MPH Context Certificate: Infectious Disease

Infectious diseases are responsible for a significant global burden of disease that disproportionately affects vulnerable populations worldwide. This certificate provides students with the foundation to collect and analyze data to identify agent, host, and environmental (physical, social, behavioral, cultural, economic, political) factors contributing to the cause and spread of infectious diseases. Students will be prepared to design contextually appropriate interventions for infectious disease prevention, control, and elimination.

Upon graduation, students will be able to:

  • Collect and analyze data to describe agent, host, and environmental factors contributing to the causation and spread of infectious diseases.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of appropriate methodologies to study infectious diseases including diagnostic and environmental testing, surveillance systems, and epidemiologic study designs.
  • Discuss key public health prevention and control activities for major categories of diseases including diarrheal diseases, respiratory diseases, vector-borne diseases, foodborne and waterborne diseases, and sexually transmitted diseases.
  • Design resource setting and socio-culturally appropriate interventions for infectious disease prevention and control; effectively communicate recommendations in both technical and non-technical terms.
  • Critically assess the infectious disease academic literature, analyzing the strength and validity of the hypothesis, study design and methods, results, conclusions, and public health significance of primary research studies.

Course Requirements

  • EP 755 Infectious Disease Epidemiology (4 cr) or PH 739 Foundations of Infectious Disease for Public Health (2 cr)
  • Choose at least one of the following:
    • EH 735 Environmental Determinants of Infectious Diseases (2 cr)
    • EH 745 Wastewater and Health/Sustainable Sanitation (2 cr)
    • EH 750 Water Quality and Public Health (2 cr)
    • EP 764 The Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in the Developed and Developing World (2 cr)
    • EP 784 The Epidemiology of Tuberculosis in the Developed and Developing World (2 cr)
    • GH 715 Antiretroviral Program Management and Adherence Issues in Low-Resource Settings (2 cr)
    • GH 795 Global AIDS Epidemic (4 cr)
    • GH 800 Clinical Development of a New Medicinal (2 cr)
  • Choose at least one of the following:
    • BS 728 Public Health Surveillance: A Methods-Based Approach (2 cr)
    • BS 825 Advanced Methods in Infectious Disease Epidemiology (2 cr)
    • EP 730 Epidemiology of Vaccine Preventable Diseases (2 cr)
    • EP 800 Microbes and Methods: Selected Topics in Outbreak Investigation (2 cr)
    • GH 805 Controversies in Global Control & Eradication of Infectious Diseases (2 cr)
    • PH 825 Analysis of Emerging Infections Using the One Health Approach (4 cr)