Graduate Certificate in Public Health
PUBLIC HEALTH
Public health uses a multidisciplinary approach where professionals from different disciplines work together for a common purpose: promoting health, preventing disease, and improving the quality of life in communities.
CERTIFICATE OVERVIEW
The UTEP Graduate Certificate in Public Health is a 15-credit hour program of study that provides students with the core public health concepts they need to enhance their professional knowledge or to later pursue a graduate degree in the field. The certificate consists of the five core courses required for the Master of Public Health degree. Students who successfully complete their certificate program with a grade of B or better in all courses will be eligible for consideration for admission into the MPH degree program although acceptance is not guaranteed. The certificate program has Fall admission only.
Please contact the UTEP Office of Financial Aid directly for information on whether financial aid is available for students pursuing the non-degree Graduate Certificate in Public Health.
PROSPECTIVE STUDENT PROFILE:
The flexible, convenient Public Health Certificate is designed for:
- Current UTEP graduate and professional students who wish to increase their public health knowledge and/or explore public health as a possible future profession.
- Individuals currently employed in the public health sector but whose undergraduate training did not include formal training in public health.
- Persons who hold an undergraduate, graduate or professional degree in another area but wish to increase their knowledge in public health.
- Individuals who intend to eventually complete the MPH but presently do not have the time to complete a degree program.
COURSE SCHEDULE
All MPH courses are held in late afternoon/early evenings to accommodate working professionals. The five core courses constituting the graduate certificate are regularly offered every year during the Fall and Spring semesters. Full-time students can expect to complete the certificate requirements in as little as two semesters, i.e., three courses in the Fall and two courses in the Spring semesters. Part-time study will take longer to finish the certificate requirements, depending upon how many courses a student takes per semester.
CURRICULUM (Total of 15 graduate credit hours)
SEMESTER 1 COURSES (offered Fall semester every year)
- PUBH 5353- Social and Behavioral Approaches in Public Health (3 credit hrs). Core course examines the cultural, social, economic, psychological, and behavioral factors that influence health and illness. Critical evaluation of social and behavioral science principles, theories, techniques and research used for understanding and resolving public health problems. Emphasis on Hispanic, border, and other diverse multicultural communities.
- PUBH 5304- Environmental Health (3 credit hrs). Core course examines the environment and its relationship to human health and disease. Focuses on the physical, chemical, biological and behavioral-social factors of the human environment. Emphasizes environmental health and environmental health hazard principles and concepts.
- PUBH 5305- Biostatistics in Public Health (3 credit hrs). Core course focuses on the analysis, interpretation, and presentation of public health data. Overview of measurement methods, descriptive statistics, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing, sample size and power calculations, analysis of variance and multiple comparisons; correlation and regression; multiple regression and statistical control of confounding; logistic regression; and survival analysis.Prerequisite: one prior UG or GR statistics course with a grade of B or better.
SEMESTER 2 COURSES (offered Spring semester every year)
- PUBH 5302- Epidemiology for Public Health Professionals (3 credit hrs). Core course considers the meaning, scope, and applications of epidemiology to the practice of public health practice and the uses of statistics for the scientific appraisal and dissemination of public health data. Prerequisite: one prior UG or GR statistics course with grade of B or better.
- PUBH 5307- Health Services Administration and Policy (3 credit hrs). Core course examines organizational skills and basic principles, theories, and practices of administering public health programs in voluntary and governmental agencies. Also focuses on leadership, motivation, small group process, problem solving, conflict resolution, inter-organizational relationships, and organizational change.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Admission to the UTEP graduate public health certificate program is competitive. The admission requirements for the Public Health Certificate program are similar to those for the MPH program for the purpose of maintaining program quality.
- Completed baccalaureate degree from an accredited U.S. institution or recognized foreign institution.
- Minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA on 4.0 scale for all prior academic work
- International applicants: Must meet the minimum TOEFL score requirement set by the UTEP Graduate School.
- Prior health/public health experience and/or commitment to public health.
APPLICATION PROCESS
1. Application process for current UTEP graduate/professional students only: Current UTEP graduate/professional students must apply for admission to Public Health Certificate program through the Dept. of Public Health Science (c/o Graduate Advisor). You can submit these in an electronic package with attachments to: (mmweigel@utep.edu) or in-person (Dept. of Public Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences Room 414).
- Cover letter indicating intent to apply
- Current CV or professional resume
- Official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended Three letters of recommendation from professional references such as current/former professors or employers (no relatives or friends). At a minimum, one of these must be from an academic reference (former professor, dean)
- A 500-word statement clearly describing prior health-related experience, reasons for pursuing the Public Health Graduate Certificate and future career plans.
2. Application process for all other applicants:
Applicants must apply for admission to the Public Health Certificate program through the UTEP Graduate School online system. Submit the following documents online to the UTEP Graduate School
- A completed application form
- Current CV or professional resume
- Official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended
- Three letters of recommendation from professional references such as current/former professors or employers (no relatives or friends). At a minimum, one of these must be from an academic reference (former professor, dean)
- A 500-word statement clearly describing prior health-related experience, reasons for pursuing the Public Health Graduate Certificate and future career plans.
APPLICATION DEADLINE
The certificate program has Fall admission only. All application documents must be received by the Dept. of Public Health Sciences (current UTEP students only) or the UTEP Graduate School (all other applicants) by April 15th for Fall semester admission consideration.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Carla Campbell, MD, MS, FAAP
Visiting Clinical Associate Professor of Public Health
Interim MPH Program Director
Department of Public Health Sciences, Room 408
College of Health Sciences
University of Texas at El Paso
500 W. University Ave.
El Paso, TX 79968
T: (915) 747 – 7221
E-mail: ccampbell3@utep.edu
http://chs.utep.edu/publichealthsciences/