Master of Public Health in LGBTQ Health

The Rutgers School of Public Health’s Master of Public Health (MPH) in LGBTQ Health degree is designed to support public health professionals dedicated to improving the health of LGBTQ people and populations.

Program Overview
Curriculum Details

About the Program

As the first MPH concentration in LGBTQ health to be offered by an accredited school of public health, students will be prepared to address the unique health care needs of the LGBTQ community and work toward creating new policies and practices founded upon social justice and health equity.

Graduates will be well educated on the health disparities among LGBTQ communities as well as the concepts of gender, sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation as it is situated across public health, culture, history, legal, medicine, and the political context. Students, practitioners, and researchers will be trained in research practice that supports the identification of relevant health problems and opportunities of improvement in current policy to support the holistic health of this community.

Graduates are eligible to sit for the Certified in Public Health Exam.

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Competencies

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 LGBTQ Health will be able to:

MPH-LGBTQ1: Describe the concept of gender, sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation as it is situated across public health, culture, history, legal, medicine, and the political context;
MPH-LGBTQ2: Understand the origins, causes, and manifestations of health disparities among LGBTQ populations;
MPH-LGBTQ3: Use relevant sources (including public health literature and qualitative and quantitative data) to identify the health status and disparities in specific LGBTQ populations and communities;
MPH-LGBTQ4: Synthesize the existing literature to identify relevant health problems, policies, programs or gaps in the research to identify research agendas and questions that when addressed will contribute to the improvement of LGBTQ health;
MPH-LGBTQ5: Design research for diverse LGBTQ populations that address identified relevant health problems; and
MPH-LGBTQ6: Utilize intersectionality theory to describe how to improve advocacy techniques for populations with multiple marginalized identities.

Program Format and Length

The Master of Public Health in LGBTQ Health degree is offered to students on a full-time or part-time basis. Courses are available in-person, remote, and/or online. Students will complete a total of 45 credits, including a practicum experience and capstone research project.

Students seeking the 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 Schedule-At-A-Glance for each semester to determine when, where, and how a course is offered.

If completing the program as a full-time student (nine or more credits per semester), the degree requirements may be completed in as little as two years (four to five semesters). Part-time students taking at least six credits per semester may expect to finish within four years. Taking courses in the summer may help expedite part-time students’ timing.

Students are also required to register for and complete an Interprofessional Education activity prior to graduation.

Dual-degree options are available in partnership with other Rutgers University schools.

Students can earn a post-baccalaureate certificate alongside their degree with an additional 6-12 credits. Contact admissions for additional information at admissions@sph.rutgers.edu.

Application Deadline and Requirements

Fall Semester Start Date
January 15 (priority)
May 1 (regular)

Spring Semester Start Date
October 15 (priority)
December 1 (regular)

A complete application includes:

Completion of the online application
Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended
Statement of goals, one-to-three pages in length, which addresses:
- Interest in the program
- Preparedness for the program
- Goals and aspirations
Two letters of recommendation with at least one letter from an academic reference if you are currently enrolled in a degree program or have graduated within the last four years.
Resume or CV
GRE General Exam (optional)
TOEFL or IELTS score for applicants educated in a non-native English-speaking country

Applications are accepted on a rolling, space-available basis following the regular deadline.

Download MPH-LGBTQ Health Info. Sheet

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.

Concentration 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.

UGPH 0640 - LGBTQ Health: History and Context (Fall)
UGPH 0642 - LGBTQ Health and Health Disparities (Spring)
UGPH 0644 - Methods for Hard to Reach Populations (Fall)
UGPH 0646 - Transgender Health (Fall)
UGPH 0648 - Public Health Aspects of HIV Prevention and Care (Spring)
HBSP 0652 - Program Planning and Evaluation (Fall/Spring/Summer)

Other Requirements (0 credits)

For Students Enrolled Fall 2018 and After

PRAC 0621 - Interprofessional Education Experience (0 credits) [Fall/Spring]
Students are required to register for and complete an Interprofessional Education activity prior to graduation.
Complete Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) online training on Human Subject Research Protections (For Students Enrolled Fall 2024 and After)

Recommended Elective Courses (6 credits)

Electives may be chosen from the below list of recommended courses; other courses offered across the School of Public Health, including the School’s global courses (INTL courses); or with approval of the academic advisor. An Independent Study may also be done for up to 3-credits, with approval of the academic advisor and an SPH faculty member. Students interested in taking a graduate course at another Rutgers school must consult with their academic advisor and complete appropriate cross-registration forms in advance of registration. When choosing electives, students should consider the prerequisite requirement(s) and the location or teaching modality of the course.

Electives with Emphasis on Skills and Methods

UGPH 0605 - Qualitative Research Methods (Fall)
UGPH 0650 - Community Engaged Methods in Public Health (Summer)
EPID 0621 - Survey Research in Epidemiology (Fall)
EPID 0641 - GIS in Public Health (Spring)
HBSP 0600 - Health Behavior and Policy Research Design and Methods (Fall/Spring/Summer)

Students thinking about pursuing a doctoral degree may want to consider taking additional quantitative data analysis and/or research methods courses as electives.

Electives for Completing an Internal Certificate

The following are examples for students potentially interested in concurrently completing a Certificate program in addition to their MPH degree. Students interested in completing both their MPH and a Certificate must discuss this with their advisor and the respective Certificate Coordinator, complete the necessary forms in advance, and plan their curriculum to account for the six shared credits. (Students are not able to pursue a certificate in the same concentration as their MPH degree program.)

No more than six (6) credits may be shared between a degree and a certificate program. Depending on the certificate’s curriculum, some of these electives may be applied to the certificate program only. Students should carefully review the Request for Internal Certificate information.

Electives that May Contribute to a Global Public Health Certificate:

UGPH 0515 - Global Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases (Spring)
UGPH 0600 - Introduction to Global Public Health (Fall/Spring)
HBSP 0623 - Cross National Comparisons of Health Systems (Spring)

Electives that May Contribute to a Maternal and Child Health Certificate:

UGPH 0560 - Foundations of Maternal and Child Health (Fall)
UGPH 0621 - Public Health and Health Disparities (Fall)
EPID 0607 - Reproductive and Perinatal Epidemiology (Fall)

Electives that May Contribute to a Public Health Nutrition Certificate:

UGPH 0630 - Global Food Systems and Policy (Fall)
UGPH 0670 - Global Food and Culture (Fall)
NUTR 5300 - Nutrition across the Lifespan (Spring-Even Years)
NUTR 5513 - Global and Public Health Nutrition (Summer)
NUTR 6490 - Nutritional Epidemiology (Fall-Even Years)

Electives that May Contribute to a United Nations and Global Public Health Certificate:

UGPH 0521 - Culture and Health
UGPH 9000 - Introduction to the United Nations

Electives that May Contribute to an Urban Public Health Certificate:

UGPH 0621 - Public Health and Health Disparities (Fall)
UGPH 0680 - Urban Public Health (Spring)