In addition to the course work, each student must complete a practicum and a culminating experience, and attend the related year-long Practice of Public Health class (see description below). Practical knowledge and skills are considered an important component of a public health professional degree program; students must apply the knowledge and skills acquired through their courses of study.
REQUIRED COURSES
Core Courses Offered in the Fall
- Introduction to Biostatistics (PHS 7000)
- Fundamentals of Epidemiology (PHS 7010)
- Environmental Health: Principles & Practice (PHS 7380)
- Health Behavior and Health Promotion (PHS 7610)
- Health Policy & Management (PHS 7100)
- The Practice of Public Health (PHS 7180/7181)
Core Courses Offered in the Spring
- Public Health Law & Ethics (PHS 7050)
- Applied Epidemiology Methods (PHS 7020)
- Qualitative Methods in Com Health (PHS 7015)
- The Practice of Public Health (PHS 7180/7181)
- Program Planning and Evaluation (PHS 7060)
PRACTICE OF PUBLIC HEALTH, FIELD PLACEMENT, AND CULMINATING EXPERIENCE
PHS 7180/7181 - The Practice of Public Health (1 credit)
This year-long course focuses on acquiring the competencies of the Public Health Professional, from communication and informatics to ethics and professionalism. With guest speakers from the public health practice and health services communities, students explore what it means to be a public health professional. In addition, students target an area in public health for their field placement, identify a site, choose an advisor, and finalize a field placement project. Students submit an outline of their proposed field placement project, with signatures from the site supervisor and MPH advisor, to the MPH program director, before the field placement begins.
PHS 8890/8900 (Fall/Spring/Summer) - MPH Field Placement ( 3 credits)
Because practical knowledge and skills are considered an important component of a public health professional degree program, students need to apply the knowledge and skills acquired through their courses of study through a planned, supervised, and evaluated practical experience. A minimum of 200 hours is required for the field placement. This experience is designated within the MPH program as the field placement. Field placements are permitted within a wide range of settings, including community agencies as well as state and federal public health agencies. Preparation for the field placement begins in the semester preceding the experience, through a 1-credit overview of the field (PHS 718) and ends with an in-depth, intensive, field experience.
All field placements must be approved by the program director, and students should have a designated UVA MPH advisor as well as a site supervisor during the field placement.
PHS 8930/8940 (Fall/Spring/Summer) - MPH Culminating Experience (3 credits)
Students must complete a culminating experience that requires them to synthesize and integrate knowledge acquired in the MPH course work and field placement in a way that approximates some aspect of professional practice. Different models are possible, including written or oral comprehensive examinations, a major research paper such as a thesis, the development of teaching or training materials for a targeted population, a grant proposal, or other models as approved.
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