Public Health

Department of Public and Environmental Wellness
433 Meadow Brook Rd (map)
(248) 370-3562 • Fax (248) 364-8657
https://www.oakland.edu/shs/public-and-environmental-wellness/master-of-public-health/

Director:
Florence Dallo, Professor
dallo@oakland.edu

Program description

The Master of Public Health (MPH) program seeks to improve the health of individuals and communities by strengthening the foundational skills, core capacities, diversity, preparation and responsiveness of public health professionals. These public health professionals may be employed in a variety of settings including, but not limited to, international health organizations (e.g., World Health Organization, Doctors Without Borders), federal government agencies (e.g., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health), state and local health departments (e.g., Michigan Department of Community Health and Oakland County Health Division), voluntary and philanthropic organizations (e.g., American Red Cross, Kaiser Permanente), corporations and worksite wellness sites, local hospitals and non-profit organizations (e.g., Migrant Health Promotion, Alternatives For Girls).

Admission Terms and Application Deadlines

Before an applicant’s file can be reviewed for full program admission, all application documents must be received in the Oakland University Graduate School by the semester deadlines listed below. Incomplete applications will not be sent to departments for admission review.

• February 15 (early), April 15 (regular), and July 15 (late) for fall semester

• October 1 (early) and November 15 (regular) for winter semester

• March 1 (regular) for summer semester

• International applicants 

Application Requirements

To be considered for graduate admission, applicants must submit all Graduate Application Requirements and additional department requirements by the published application deadlines:

1. Graduate application requirements

     
    

2. Additional department application requirements

• Undergraduate overall grade point average of at least 3.0

• Three recommendation forms are required by the program.

• All three forms must be from faculty members, supervisors, or professional mentors and must include letters attached to the forms. The letters must be on letterhead, signed, and include a statement describing the referee’s relationship to the applicant,

• Personal statement of no more than 1000 words describing the applicant’s reasons for seeking an MPH degree, related public health experiences, and long-term professional goals. 

Admission Review and Assessment

Admission to graduate school at Oakland University is selective. In making admission recommendations to Oakland University Graduate School, each department assesses the potential of applicants for success in the program by examining their undergraduate records, personal statement, recommendation forms, prerequisite courses and any other admission requirements established by the academic department.

Academic Advising

Students who are considering applying to the Master of Public Health program may contact the academic adviser for the School of Health Sciences to review prerequisite courses and application requirements. Upon acceptance to the program, students are assigned a faculty adviser.

Degree Requirements

 The Master of Public Health degree program is awarded upon satisfactory completion of 44 credits in an approved program of study.

Course Requirements (44 credits)

Required Core (21 credits)

Required courses:

• course Foundations of Health Behavior and Health Education (4 credits)

• course Introduction to Epidemiology (4 credits)

• course Introduction to Environmental Health Sciences (4 credits)

• course Health Policy and Management (4 credits)

• course Interprofessional Education (1 credit)

Choose from the following:

• course Biostatistical Methods in Public Health (3 credits)

  AND

• course Biostatistical Methods in Public Health Laboratory ( 1 credit)

                                        OR

• course Applied Biostatistics in Public Health ( 3 credits)

  AND

• course Applied Biostatistics in Public Health Laboratory ( 1 credit)

Cross-cutting competency courses (8 credits)

Required courses:

• course Principles of Community-Based Participatory Research (4 credits)

• course Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation of Public Health Interventions (4 credits)

Electives (8 credits)

Elective courses can be taken within Public Health or related disciplines. Students are encouraged to discuss these selections with their faculty advisers. 

Choose 8 credits from the following:

• course Counseling for Wellness (4 credits)

• course Health Communication and Close Relationships (4 credits)

• course GIS and Spatial Statistics (3 Credits)

• course Physical Activity Epidemiology (2 credits)

• course Practical Computing for Data Analytics (3 credits)

• course Public Budgeting and Finance (3 credits)

• course Nonprofit Organization and Management (3 credits)

• course Research Methods in Health Disciplines (4 credits)

• course Environmental Justice (4 credits)

• course Qualitative Research Methods (4 credits)

• course Social Determinants of Health (4 credits)

• course Global Health and Social Issues (4 credits)

• course Population Health, Health Policy and Healthcare (4 credits)

• course Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods (4 credits)

• course Mechanisms of Chronic and Infectious Disease (4 credits)

• Other - Selected departmental courses with focus on public health, with prior approval by Program Planning Committee (2-4 credits

Exit (7 credits)

Required courses:

• course Public Health Capstone (4 credits)

• course Public Health Practicum (3 credits)

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Satisfactory academic progress (SAP) is the term used to denote a student’s successful completion of coursework toward a certificate or degree. Federal regulations require the Office of Financial Aid to monitor SAP for all financial aid recipients each semester.

Students who fall behind in their coursework, or fail to achieve minimum standards for grade point average and completion of classes, may lose their eligibility for all types of federal, state and university aid. Contact the Office of Financial Aid for additional details.

Good Academic Standing

All graduate students are expected to remain in good Academic Standing throughout the entire course of their graduate program.  Department requirements: An overall GPA of 3.0 (B) or higher for all coursework taken in the professional program is required for graduation, and no grade below 2.7 (B-) may be applied toward this degree. For courses graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U), no coursework graded Unsatisfactory (U) may be applied to this degree.

Graduate students who are not in good academic standing for any reason are subject to probation and/or dismissal from further graduate study.

Related Program Information

Plan of Study

All accepted applicants, in consultation with their assigned faculty adviser, must develop a plan of study that details specific courses the students will use to satisfy their degree requirements. The plan of study must be approved by the faculty  adviser and submitted by the student to Oakland University Graduate School.

Master’s and graduate certificate students must submit a department-approved plan of study by the end of their first semester of graduate coursework. Doctoral students must submit an approved plan of study prior to completion of the first year of coursework. (See the Graduate Student Responsibility section of this catalog.)

Note:  Credit granted for successful completion of a course toward an undergraduate degree program may not be repeated for a graduate degree. If a substitution is approved, the minimum number of program-approved graduate credits will be required. A Petition of Exception - OU Course Waiver/ Substitution requesting the substitution must be approved.

Time Limits

All graduate certificate students are expected to complete their degree within the time limit established by the University Program Policy.