Health Behavior, Society and Policy

Competencies for the Master of Public Health (MPH) in Population Aging (45 credits)

Each Concentration identifies competencies for each degree offered. These competencies reflect the full range of knowledge, skills, and other attributes that a student will acquire as a result of completing the requirements for a particular degree.

Upon graduation, a student completing the MPH curriculum in Population Aging will be able to:

• Explain the obstacles to, or facilitators of, improved older adult outcomes and population aging outcomes;
• Compare the experience of aging in in the United States with the experience of aging outside the United States;
• Analyze interventions or policies to improve population aging outcomes (physical health, mental health, well-being, morbidity, mortality, etc.);
• Analyze the effects of inequality at birth and adverse childhood experiences on population aging outcomes;
• Analyze treatments and interventions to improve end-of-life outcomes; and
• Use theories of aging in the analysis and evaluation of current health care issues.

Curriculum for the Master of Public Health (MPH) in Population Aging (45 credits)

Students seeking the MPH in Population Aging degree must complete 45 credits of academic work with a minimum GPA of least 3.0; earn no more than nine (9) credits bearing grades less than “B,” and complete the degree requirements within six years. Courses are three credit hours unless otherwise noted and semester when each course is typically offered is noted parentheses. Students should review the Forward Schedule for long-term course planning and the Course Schedule for each semester to determine when, where, and how a course is offered.

• CORE COURSES (18 credits)
  • PHCO 0501 - Health Systems and Policy
  • PHCO 0502 - Principles and Methods of Epidemiology
  • PHCO 0503 - Introduction to Environmental Health
  • PHCO 0504 - Introduction to Biostatistics (Prerequisite: Quantitative Skills Assessment)
  • PHCO 0505 - Social and Behavioral Health Sciences in Public Health
  • PHCO 0513 - Leadership and Management Essentials for Public Health
• PRACTICUM (3 credits)
  Note: Students should review the Practice Experience webpage for information about Practicum.
  • PRAC 0715 - Applied Practice Experience (0 credits) [Prerequisite: APE Learning Agreement and select PHCO and concentration courses]
  • PRAC 0716 - Practicum Capstone (3 credits) [Prerequisite: Completion of the APE and Practicum Capstone Learning Agreement]
  • Review the School’s Registration Calendar for important MPH Practice Experience Registration dates specific to PRAC 0715 and PRAC 0716.
• REQUIRED COURSES (18 credits)
  Note: Students should review the Course Descriptions in the School Catalog for specific information about prerequisites required for required courses and recommended electives.
  • HBSP 0600 - Health Behavior and Policy Research Design and Methods (Fall/Spring/Summer)
  • HBSP 0602 - Long-Term Effects of Childhood Inequality and Early Life Adversity (Fall)
  • HBSP 0603 - Mental Health and Aging (Spring)
  • HBSP 0624 - Population Health and Public Policy (Fall)
  • IDST 5300 - Introduction to Gerontology (Fall)
-also-
• Choose one of the following three:
  • HBSP 0601 - Aging in World Cities
  • HBSP 0652 - Program Planning and Evaluation (Fall/Spring/Summer)
  • HBSP 0660 - Dissemination and Implementation Research for Health Promotion (Spring)
• OTHER REQUIREMENTS (0 credits)
  • PRAC 0621 - Interprofessional Education (0 credits) [Fall/Spring]
    Students are required to register for and complete an Interprofessional Education activity prior to graduation.
• RECOMMENDED ELECTIVE COURSES (6 credits)
  Recommended electives: Selective courses can also be used as electives. Substitutions can be made with the approval from the faculty advisor.
  • HBSP 0622 - Health Politics and Policy (Fall)
  • HBSP 0623 - Cross-National Comparisons of Health Systems and Policy (Spring)
  • HBSP 0625 - Issues in Private and Public Health Insurance (Spring)
  • HBSP 0653 - Modifying Health Behaviors: Theory and Practice (Spring)
  • HBSP 0655 - Social Marketing (Fall)
  • BIST 0535 - Biostatistical Computing (Fall/Spring)
  • IDST 5320 - Social and Healthcare Policy for the Older Adult
  • NUTR 6420 - Nutrition and Aging