun control and drunk driving laws. Together with social service organizations, faculty provide outreach and advocacy services to substance abusers and victims of domestic violence, and have helped public health officials and the private sector coordinate a nationwide program designed to help smokers overcome their habit.
Academic Programs
The department offers a Master of Public Health degree program and a concentration for the Doctor of Public Health degree.
MPH Concentration
After completing the core course SB 721, MPH students who are concentrators in Social & Behavioral Sciences must complete at least 16 additional credits of courses that carry Social & Behavioral Sciences concentration credit. Among these 16 credits must be a 4-credit assessment selective, a 4-credit intervention selective, SB 822, and a minimum of one, additional 4-credit course. The course may be from the assessment or intervention selectives group, or another course that carries concentration credit. Students must also meet the MPH practicum requirement.
Assessment Selectives (minimum 4 cr.)
SB 805 Race, Ethnicity, and Health
SB 820 Assessment and Planning for Health Promotion
SB 818 Qualitative Research Methods
MC 810 Community Needs Assessment
PH 850 Social and Cultural Factors Affecting the Health of Populations
Intervention Selectives (minimum 4 cr.)
SB 806 Communication Strategies for Public Health Organizations
SB 821 Intervention Strategies for Health Promotion
SB 860 Strategies for Public Health Advocacy
SB 888 Advanced Intervention and Evaluation Research Seminar
Evaluation Requirement (minimum 4 cr.)
SB 822 Quantitative Methods from Program Evaluation
Four (4) additional credits of SB approved electives.
Students may choose to take as an SB elective one of the assessment or intervention selective courses. If they do this, however, they may not double count the credits toward both the selective requirement and the approved SB elective.
Social & Behavioral Sciences approved courses include:
SB 710 Nutrition and Public Health
SB 715 Teaching Public Health
SB 730 Stress as a Public Health Problem
SB 732 Nutrition, Aging, and the Elder Population
SB 733 Mass Communication and Public Health
SB 750 Family Violence and the Practice of Public Health
SB 751 Sexual Violence: Public Health Perspectives in Intervention and Prevention
SB 771 Topics in Special and Behavioral Sciences
SB 780 Social Factors in Mental Health and Illness
SB 802 Public Health and Women: Social and Behavioral Approaches
SB 804 Socioeconomic Inequalities in Healt
SB 807 The Health of LGBT Populations
SB 808 Merging Clinical and Population-Based Perspectives in Public Health Practice: Tension and Resolution
SB 809 Intervention Design and Development to Reduce Health Disparities
SB 813 Designing and Evaluating Web Sites for Public Health Interventions
SB 833 Designing and Implementing a PH Communication Campaign
SB 871 Advanced Topics in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Courses in other departments that have been approved for SB concentration credit include:
EP 721 Survey Methods for Public Health
EP 751 Cardiovascular Epidemiology
EP 753 Cancer Prevention as a Public Health Problem
EP 771 Topics in Epidemiology (Fall 2008 only)
PM 721 Organizational Behavioral
PM 810 Introduction to American Government for Public Health
LW 725 Ethical Issues in Medicine and Public Health
Pharmaceutical Assessment, Management & Policy (PAMP)
MPH Interdepartmental Program
The Pharmaceutical Assessment, Management & Policy (PAMP) program is a track within the MPH degree program for students who are concentrating in biostatistics, epidemiology, health policy and management, or international health. This track is to be a supplementary option under the existing MPH program and will provide students with training in pharmaceutical health care management, policy, research, and outcomes. The track will prepare students for positions within the state and federal government, non-governmental organizations, management consulting firms, health care delivery systems including managed care organizations, international organizations, donors and lending banks, contract research organizations, and the pharmaceutical industry. Completion of the PAMP program will lead to a certificate in addition to the MPH degree to be awarded to the student in recognition of successful completion of the PAMP program.
Goal of PAMP
To provide students with the knowledge and expertise to address pharmaceutical issues from a public health perspective.
Objectives of PAMP
At completion of the PAMP program, the student should be able to:
- Identify pharmaceutical issues and priorities in the context of public health,
- Discuss the range of policy and program interventions that could be used to address pharmaceutical issues in public health, including the relevant positive and negative experiences of different organizations, countries, etc. in implementation of these interventions,
- Participate in the design and implementation of policy and program interventions to address pharmaceutical issues in a public health context,
- Evaluate policy and program interventions to assess the impact of interventions,
- Contribute to the design, conduct and interpretation of research on pharmaceutical- related topics.
PAMP Entry Requirements
Students who matriculate in the MPH program with a concentration in biostatistics, epidemiology, health policy and management, or international health are eligible for this track. There are no additional entry requirements for the pharmaceutical track. Students wishing to enroll in the pharmaceutical track should complete an entry form, obtain signatures from one of the co-directors and from the faculty representative in the respective department, and submit the form to the registrar. If a student has no prior experience in the area of pharmaceuticals, the co-director may suggest the students take additional courses to provide basic knowledge and skills to succeed in the track.
PAMP Completion Requirements
Students must meet the general requirements established for the MPH program, earning a minimum of a B– in all core courses, achieving an overall grade point average of 3.0 or greater, completing a practicum, and meeting the culminating experience requirements established for his/her concentration.
Course Requirements:
To complete the PAMP program, students must take a 2-credit PAMP introductory course, PM 742, and a 2-credit PAMP Capstone course “Topics in Health Policy and Management: PAMP Capstone” (in Fall 2008 designated as SPH PM 771). In addition to this, students must also take a total of 12 credits of courses identified to be relevant to pharmaceutical assessment, management, and policy. All students are required to take:
IH 820 Global Issues in Pharmaceutical Policy
and
At least one of the following:
BS 722 Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials
BS 851 Applied Statistics in Clinical Trials I
EP 745 Pharmacoepidemiology: Topics and Controversies
EP 830 Drug Epidemiology
and
At least one of the following:
HP 811 Health Services Research Methods
HP 855 Cost Effectiveness Analysis and Decision Analysis
In addition, students in the PAMP track are required to take the 4-credit Epidemiology core course (EP 712) and the 4-credit Biostatistics core course (BS 703). All other core MPH course requirements must be met in accordance with departmental requirements. Students must enroll in internships that pertain to pharmaceuticals.
Contact Information
Co-Directors
Lewis E. Kazis, ScD,
Professor, Health Policy & Management Department
lek@bu.edu
Brenda Waning, MPH, RPh,
Assistant Professor, Department of International Health
bwaning@bu.edu
Department Faculty Representatives:
Susan F. Fish, PharmD,
Professor, Department of Biostatistics
Susan S. Jick, MPH,
Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology
Warren Kaplan, JD, PhD, MPH,
Assistant Professor, International Health
Joseph Massaro, PhD,
Associate Professor, Department of Biostatistics
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31 October 2008
Boston University
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