Population Medicine — M.P.H.

Program director
Karen Studer

The Population Medicine Program is designed to meet the needs of practicing health professionals who have experience in direct patient care and wish to augment their current careers with additional information and skills in population management. The students will be competent in analyzing the health of a patient population and understanding the social, environmental, and biological determinants of health in that population.

Individuals who may benefit from this program are practicing health professionals, such as physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, social workers, physical therapists, and psychologists; and students who are currently enrolled in clinical practice-related doctoral degrees (e.g., M.D., D.O., D.D.S., Pharm.D.). This degree will provide clinicians with cutting-edge knowledge and a skill set to integrate population-based, health-care approaches into their everyday clinical practice.

Learner outcomes

Upon completion of this degree, the graduate should be able to:

• Competently engage in research and practice activities within the field of population medicine and describe the core framework for population-based, health-care approaches.
• Apply population-based, health-care approaches at the patient and community levels.
• Conduct population-based applied and translational research, including the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data.
• Identify the need and design, implement, and evaluate a population-based program(s) or intervention(s) intended to prevent, treat, or manage public health-related concern(s).
• Develop and report findings that are culturally and linguistically appropriate for the intended target audience (patient, community, and academe).

Educational effectiveness indicators

Program learner outcomes as evidenced by:

• Signature assignments linked to course and noncourse requirements
• Field practicum report
• Culminating experience

Prerequisite

In addition to the entrance requirements for all M.P.H. degrees, applicants to the M.P.H. degree program in population medicine must have:

• A health-care-related degree
  • Bachelor's or master's degree with two years of postgraduate, direct patient-care experience (e.g., nursing, social work, dental hygiene, physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychology).
  • Acceptance into or completion of clinical practice-related doctoral degree program (e.g., M.D., D.O., D.D.S., D.N.P., D.P.T., Pharm.D.). Must have completed at least two years in a clinical program.

• GRE examination
  •  May be waived with either completion of a clinical practice-related doctoral degree (e.g., M.D., D.O., D.D.S., D.N.P., D.P.T., Pharm.D., or Ph.D.) or by entrance examination for a clinical practice-related doctoral degree (e.g., MCAT, DAT)
• Anatomy and/or physiology (one course)
• Behavioral science (one course)

Culminating experience

See standard culminating experience requirements.

Normal time to complete the program

2 years (5 academic quarters) based on full-time enrollment; part time permitted