More Information:

Dr. Matthew Adeyanju
740.593.4675
mph@ohio.edu

Ohio University is approved by the Board of Regents on July 15, 2004 to offer a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree. This program is designed to meet the needs of the working professional who wishes to expand his/her role in improving community health, enhance current job skills, or seek career advancement. Most course offerings will be nontraditional, offered on weekends and evenings through distance technology. Students are required to complete 60-quarter credit hours or 39 semester credit hours of instruction. The program has started to offer classes on the Ohio University campus in Athens.

The MPH program is a multidisciplinary, inter-departmental, and inter-institutional program offered by Ohio University, as a member of the Consortium of Eastern Ohio MPH (CEOMPH) program. Current members of the MPH consortium include, the University of Akron, Cleveland State University, Kent State University, the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM), and Youngstown State University, as well as Ohio University.

The Ohio Board of Regents approved the former NEOUMPH program on July 16, 1999. Each institution in the consortium provides faculty, facilities, and expertise. The mission of CEOMPH is “to improve public health by the preparation of students for public health practice in the region through collaboration among the participating academic institutions, graduate students, public health practitioners, and the community. Graduates are prepared for significant public health roles through practice, community-based research, and community service.” With Ohio University joining the consortium, the graduate program’s potential to address health needs in the under-served, rural population segments of southeast Ohio and the Appalachian region will be enhanced.

The consortium MPH has been accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health since October 3, 2003.

The MPH degree is a generalist degree; however, plans for concentration tracks and joint degrees are being considered.

The MPH degree awarded to our students will be from Ohio University.

There are six required core courses including the five areas of instruction recommended by Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). The six courses combine for a total of 24-quarter credit hours. The areas of instruction are: 1) biostatistics, 2) epidemiology, 3) environment health sciences, 4) health services administration, and 5) social and behavioral sciences. The sixth required course is a public health concepts course.

These core courses (where most of the basic public health subject areas will be covered) were developed cooperatively by the member institutions. Each core course will be taught using distance education technology. At a minimum, this will involve interactive videoconferencing that will facilitate instructor and student interaction. All of the campuses have the capability to allow classrooms to interconnect.

The remaining credit hours will consist of electives (24-28 quarter credit hours). Students will be able to choose electives from a list of approved courses from any of the campuses. They will also be able to petition to have other courses approved for elective credit. Students will also complete eight to twelve credit hours of capstone experience.

Students will move through the program as a cohort when they take their core courses that may be completed in two years. Approved elective courses will be offered on the respective campuses, mostly in the evenings, but may be available in other instructional formats. Completion of the degree will take two or more years, depending on when the student chooses to take electives.

During the course of the program, each student will produce a “portfolio” of defined competencies, an ongoing assignment throughout the program. The portfolio will include the student’s accomplishments, such as the grant and capstone project product. The portfolio, presentation, and formal class evaluations the students complete will serve as an overall evaluation of the objectives for the program.

Admissions criteria has been established by the consortium; requirements include a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, previous GPA of at least 2.75 and GPA of 3.00 for graduate coursework, submission of official transcripts, three letters of recommendation, a personal statement, and completion of a college-level math or statistics and a college-level natural and social science course. In addition, acceptable Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores will be required. GRE scores will be waived if the applicant possesses a postgraduate (masters or doctoral) degree in a relevant area. Applicants with at least two years of work experience in a relevant field will be given priority.

Application deadline is January 15 of each year.