Public Health Core

• SPH PH 859: Cases in Public Health Management
  Graduate Prerequisites: Enrollment restricted to DrPH students and other degree candidates with consent of instructor. - This course will focus on developing tools for, and perspectives on, decision-making in senior public health positions through analysis of a series of case studies. Students will adopt different roles in preparing the cases, sometimes individually and sometimes in groups. The cases will address challenges faced in human resources, facilities design, quality control, organizational change and the integration of policy and program-planning. Students will be assessed on: (1) memos prepared for their roles in individual classes; (2) the quality of their participation in class discussions of the cases; and (3) their response to a case that will be distributed as a final examination.
• SPH PH 867: Evidence-Based Policy and Budgeting
  Public Health leaders must be prepared to both influence and understand policies using evidence. The dynamic relationship between research and policy necessitates specific training in a wide range of methods. This course will build skills to prepare students to (1) assess the strength of existing evidence on a health topic and summarize the data to be used to advise policymakers; (2) understand economic implications of a proposed or existing policy using several economic evaluation approaches; (3) develop evidence-based recommendations to be delivered to policymakers in terms they find most relevant. The main goal is for students to understand when a variety of analyses and their related tools are appropriate; how to apply them when communicating with specialists; and when to deploy them in their own public health leadership practice. Specifically, students will develop skills related to: synthesizing evidence from the peer-reviewed literature; performing meta-analyses; using cost-effectiveness analysis to inform decisions about improving health through policy and decision-making; conducting budget impact analysis and social return on investment analysis; communicating complex evidence to decision-makers. This is a doctoral-level course however, advanced master's students are encouraged to enroll.
• SPH PH 870: Research Skills Seminar
  PH870 provides students with professional skills that are relevant to research careers in public health. In this course, students will learn and apply concepts and tools relevant to research project execution, research project management, and communication of research results to various audiences. This includes conducting a literature review on a scientific question that they have developed with input from a faculty mentor and effectively communicating scientific messages through visual means. In Session 6, students are introduced to fundamental aspects of data visualization including graphical elements of charts and visual properties. Guidelines and principles for better data visualizations will be presented. Key concepts covered include the importance of identifying the target audience and a single message for each visualization, and matching chart type with data, message, and audience. In small groups, students will interpret and critique various charts and figures displaying public health data, and they will make suggestions for improving the figures and clarifying the message. In the last section of the class session, we will discuss oral communication strategies and students will learn how to effectively communicate with clinical patients as research study participants. Student mastery of data visualization will be assessed as part of a final in-class oral presentation, in which students present the findings from their literature review.
• SPH PH 871: Communication Skills for Public Health Leaders
  Graduate Prerequisites: Enrollment is restricted to DrPH students. This public health leadership seminar is one in a series of four required courses on leadership development and mentorship for the DrPH program. The purpose of this seminar is to explore the many ways in which leaders must be prepared to communicate with various stakeholders including employees, stakeholders, competitors, and the media.
• SPH PH 872: Mentorship and Coaching in Public Health Leadership
  Graduate Prerequisites: Enrollment is restricted to DrPH students. This public health leadership seminar is one in a series of four required courses on leadership development and mentorship for the DrPH program. In this seminar, students will engage in reflective leadership practice through individual and group professional coaching sessions. Students will identify personal goals for professional development and gain an awareness of barriers that may have prevented growth. Using the DrPH Competencies, students will work with a professional career mentor to develop an intentional plan for pursuing a challenging and strategic practicum project.
• SPH PH 873: Data-Driven Decision-Making for Public Health Leaders
  Graduate Prerequisites: Enrollment is restricted to DrPH students. This public health leadership seminar is one in a series of four required courses on leadership development and mentorship for the DrPH program. In this seminar, students will explore the complexities of data-driven decision-making for public health leaders. The course will be based on group discussion and interviews with senior-level public health practitioners to identify lessons learned from advanced practitioners in both domestic and global settings.
• SPH PH 874: Public Health Practice within Political Contexts
  Graduate Prerequisites: Enrollment is restricted to DrPH students. This public health leadership seminar is one in a series of four required courses on leadership development and mentorship for the DrPH program. In this course, DrPH students will analyze the political context that surrounds a health topic of interest. This course will support students in their efforts to conceptualize a public health practice-relevant dissertation topic with the goal that each student completes the dissertation proposal process during the semester.
• SPH PH 880: Research Dissemination Seminar
  This is an upper-level applied seminar course, in which students are mentored through the development of a manuscript suitable for publication in a peer- reviewed journal. Through a combination of discussions, written assignments, and oral presentations, students will develop research questions, conduct literature reviews, perform data analyses using real-world data, and summarize results a manuscript.
• SPH PH 882: Public Health Data Science Capstone
  Graduate Prerequisites: For PHDS students in their final semester. - This course is a culmination of the Public Health Data Science skills that students learn throughout their MS degree. The course prepares students to conduct scientific communication and read published articles more efficiently and critically. Through lectures, discussions, written assignments, and oral presentations, students develop research questions, conduct literature reviews, and perform data analyses using a real-world dataset. They will learn how to structure and write each section of a scientific manuscript and apply principles for concise and clear writing. The final project involves integrating all sections into a complete paper for journal submission. The small class size will facilitate in-class presentations, discussions, and peer critiques that are essential components of this course. Students will be asked to review their skill acquisition over the course of the degree by mapping applied skills to prior and current coursework.
• SPH PH 885: Grant Writing for Doctoral Students
  The purpose of this course is to support BUSPH doctoral students/candidates in writing grant proposals in a systematic fashion under faculty guidance and with peer input. The fall portion will focus on general grant writing strategies,while the spring portion will focus on proposal development. Grant writing is an important skill for all doctoral students to develop, particularly those interested in becoming faculty members at academic institutions. The goal of this course is for participants to gain experience in the overall grant writing process while developing a proposal for funding to support dissertation-related research. Upon completion of the grant writing course, the expectation is that participants will submit their proposal for funding. The focus is on NIH/AHRQ F-series and R36-type grants, though students are welcome to use the course to prepare a grant for a foundation or other source of funding. Enrollment is open to BUSPH doctoral students/candidates who are at a stage in their training where they are prepared to actively develop a grant proposal for submission. Students may take the first half of the course and not the second (if they are interested in gaining general knowledge of grant writing but are not aiming to develop their own grant proposal); the first half of the course is a prerequisite for the second half of the course (i.e., students cannot take only the second half).
• SPH PH 886: Grant Writing for Doctoral Students II
  The purpose of this course is to support BUSPH doctoral students/candidates in writing grant proposals in a systematic fashion under faculty guidance and with peer input. Following from the fall portion, which focuses on general grant writing strategies, the spring portion focuses on proposal development (i.e., writing a grant for submission). Grant writing is an important skill for all doctoral students to develop, particularly those interested in becoming faculty members at academic institutions. Despite the importance of grant writing, these skills are rarely taught in doctoral programs. The goal of this course is for participants to gain experience in the overall grant writing process while developing a proposal for funding to support dissertation-related research. Upon completion of the grant writing course, the expectation is that participants will submit their proposal for funding. The focus is on NIH/AHRQ F-series and R36-type grants, though students are welcome to use the course to prepare a grant for a foundation or other source of funding. Enrollment is open to BUSPH doctoral students/candidates who are at a stage in their training where they are prepared to actively develop a grant proposal for submission. Students may take the first half of the course and not the second (if they are interested in gaining general knowledge of grant writing but are not aiming to develop their own grant proposal); the first half of the course is a prerequisite for the second half of the course (i.e., students cannot take only the second half).
• SPH PH 890: Mentored Research Experience
  The 400-hour mentored research experience requirement gives students the opportunity to collaborate with a BUSPH faculty member.
• SPH PH 895: Public Health Pedagogy and Curriculum Development
  For Doctoral Students. This course will provide public health doctoral students with the skills and knowledge to effectively teach and develop curricula in higher education settings. The course will cover instructional design, strategies for inclusive teaching, assessment strategies, and practical teaching techniques relevant to public health. Building on the current scholarship on excellence in teaching and learning in public health, class sessions will be structured to include both instructional and interactive microteaching sessions to allow students to practice and refine their teaching skills. Students will also learn to give and use peer feedback for quality improvement. This course will build on student passion for public health and provide interactive, exciting models for transforming public health education to meet the needs of students in public health, and ultimately communities.
• SPH PH 900S: FT Doctoral Study in DrPH
  Doctoral Student Summer Enrollment for students engaged in coursework.
• SPH PH 905S: PT Doctoral Study in DrPH
  Doctoral Student Summer Enrollment for students engaged in coursework.
• SPH PH 976: MPH Health Practicum
  The practicum is an applied practice experience that allows MPH students to utilize their knowledge and gain professional skills in public health. Students develop two work products demonstrating proficiency across five selected competencies, including three foundational competencies. The Career & Practicum Office assists students in finding an appropriate practicum site; students may also use their professional and personal networks to find a practicum. Students must complete at least 240 practicum hours, of which 30 hours can be fulfilled through an approved course with a practice-based component (GH 743, GH 744, PM 832, PM 835, and SB 806). The practicum requirements may include, but may not be limited to, the following: placement approval, registration for SPH PH 976 (0 credits), a learning contract, a midpoint review, and a final assessment.
• SPH PH 978: Public Health Practicum
  The course provides dual MBA-MPH students with a structured and mentored opportunity to explore the public health context and implications of their summer internship experiences. It addresses multiple foundational competencies, including using systematic approaches to develop, implement, and evaluate public health policies, programs, or services and communicating effectively in written and oral form to different audiences.
• SPH PH 980: FT Continuing Study in DrPH
  Graduate Prerequisites: For Doctoral Students who have completed coursework. Doctoral students who have completed all academic course requirements, must register for Continuing Study every Fall and Spring semester until they have successfully defended their dissertation and graduated from SPH. Students are certified full-time and charged for student health insurance, the equivalent of two credits of tuition, and all relevant fees.
• SPH PH 985: PT Continuing Study in DrPH
  Graduate Prerequisites: For Doctoral Students who have completed coursework. Doctoral students who have completed all academic course requirements, must register for Continuing Study every Fall and Spring semester until they have successfully defended their dissertation and graduated from SPH. Students are certified part-time and charged for the equivalent of two credits of tuition, and all relevant fees.
• SPH PH 986: Doctorate of Public Health Practicum
  Graduate Prerequisites: For DrPH students only. - Required practicum for DrPH students. Course is pass/fail.