Contact

Ignatius Ijere, Undergraduate Program Director
435B White Hall
inijere@syr.edu

Brittany Kmush, Graduate Program Director
430D Barclay
blkmush@syr.edu

Description

The BS in Public Health (BSPH)/Masters Public Health (MPH) is a 150-credit hour, 5-year academic program that provides students with an accelerated pathway to an advanced degree in public health. Students gain core knowledge, research, and practice skills necessary for the advancement of evidence- based public health, while eliminating redundancy if the degrees were completed separately. Students complete 2 internships, one in year 4 (undergraduate study) and one in year 5 (graduate study). Each degree requires a culminating experience: a capstone paper for the BS and an integrative learning experience for the MPH. The bachelor’s degree is awarded at the completion of year 4 and the master’s degree is awarded at the completion of the 5th year of study.

The BSPH and MPH programs are accredited by the Council on Education in Public Health (CEPH).

Admission

Entry to the accelerated program is a 2-stage process.

1. Undergraduate stage:  Students initiate interest in the program no later than 2nd semester sophomore year.  Interested students meet with the undergraduate program director to determine if the program can be completed within the 5-year time period.  After meeting with the undergraduate director, students confirm their interest by completing ‘An Intent to Pursue’ form. A personal statement, note of support from the academic advisor, and UG GPA of 3.3 is required.
2. Graduate program application stage: Students formally apply to the graduate program in January of the senior year. Eligibility for the MPH portion of the program is contingent on students earning grades C- or higher in graduate courses taken as part of the BSPH degree. A personal statement, letters of recommendation, and an UG GPA of 3.0 is required for this application. The GRE is not required.

Financial Support

Undergraduate financial aid will be provided as awarded via Syracuse University Financial Aid Office.

Tuition discounts will be provided for year 5 as are feasible under the Maxwell School annual budget.

Facilities

Courses are taught in classrooms across the Syracuse University campus. Public health faculty and administrative offices are housed on the 4th floor of White Hall and Barclay. Students have access to study/collaborative space, computer labs, dining halls and cafes, and student lounges in multiple locations across the Syracuse University campus.

Student Learning Outcomes: BS

At the completion of the BSPH/MPH degrees, students will be able to:

Public Health Core Learning Outcomes

1. Communicate public health information, in both oral and written forms and through a variety of media, to diverse audiences
2. Locate, use, evaluate, and synthesize public health information
3. Apply basic principles of project implementation
4. Use concepts of population health and models from social and behavioral disciplines to promote health and address health related needs and concerns of groups and communities across the life course
5. Relate biology, health behavior, social determinants, and environmental contexts to human health, disease, and the expression of health disparities
6. Outline the organizational structure, function and delivery modalities for U.S. and global healthcare systems
7. Act according to professional values and ethics in public health practice, research and education
8. Describe how community forces, economic factors, and research shape health practices and policies

Concentration Competencies

Addiction Prevention

• Explain theoretical underpinnings of addiction in individuals and communities
• Apply public health prevention theory, ethical principles, and findings from current scientific literature in addiction prevention programming 
• Examines substance use and substance use disorders in the context of social and environmental influences 

Community Health Education

• Apply a conceptual framework when planning community health education
• Develop an advocacy plan 
• Evaluate individual and community behavioral health theories that guide public health research or practice
• Health and Society
• Elucidate challenges populations may face in regards to human rights, access to services, financial strain, and social stigma
• State the basic theories and concepts of behavioral neuroscience
• Describe nutrition-related approaches to promote health

Healthcare Management

• Examine the role of ethics and policy in the delivery of healthcare
• Use fundamental concepts and processes relevant to quality improvement within healthcare systems
• Describe the complex issues impacting health care delivery, currently or in the future
• Apply leadership and management principles to the strategic management of healthcare employees

Student Learning Outcomes: MPH

At the completion of the BSPH/MPH degrees, students will be able to:

Learning Outcomes for MPH Core:

1. Apply epidemiological, quantitative,  and qualitative data methods to public health challenges.
2. Examine structural biases and systemic factors of health care, public health, and regulatory systems across diverse socio-cultural, national and international settings
3. Design population-based policies, programs, and interventions using scientific principals, assessment and evaluation
4. Apply culturally relevant and effective public health communication strategies using verbal, visual, and written methods
5. Use systems thinking tools and leadership principles and skills to understand and address organizational or community challenges 
6. Engage with non-public health fields and settings to cultivate diverse perspectives of addressing public health issues

Concentration Competencies

Epidemiology

1. Examine patterns of risk or resilience factors for disease using public databases
2. Develop an epidemiologic study design applicable to the investigation of a specific factor that affects the health of a community
3. Suggest methods to eliminate sources of bias and confounding in epidemiologic data
4. Apply mediational analyses to understand how health interventions or exposures produce their effects
5. Implement statistical software and geographical information systems to understand a public health problem

Global Health

1. Evaluate governance approaches and responses to global health problems within diverse sociocultural and political settings
2. Differentiate between the roles of public and private actors including global organizations, consortiums, and networks in responses to global health problems
3. Propose solutions to eliminate environmental exposures using principles of sustainable development, justice, and accountability
4. Propose strategies to address health equity and social justice challenges affecting underserved populations
5. Evaluate prevention and control strategies for infectious disease

Public Health Policy

1. Analyze the main components and challenges in the organization, financing, and delivery of health care and public health services
2. Examine health care reforms in relation to their likely effects on health spending, quality of care, or access to care
3. Communicate empirical results from policy research to public audiences
4. Propose behavioral interventions for health or public policy
5. Develop a comprehensive advocacy plan for addressing a global health equity issue

Program Requirements

For requirements for the undergraduate and graduate portions of the accelerated program, visit the B.S. and MPH program pages.  15 credits are shared across both programs.

During the junior and senior years of undergraduate study, the following graduate courses are completed and the corresponding BSPH courses are not required.

Graduate Course Substitutes for UG courses

PHP 627 Health Leadership and Management substitutes for PHP 306 Understanding Health Systems: Macro & Micro Perspectives

PHP 661 Development and Evaluation of Public Health Programs or PHP 624 Introduction to Prevention Science substitutes for PHP 402 Implementing and Evaluating Health Programs

PHP 664 Health Equity & Social Determinants of Health substitutes for PHP 309 Health Disparities and Underserved Populations

PHP 665 Public Health Policy substitutes for PHP 403 Public Health Policy

PHP 668 Applied Epidemiology substitutes for PHP 401 Epidemiology

Culminating Experiences

Undergraduate Culminating Experience = Senior Capstone Paper
Graduate Culminating Experience = Integrative Learning Experience

Total Credits Required

B.S. Public Health: 123

Master’s Public Health: 42

[15 credits shared across both programs]

Transfer Credits

The usual Syracuse University rules will apply for the consideration of transfer credit. Transfer credit will be considered for undergraduate level courses (100-499) that are an integral part of the program. Grades of C or better are required for UG courses considered for transfer. A maximum of 66 credits of UG coursework may be transferred from an associate degree program. Transfer credit will be considered for graduate level courses (600-799) that are an integral part of the program. Grades of B or better are required for graduate courses considered for transfer. A maximum of 9 credits of GRAD coursework may be transferred.

Part-Time Study

At the graduate level, students may study part-time; however, all MPH requirements must be completed within a 7-year period from the time the student registers for the first course to be applied in the MPH program. 

Satisfactory Progress

BS degree: Students are required to maintain a CUM GPA of 2.0 or higher to meet degree requirements
MPH degree: A minimum cum GPA of 2.8 is required for all coursework completed as a graduate student regardless of applicability to degree requirements. A minimum CUM GPA of 3.0 in required for coursework comprising the MPH requirements.

Undergraduate University Requirements

The following requirements and experiences apply to all Syracuse University Undergraduate matriculated degree programs.

• ​IDEA Course Requirement 
• First Year Seminar