Effective Au10
Guide for the Master of Public Health Degree Program
with a specialization in
EPIDEMIOLOGY
Students admitted to the Master of Public Health (MPH) Required Courses and Electives in the Specialization
degree program are assigned faculty advisers who will
provide guidance throughout the program. This document PUBHBIO 604 SAS Programming 2 hrs
serves as a resource to be used by the student and the PUBHBIO 702 Design & Analysis of Studies
adviser in developing a program with a specialization in in the Health Sciences II 4 hrs
Epidemiology. For additional information about PUBHBIO 703 A Problem-Oriented Approach to
requirements, students are directed to the College of Public Biostatistics 4 hrs
Health (CPH) Student Handbook (available on line at PUBHEPI 704* Biological Basis of Public Health 4 hrs
http://cph.osu.edu/academics/handbooks.cfm and to the PUBHEPI 711 Epidemiology I
Graduate School Handbook (available online at 4 hrs
http://www.gradsch.ohio-state.edu/). PUBHEPI 712 Epidemiology II
4 hrs
PUBHEPI 705 Design & Implementation of
PROGRAM OF STUDY Health Surveys 4 hrs
The curriculum consists of a minimum of 60 quarter hours *Required for students who do not have an MD, DVM, or
organized into five curricular domains: equivalent clinical degree.
1. Core courses in areas of knowledge basic to public Electives (Choose 2-3 courses to bring the total hours in
health (20 quarter hours) your program to 60)
2. Courses required for a specialization in epidemiology PUBHEPI 713 Environmental Epidemiology 4 hrs
(22-26 quarter hours) PUBHEPI 714 Epidemiology of Injury 3 hrs
PUBHEPI 716 Psychiatric Epidemiology 3 hrs
3. Elective courses approved for the specialization (7-22 PUBHEPI 814 Chronic Disease Epidemiology 4 hrs
quarter hours) PUBHEPI 815 Infectious Disease Epidemiology 4 hrs
PUBHEPI 816 Cancer Epidemiology 4 hrs
4. Practicum (4 quarter hours minimum) PUBHEPI 817 Cardiovascular Disease Epi 4 hrs
PUBHEPI 818 Women’s Health Issues 3 hrs
5. Culminating project (3 quarter hours minimum) PUBHEPI 819 Epidemiology of Obesity 4 hrs
PUBHEPI 820 Reproductive and Perinatal Epi 4 hrs
Public Health Core Courses
Practicum
Every student in the MPH degree program must complete
the following courses in the areas of knowledge basic to PUBHLTH 685 Field Experience in Public Health 4 hrs
public health:
Culminating Project
Biostatistics
PUBHBIO 701 Design & Analysis of Studies
in the Health Sciences I 4 hrs PUBHLTH 785 Culminating Project in Public Hlth 3 hrs
Environmental Health Sciences
PUBHEHS 731 Principles of Environmental Hlth 4 hrs PRACTICUM
Epidemiology
PUBHEPI 710 Principles of Epidemiology 4 hrs The College requires four quarter hours of field experience
Social and Behavioral Sciences in public health (practicum) for all students in the MPH
PUBHHBP 720 Preventing Disease & Promoting degree program. Students must spend at least 120 hours
Health through Behavioral Science 4 hrs on site during the practicum to meet the minimum
Health Services Administration requirement (30 hours on site equals one credit hour).
PUBHHMP 800 Health Care Organization I 4 hrs Each student chooses a practicum that fits with her/his
career goals and is consistent with the area of
specialization. An on-site
preceptor supervises the student’s experience, and the earned may count towards the degree. For more details,
faculty adviser collaborates in designing and approving see Section 11.2 of the CPH Student Handbook.
the learning content. The majority of students complete
this requirement during the summer following the first
academic year, though some may choose to delay it until TIME LIMIT
later in their second year. The MPH degree must be completed within five years
Students should be participants in the arrangements for the from the date of matriculation. The responsibility for
practicum. The Office of Academic Programs in M-006 academic progress and fulfillment of the time limit rule
Starling-Loving Hall assists students in locating rests with the student. Students who fail to complete the
appropriate practicum sites and provides support program in five years must re-apply to the program by
throughout the experience. Students are encouraged to written petition to the Graduate Studies Committee.
consult with their advisers and other CPH faculty. The Approval may be contingent upon completion of
practicum is graded S/U and the evaluation is based on the additional course work. No further registration will be
preceptor’s and the adviser’s assessment of the experience permitted in the absence of an approved petition. For
and the final report. Complete details on the process for additional information, see Section 5.5 of the CPH Student
seeking and confirming the placement, as well as the Handbook.
expectations for the practicum, are found in the Practicum
Student Handbook (available online at GRADUATE NON-DEGREE & TRANSFER CREDIT
http://cph.osu.edu/academics/handbooks.cfm.
The transfer of credit depends on where it was earned. For
OSU graduate non-degree credits, a maximum of 10 credit
CULMINATING PROJECT/MASTER’S hours may be transferred into the degree-granting program
EXAMINATION with approval of the faculty adviser. For transfer credit
The Graduate School requires that each master’s student from another institution, a maximum of 12 quarter hours
complete a Master’s Examination. The culminating (20% of the total credit hours required for the degree) may
project for the MPH satisfies this requirement either with a be transferred into the program with approval of the
traditional thesis or an alternative written product. faculty adviser. Students must petition the Graduate
Studies Committee to transfer credits; the petition must be
MPH students specializing in Epidemiology have the supported by the Division Chair. For additional
option of completing a traditional research-based master’s information, see Section 10.3 of the CPH Student
thesis as the culminating project or an applied research Handbook.
project. The thesis option is less frequently chosen
because the majority of students intend to go directly into GRADUATION
professional practice. However, those students who
expect to pursue an academic degree program such as the Students must be enrolled for a minimum of three graduate
PhD are encouraged to consider a thesis and there are, of credit hours during the quarter in which they wish to
course, students who are interested in a topic that is best graduate. An "Application to Graduate" form (available
approached in the thesis format. on the Graduate School’s web site) must be completed by
the student, signed by the adviser, and returned to the
MPH students who prefer an alternative to the thesis Office of Academic Programs (OAP) for processing. The
complete an applied research project (which may take the deadline for submitting the signed form to the OAP each
form of a grant proposal) that includes a written report and quarter is the first Friday of the quarter of graduation. The
an oral presentation. Students should begin planning their deadline to submit the signed Master Exam Report Form is
culminating projects with their faculty advisers at least the 8th week of the quarter; therefore, students generally
three quarters prior to the expected quarter of completion. must complete their culminating projects by the 6th or 7th
More detailed descriptions of the culminating project week of the quarter. At the end of the quarter, students are
requirements are available in the Epidemiology asked to complete an Exit Survey, as explained in Section
Culminating Project Guidelines online at 13.14 of the CPH Student Handbook.
http://cph.osu.edu/academics/handbooks.cfm.
OFFICE OF ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
ACADEMIC STANDARDS
Counselors are available in the Office of Academic
To remain in good academic standing, MPH students must Programs, M006 Starling-Loving Hall (614-293-3907) to
maintain a minimum 3.0 overall GPA. In addition, a B- or provide assistance with College or University policies and
higher must be earned in the specialization courses and procedures. Questions regarding the student’s program
core courses (with the exception of a C or C+ in one core should be directed to the faculty adviser.
course). No course in which a grade of C- or below is
College Public Health
The Ohio State University
http://cph.osu.edu/academics/mph.cfm