Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• SPH SB 785: Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Use: People, Populations and Policies
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. - Alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Because virtually everyone has some experience with ATOD use themselves or in others, much about this topic is thought to be common knowledge, but in this course students will be surprised at the depth of scientific knowledge known that is not widely understood, in part evidenced by common policies and approaches that are not evidence-based. This course asks students to critically examine current ATOD research, policy and intervention and prevention practice, with the goal of acquiring skills with which to improve strategies to reduce ATOD-related consequences, illness and injury. Specifically, students will become well-versed in models for understanding ATOD use; gain knowledge in ATOD use across multiple populations and throughout the lifespan; understand contemporary public health debates regarding ATOD research and prevention strategies; learn how to address the deficiencies in current public health approaches to ATOD use; and be able to apply knowledge to emerging public health problems.
• SPH SB 806: Designing Strategic Interventions and Communications to Advance Public Health
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. - This core communications course focuses on 1) the development of an evidence- informed and innovative intervention and 2) the execution of a strategic and creative communications plan for a public health organization that is responsible for the intervention developed. The course also features a review of basic theory and research that can inform the health communications process as well as strategies for accessing the literature. Students are assigned a public health problem faced by a public health agency, and consult with the public health agency throughout the semester. Working through a sequence of written assignments, students conduct a literature review to inform an intervention plan and then prepare several materials to execute a communications strategy in support of the intervention. Communication pieces may include, but are not limited to: press release, letter to the editor, pitch letter with infographic, editorial, social media, video, website wireframes, texting campaigns and mHealth, videos, and press event. Writing workshops in class, skill-based exercises, and consultations with the teaching team and stakeholders are designed to give students ideas for their projects, interim feedback on their written assignments, and tools necessary to successfully develop and present a product that can be implemented by the public health agency. Students present their final project to the class and to the public health agency.
• SPH SB 818: Qualitative Research Methods
  This course provides an introduction to the use of qualitative research methods in public health. Students will gain experience in the use and application of qualitative research methods including participant observation, in-depth and key informant interviewing, focus group discussions, systematic data collection, and document analysis. Students examine different qualitative methods and techniques and learn how they can be used alone or in conjunction with quantitative methods. The course also includes attention to topics such as credibility, transferability, dependability, triangulation, site and resource identification, sampling methods, and interview and focus group guide design. Students will focus a semester-long project on a topic of their choice. Students will gain experience with basic data analysis, including coding and memoing and development of data displays. At the end of the course, students will present the results of their research and propose next steps for future research on their topic.
• SPH SB 820: Assessment and Planning for Health Promotion
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. - This course will introduce students to neighborhoods of Boston or the greater Boston area, and provide opportunities for acquiring and practicing community assessment skills with an eye toward advancing health equity. We address the fundamental question: How do public health scientists and practitioners demonstrate that a health issue in a community warrants intervention? Students will learn to consult the literature, large data sets (such as the U.S. Census, hospitalization data, vital records, and national survey data) and geographic/mapping data, as well as conduct key informant interviews or surveys and site visits to assess health promotion needs and assets of a specific neighborhood and groups. The course will culminate in the production of a community needs assessment report integrating the various sources of data gathered over the course of the semester.
• SPH SB 821: Intervention Strategies for Health Promotion
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. - This course focuses on strategic planning for public health practice. Social science approaches are included. Working in teams through a sequence of written assignments, students develop a strategic plan for a program designed to change a health behavior or a health outcome. Work in class and during team consultations are designed to give students practice with elements of the strategic planning process, ideas for their project, and interim feedback on their written assignments.
• SPH SB 822: Quantitative Methods for Program Evaluation
  This course provides an overview of the major principles and methods associated with systematic evaluation of public health programs. The overall goal is to help students develop skills needed to review, critique, plan, and conduct evaluation research. The course covers: program logic models; formative, process and outcome evaluations; threats to internal and external validity; quasi-experimental and experimental study designs; probability and non-probability sampling methods; sample size and power analysis; measurement of constructs; questionnaire development; statistical analysis strategies; and dissemination evaluation.
• SPH SB 832: Trauma, Trauma-Informed Care, Recovery & Resilience
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. - Exposure to trauma (e.g., interpersonal violence, military-related, disasters) is pervasive. This course will provide students the opportunity to understand the public health impact of trauma. Students will strengthen their skills through critical analysis of published research on trauma, trauma-informed approaches, treatment, recovery and resilience-building. The first part of the course is devoted to mastering context and content of trauma, and in learning and applying key frameworks and skills involved in trauma informed care. During the second half of the course, the focus turns to recovery from trauma and the role of resilience in prevention and mental health promotion. Students will apply their skills to create a strategic plan for a topic related to existing trauma-informed resilience-building approaches.
• SPH SB 860: Strategies for Public Health Advocacy
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. - This course is for advanced MPH students. It will explore the role public health practitioners can play in advocating for programs and policies to improve the public's health that have been demonstrated to be effective through peer reviewed scientific research. Students will analyze the process of advocating for policy and program change based on scientific evidence at the city, state and federal level through the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government.
• SPH SB 921: Directed Studies in Social & Behavioral Sciences
  Directed Studies provide the opportunity for students to explore a special topic of interest under the direction of a full-time SPH faculty member. Students may register for a 1, 2, 3, or 4-credit directed study by submitting a paper registration form and a signed directed study proposal form. Directed studies with a non-SPH faculty member or an adjunct faculty member must be approved by and assigned to the department chair. Students are placed in a section by the Registrar's Office according to the faculty member with whom they are working. Students may take no more than eight credits of directed study, directed research, or practica courses during their MPH education.
• SPH SB 922: Directed Research in Social & Behavioral Sciences
  Directed Research provide the opportunity for students to explore a special topic of interest under the direction of a full-time SPH faculty member. Students may register for 1, 2, 3, or 4 credits. To register, students must submit a paper registration form and signed directed research proposal form. Students are placed in a section by the Registrar's Office according to the faculty member with whom they are working. Students may take no more than eight credits of directed study or directed research during their MPH education.