Public Health (MPH)
How will you improve population health? As a public health professional, you can change lives by promoting and protecting the health and well-being of people and their communities locally, regionally, nationally, and globally.
The Master of Public Health program prepares students to promote health equity. We prepare future public health leaders through a competency-based and flexible community- engaged curriculum.
The Master of Public Health program is ideal for individuals seeking leadership careers in the diverse and growing field of public health.
Accreditation
Loyola’s BSPH and MPH programs are accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). CEPH accreditation provides assurance that the program has been evaluated and met accepted standards established by and with the public health profession. For question on accreditation, contact the MPH Program Director, Ruth Kafensztok.
Curriculum
Offered in-person, online, or hybrid, Loyola's MPH is a 42-credit curriculum. Online courses include both synchronous and asynchronous components. We offer concentrations in three study tracks: Epidemiology, Policy and Management, and Global Health Equity. The curriculum includes six core courses, concentration-specific courses, electives, and applied practice and integrative learning experiences.
Online Learning
Convenient and rigorous, the online program is geared to working professionals, non-traditional students, and individuals who need a more flexible learning format. Loyola University Chicago faculty with expertise in Public Health, Public Health Policy and Management, Environmental Health, Bioethics, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics teach in this program. The vast resources of Loyola's Parkinson School and the Health Science Campus, along with the combined knowledge and experience of distinguished faculty from medicine, social work, bioethics, health policy and law, will help you take on many opportunities and challenges.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MPH Core Courses | ||
| MPBH 400 | Determinants of Population Health | 3 |
| MPBH 402 | Public Health Practice and Management | 3 |
| MPBH 403 | Introduction to Epidemiology | 3 |
| MPBH 404 | Biostatistics for Health and Biological Science | 3 |
| or MPBH 409 | Biostatistics I | |
| MPBH 407 | Public Health Policy: Concepts and Practice | 3 |
| MPBH 499 | Public Health in Action | 3 |
| MPH Track-Specific Curricula | 15 | |
| MPH Electives | 6 | |
| Select two of the following: 1 | ||
| The Epidemiology of Obesity: An Energy Balance Perspective | ||
| Infectious Disease Epidemiology | ||
| Health Impact Assessment | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Applied Practice Experience | 1 | |
| MPH Practicum | ||
| Integrated Learning Experience | 2 | |
| MPH Capstone | ||
| Total Hours | 42 | |
- 1
Selected courses from other schools/programs may satisfy MPH elective requirements.
MPH Track-Specific Curricula (15 credits)
Epidemiology
This hybrid program combines online and evening classes. Epidemiology is the basic science of public health: it helps us understand the causes of and solutions to diseases. This track equips students to design, conduct, analyze, and interpret population health research, while they learn the basic principles of all public health disciplines.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MPBH 412 | Intro to Statistical Computing for Public Health | 2 |
| MPBH 421 | Biostatistics II | 3 |
| MPBH 423 | Intermediate Epidemiology | 3 |
| MPBH 427 | Introduction to Correlated Data Analysis | 1 |
| MPBH 431 | Grant Writing | 3 |
| Choose One Research Methods Course from the following: | 3 | |
| The Epidemiology of Obesity: An Energy Balance Perspective | ||
| Introduction to Global Health | ||
| Clinical Trials | ||
| Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis | ||
| Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | ||
| Total Hours | 15 | |
Global Health Equity
This concentration is a hybrid program of online and evening classes. Study the health of global populations with the ultimate goal of identifying and eliminating structures and practices of inequity and injustice to advance health equity for individuals and populations.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MPBH 414 | Introduction to Global Health | 3 |
| MPBH 417 | Global Maternal & Child Health | 3 |
| MPBH 422 | Population Health Planning & Management | 3 |
| MPBH 431 | Grant Writing | 3 |
| Choose one of the following: 1 | 3 | |
| Social Determinants of Health and Bioethics | ||
| Global Bioethics | ||
| Total Hours | 15 | |
- 1
Students may choose an elective course not on this list with Track Director approval.
Public Health Policy and Management
This concentration can be completed entirely online, and also can be taken with in-person courses. This curriculum studies the organization, structure, and delivery of health-related services, and associated population health outcomes. Students may customize their academic focus in either public health policy, administration, or both.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MPBH 416 | Health Services Research Methods | 3 |
| MPBH 425 | Policy Analysis | 3 |
| Choose one of the following | 3 | |
| Justice & Health Care | ||
| Biomedical Ethics and Law | ||
| Social Determinants of Health and Bioethics | ||
| Systems Ethics Frameworks | ||
| Organizational Ethics I: Business, Professionalism, and Justice | ||
| Global Bioethics | ||
| Choose two of the following | 6 | |
| Policy-oriented | ||
| Public Health Law: Theories and Cases | ||
| Health Economics and Healthcare Financing | ||
| Management-oriented | ||
| Population Health Planning & Management | ||
| Fiscal Management in Health Care Organizations | ||
| Total Hours | 15 | |
Applied Practice Experience (1 credit)
Also known as the MPH practicum, it provides the student with practical experience in a public health setting, requiring the student to apply and integrate skills and knowledge learned in courses. The applied practice experience (APE) must be 210 hours or more. Students must apply five program competencies to their APE and produce at least two deliverables, which will become part of their portfolio. Examples of APE sites include MRSA Research Center, North Shore Mosquito Abatement District, Summer Field Research in Ghana, Health and Medicine Policy Research Group, American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, Chicago Department of Public Health, and Mount Sinai Hospital.
Integrated Learning Experience (2 credits)
The integrated learning experience is a student-led capstone project culminating with a presentation and written manuscript. The project should demonstrate student's ability to apply acquired skills and competencies to a public health problem that simulates a professional practice experience. Depending on their interests, some students may analyze data collected during their practicum to help complete their capstone.
Dual Degrees and Other Programs
The needs of the public health workforce are diverse and ever-changing. Our students are diverse and pursue public health graduate studies at different points in their careers, from undergraduate through practicing nurses and physicians. To meet these needs, the Department of Public Health Sciences offers six additional programs:
- Five-Year Bachelor/MPH Degree
- Environmental Science BA or BS/MPH
- Health Care Administration BS/MPH
- Public Health BS/MPH
- Doctor of Medicine/ Master of Public Health (MD/MPH)
- Master of Social Work/Master of Public Health (MSW/MPH)
- MS in Clinical Research Methods and Epidemiology (CRME)
- Public Health Certificate
Note: Students entering the program may wish to pursue careers that may require licensure (e.g. Registered Environmental Health Specialist) or certification (e.g. Certified in Public Health or Certified Professional in Food Safety) upon or before employment. Loyola University Chicago cannot guarantee that the Master of Public Health will prepare students to meet the unique requirements for licensure or certification in their specific location and/or area of expertise. Students should check with their local licensing or certifying authority to determine what requirements are necessary.
Graduate & Professional Standards and Regulations
Students in graduate and professional programs can find their Academic Policies in Graduate and Professional Academic Standards and Regulations under their school. Any additional University Policies supersede school policies.
Learning Outcomes
You will graduate with public health competencies in the areas of quantitative and qualitative data collection, evidence-based approaches, public health and health care systems, planning and management, policy, leadership, communication, interprofessional practice, and systems thinking. More specifically, public health foundational competencies attained through the MPH curriculum include:
- <strong>Evidence-based Approaches to Public Health: </strong>Apply epidemiological methods to the breadth of settings and situations in public health practice; Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context; Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software, as appropriate; and Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice.
- <strong>Public Health & Health Care Systems:</strong> Compare the organization, structure and function of health care, public health and regulatory systems across national and international settings; and Discuss the means by which structural bias, social inequities and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community and societal levels.
- <strong>Planning & Management to Promote Health:</strong> Assess population needs, assets and capacities that affect communities’ health; Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design or implementation of public health policies or programs; Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention; Explain basic principles and tools of budget and resource management; and Select methods to evaluate public health programs.
- <strong>Policy in Public Health: </strong>Discuss multiple dimensions of the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence; Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes; Advocate for political, social or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations; and Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity.
- <strong>Leadership: </strong>Apply principles of leadership, governance and management, which include creating a vision, empowering others, fostering collaboration and guiding decision making; and Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges.
- <strong>Communication: </strong>Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors; Communicate audience-appropriate public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation; and Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content.
- <strong>Interprofessional Practice:</strong> Perform effectively on interprofessional teams.
- <strong>Systems Thinking: </strong>Apply systems thinking tools to a public health issue.