School of Public Health

MPH Degree Track in Biostatistics

The primary objective of the MPH in Biostatistics is to provide a strong foundation in Public Health with a focus on quantitative methods.  Students choosing this track should have a strong aptitude for quantitative reasoning and methods with a focus on public health.

Track Objectives
Apply basic probability theory and statistical methods to public health, biomedical and clinical research questions.
Design experimental and observational studies in public health, biomedical and clinical research.
Use statistical computer packages to organize and analyze data and report results
Present the results of statistical analyses in both written and oral form to scientific and the lay audiences.
Review and critique statistical methods and interpretations presented in published research studies, presentations and reports.
Determine and identify the necessary data and data structures that are best suited to address public health issues, program planning and program evaluation.
Demonstrate knowledge of ethical issues related to the issues of biostatistics in public health.

Biostatistics Track Core Requirements
All students enrolled in the Biostatistics track must complete the track core requirements listed below.

Biostatistics Electives
Students have a choice of electives to be completed the requirements for an MPH student(s) must complete 9 elective credits.

MPH Degree in Community Health Sciences - Urban and Immigrant Health
This program provides students with the knowledge and skills needed to identify major behavioral, social, and cultural factors that impact the health of resident and immigrant individuals, their families, and their communities in urban settings.  Students will work collaboratively on developing goals and strategies for modifying those factors, and on designing assessments to determine the effect of these efforts.  A focus of training involves gaining an understanding of and skills needed to address issues that disproportionately impact urban and immigrant populations.  Course and fieldwork target theory and methods for designing, implementing, and evaluating programs aimed at reducing the burden of major health problems.

Track Objectives:
Identify individual, biological, social, community, organizational, and policy-level determinants of public health problems;
Determine major diseases, disorders, and conditions, and health disparities among urban and immigrant populations;
Describe the processes involved in identifying public health priorities in a community and collaborating effectively to prioritize goals and objectives;
Employ methods to integrate culturally competent approaches into public health practice
Understand major methods and designs for evaluating public health interventions;
Effectively communicate verbally and in writing issues as they relate to the practice of public health behavioral and social interventions.

Community Health Sciences - Urban and Immigrant Health Track Core Requirements
All students enrolled in the Urban and Immigrant Health track must complete the track core requirements listed below.

Community Health Sciences - Urban and Immigrant Health Track Core Requirements Electives
Students must complete 9 elective credits to satisfy the requirements for an MPH degree. Three courses may be chosen from the list below.

MPH Degree in Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences

Environmental health science is concerned with the study of the adverse impacts of physical, chemical, and biological agents in the environment on human health.  To characterize the interface between human health and the environment, it is necessary to utilize a set of tools and methods to quantify or categorize exposure.  The goal of the Environmental Health Track of the MPH at SUNY Downstate is to introduce students to the basic tools and competencies to identify, assess, and manage environmental health problems. 

Track Objectives:
Characterize the direct and indirect human, ecological and safety effects of major environmental and occupational agents.
Describe genetic, physiologic and psychosocial factors that affect susceptibility to adverse health outcomes following exposure to environmental hazards. 
Describe federal and state regulatory programs, guidelines and authorities that control environmental health issues.
Specify current environmental risk assessment methods.
Identify the tools for assessment, prevention, and control of environmental hazards that threaten human health and safety.
Explain the general mechanisms of toxicity in eliciting a toxic response to various environmental exposures.  Discuss the general mechanisms of toxicity and toxic response to foreign chemicals in the body.
Discuss various risk management and risk communication approaches in relation to issues of environmental justice and equity.  Demonstrate knowledge of ethical issues related to problem solving in the environmental health sciences.
Develop a testable model of environmental insult.

Environmental & Occupational Health Track Core Requirements
All students enrolled in the Environmental & Occupational Health track must complete the track core requirements listed below.

Environmental & Occupational Health Electives
Students must complete 9 elective credits to satisfy the requirements for an MPH degree. Three courses may be chosen from the list below.

MPH Degree Track in Epidemiology

This program will provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to carry out epidemiologic investigations of major public health issues affecting urban and immigrant populations.  Didactic training and fieldwork emphasizes skill in the planning and implementation of epidemiologic study designs; the collection and analysis of data; the interpretation and presentation of findings and discussion of public health implications.

Track Objectives:

Identify types and sources of data used in epidemiologic research.
Describe trends and patterns of disease incidence, prevalence, burden of major diseases (both new and emerging) and factors affecting health status of immigrant and urban populations, and indicate major etiologic and prognostic factors for the same.
Interpret results of an epidemiologic study, including the relation to findings from other epidemiologic studies, limitations of the study and public health implications.
Understand the strengths and weaknesses of major methodological and analytical techniques used in epidemiology;
Appreciate the policy implications of epidemiologic research.
Develop testable hypotheses and set out relevant research questions and design and develop a feasible research proposal.
Exhibit practical skills, including subject selection, data collection, study logistics, construct a data set and analyze it using existing statistical software.
Prepare a paper for presentation or publication.
Communicate epidemiologic findings to lay and professional audiences.

Epidemiology Track Core Requirements
All students enrolled in the Epidemiology track must complete the track core requirements listed below.

Epidemiology Electives
Students must complete 9 elective credits to satisfy the requirements for an MPH degree. Three courses may be chosen from the list below.

MPH Degree Track in Health Policy and Management

The goal of this track is to prepare students to be leaders in the area of health policy and management. The over $2 billion spent on health care in the United States requires serious and competent stewardship. It is imperative that those who will be managers of health institutions and organizations and those who will develop and implement policy changes understand how the system came to be; how it currently operates and functions; and the likely scenarios for change in the future and their implications. This track seeks to produce individuals within the field of public health who can provide leadership in health care organizations and institutions; and who can plan and evaluate management and policy strategies for health organizations and institutions.

Track Objectives:
To understand how the health care system in the United States is organized, financed, and managed.
To understand how the health care system in the United States differs from those in other countries both advanced and developing and to understand the burden of health care. 
To understand the different roles and functions of the various elements of the health care system in the U.S. including the public health system, the acute care system, the long term care system, and the mental health system.; and to understand the points of convergence and difference between these systems.
To grasp the historical and political development of health and health care in the United States to prepare students for changes that might occur in the future.
To understand and effectively communicate health management strategies and health policy approaches to important constituencies such as staff, government leaders, legislators, trustees and directors, media sources and the larger health policy and management community.

Health Policy and Management Track Core Requirements
All students enrolled in the Health Policy and Management track must complete the track core requirements listed below.

Health Policy and Management Electives
Students must complete 9 elective credits to satisfy the requirements for an MPH degree. Three courses may be chosen from the list below.

FIELD and CULMINATING EXPERIENCE:

PUBH 6500: Field Experience 1 credit  
This course is an opportunity for students to apply the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom directly in a fieldwork experience.  After completion of an online module on professionalism, the student will work at an approved external site, typically a local or state health agency or a local organization under the supervision of a public health professional.  If a student is able to do a placement only in his or her regular place of employment, the assignment must extend beyond or be something other than his or her regular work duties and allow application of knowledge and skills learned in the classroom.

PUBH 6001: Culminating Experience 2 credits
The Culminating Experience allows the student to demonstrate the ability to integrate knowledge and skills in a Final Project similar to some aspect of practice as a public health professional. The faculty uses the Culminating Experience to judge whether the student demonstrates proficiency in the competencies required for public health practice.