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Get certified in Public Health

OSU’s degree in public health prepares students to promote the health of the general public by assuming leadership roles that influence education, policy development, advocacy efforts, research, program development, implementation, and evaluation. Students in the public health degree program examine a range of critical health issues facing communities both domestically and abroad. A minimum of 42 graduate credit hours is required for this program.

Overview

The Oklahoma State University Master of Public Health (MPH) program focuses on training public health professionals to improve health and well-being of rural and underserved populations. Founded in 2014, the MPH program emphasizes the
strengths found across academic units at Oklahoma State University and OSU Center for Health Sciences. Courses are offered in Stillwater, Tulsa, and online.


Our coursework allows students to develop and practice public health skills while engaging in specific studies of populations or diseases of interest. The program prepares students to engage with multiple sectors of public health.

 

MPH students enter the program with passion to change their communities, and to prevent injury and disease, and we give them the skills and tools to accomplish these changes. Our faculty teach students to address current local, national, and international health problems through approaches that apply recent and impactful empirical scientific knowledge. MPH graduates are leaders that will work across ecological levels to promote individual and community health.

 

Applied Student Opportunities

OSU’s degree program in public health balances theoretical knowledge with professional experience through internships and opportunities to work with faculty on research, teaching, and service projects. The Master of Public Health program at
OSU supplies students with the tools, documents, and resources needed to fulfill desired research concerns and enhance the importance of continued study in public health areas. Our faculty has expertise and scholarly work across a variety of
areas, including:

 

•Alcohol and drug use
• Child and adolescent health
• Health literacy
• Health policy
• Indigenous health

• Mental health
• Nutrition
• Physical activity
• Plant and animal pathogens
• Sexual and reproductive health

Graduate Certificate

The OSU MPH program offers a unique opportunity to complete a graduate certificate in public health. The 12 credit hour graduate certificate in public health can be completed in one academic calendar year through a range of course offerings
including in-person, hybrid, and online. The certificate emphasizes learning in the five

core competencies of public health: biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, health care administration, and social and behavioral sciences.

 

Workforce Need

The need for public health professionals in both urban and rural areas in Oklahoma and throughout the United States remains
high. By 2020, the Association of Schools of Public Health estimates that the country will need an additional 250,000 public
health workers. Public health careers can be found in local, state, and federal government; nonprofit organizations; businesses and
corporations; hospitals; county health departments; universities; and with health foundations and health-based grant projects.

 

Proposed Curriculum
PREFIX & COURSE # COURSE TITLE CR. / HRS.
MPH 5653/HLTH 5653 Foundations of Public Health Education and Promotion 3
MPH 5683/HLTH 5683 Health Behavior Theory & Practice 3
Electives    
MPH 5133/HLTH 5133 Environmental Health 3
MPH 5323/HLTH 5323 General Epidemiology 3
MPH 5203 Evidence Based Approaches to Public Health 3
MPH 5453/HLTH 5453 Cultural Issues in Health 3
HCA 5013 Survey of Health Care Administration 3
  Total Credit Hours 12

 

Admissions Requirements and Deadlines

Application Requirements

  • Meet the admission standards of the Graduate College
  • Have the equivalent of at least a 3.0/4.0 undergraduate GPA

Graduate Certificate Admissions

Once you have completed the course requirements for the Certificate Program, to receive your certificate you must submit an Application for Certificate Completion Form to the Registrar's Office.
 

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MPH Faculty

The MPH faculty is comprised of researchers and practitioners with a wide array of experience. This includes working within large public health agencies (e.g. county and state health departments, community-based organizations), administering grant-funded public health projects, and the like. This experience is brought into the classroom where our faculty expertise and scholarly work across a variety of areas.

 

For example, Dr. Jared Taylor’s research interests at the College of Veterinary Medicine are in population medicine/herd health and the interaction of veterinary medicine and public health. Together, our faculty and student partner with local community-based organizations, government, and tribal communities to advance the health of Oklahomans and beyond.

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