Curriculum Information – Public Health Core Concepts Certificate 

All courses are available in both online and in-person formats. If you have a completed a bachelor’s degree or an advanced degree, you can earn a credential in public health core concepts. You can take the seven courses you need for the certificate online or on campus.

The curriculum is the same as the core content taught in the School of Public Health MPH degree programs. Some courses offer curriculum alternatives, though they may be not be offered online. Some alternatives are required for certain MPH programs. Check with your coordinator for details before registration.

PUBLIC HEALTH CORE REQUIREMENTS (16 credits)
The basic curriculum courses are offered online and on-campus:

• PubH 6414 Biostatistical Literacy (3 cr)    Develop ability to read/interpret statistical results in primary literature. Minimal calculation. No formal training in any statistical programming software.
  Biostatistical Literacy will cover the fundamental concepts of study design, descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, odds ratios, relative risks, adjusted models in multiple linear, logistic and Poisson regression, and survival analysis. The focus will be when to use a given method and how to interpret the results, not the actual computation or computer programming to obtain results from raw data.
  OR
• PubH 6450 Biostatistics I (4 cr)  Descriptive statistics. Gaussian probability models, point/interval estimation for means/proportions. Hypothesis testing, including t, chi-square, and nonparametric tests. Simple regression/correlation. ANOVA. Health science applications using output from statistical packages.
• PubH 6320 Fundamentals of Epidemiology (3 cr)  This course provides an understanding of basic methods and tools used by epidemiologists to study the health of populations.
• OR
• PubH 6341 Epidemiologic Methods I (3cr)  Introduction to epidemiologic concepts and methods: (1) Study design (randomized trials and observational studies); (2) Measures of exposure-disease association; (3) Casual inference and bias; (4) Confounding and effect modification.
• PubH 6250 Foundations of Public Health (2 cr)  In this course we will examine values, contexts, principles, and frameworks of public health. We will provide an introduction to public health, consider the history of public health, social/political determinants, impact of health disparities on race, class and gender, moral and legal foundations, public health structures, historical trauma and cultural competence, health and human rights, advocacy and health equity, communication and financing, and the future of public health in the 21st century.  Grounded in theory and concepts, we will incorporate core competencies and skills for public health professionals and will focus on developing problem solving and decision-making skills through critical analysis, reflection, case studies, readings, and paper assignments.
• PubH 6020 Fundamentals of Social and Behavioral Science (2 cr)  Four major approaches to public health problems: psychosocial, economic, community, policy. Theory, implementation. Small groups practice skills.
• PubH 6102 Issues in Environmental & Occupational Health (2 cr) Current issues, principles, and methods of environmental/occupational health practice.
• PubH 6741 Ethics in Pub Hlth: Professional Practice & Policy (1 cr)  Introduction to ethical issues in public health practice/policy. Ethical analysis, recognizing/analyzing moral issues
• PubH 6751 Principles of Management in Health Services (2 cr)  Understanding of and improvement in the competencies of managers in organizations, particularly as applied to health services and public health organizations.