Advanced Professional MPH in Social and Behavioral Sciences

• BIS 515 Accelerated Biostatistics - 2 units
• SBS 505 Accelerated Social Foundations of Health - 1 unit
• CDE 515 Accelerated Epidemiology - 1 unit
• EPH 510 Health Policy and Health Care Systems - 1 unit
• EPH 513 Major Health Threats - 1 unit

One of the following (public health practice requirements):

• EPH 500 Public Health Practicum - 1 unit
• HPM 555 Health Policy or Health Care Management Practicum - 1 unit
• HPM 556 Advanced Health Policy Practicum - 1 unit
• EPH 555 Clinic in Climate Justice, Law, and Public Health - 1 unit
• EMD/SBS 584 Advanced Global Health Justice Practicum: Fieldwork - 1 unit
• EMD/SBS 588 Health Justice Practicum - 1 unit
• EMD/SBS 596 Health Justice: Theory to Practice - 1 unit

• CDE 534 Applied Analytic Methods in Epidemiology - 1 unit
• SBS 541 Foundations of Behavior Change - 1 unit

One of the following:

• SBS 676 Questionnaire Development - 1 unit
• SBS/BIS 640 User-Centered Design of Digital Health Tools - 1 unit

Two of the following (or permission of academic adviser to substitute):

• CDE 572 Obesity Prevention and Lifestyle Interventions - 1 unit
• SBS 531 Health and Aging - 1 unit
• SBS 573 Social and Cultural Factors in Mental Health and Illness - 1 unit
• SBS 581 Stigma and Health - 1 unit
• SBS 583 Sexual and Reproductive Health - 1 unit
• SBS 585 Sexuality, Gender, Health, and Human Rights - 1 unit
• SBS 594 Maternal-Child Public Health Nutrition - 1 unit
• CDE 545 Health Disparities by Race and Social Class - 1 unit
• HPM 545 Health Disparities - 1 unit
• SBS 537 Social and Interpersonal Influences on Health - 1 unit
• SBS 570 LGBT Population Health - 1 unit
• SBS 560 Sexual and Reproductive Health - 1 unit
• SBS 562 Inclusive Design for the Built Environment - 1 unit
• SBS 577 Health Communication and the Media - 1 unit

One of the following capstone courses:

• SBS 574 Developing a Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Intervention - 1 unit
• CDE 617 Developing a Research Proposal - 1 unit
• HPM 597 Capstone in Health Policy - 1 unit
• EPH 557 Evidence-Based Decision Making in Global Health - 1 unit
• HPM 575 Evaluation of Global Health Policies and Programs - 1 unit
• EPH 608 - Frontiers of Public Health - 1 unit

Elective Courses (3 course units)

When you graduate from YSPH, you have options! Our curriculum is closely mapped to the core and departmental competencies so that you will have a foundation in the skills you need for a successful career in public health. See our Career Management Center pages to see where our alumni live and work after completing their MPH studies.

The core curriculum of the MPH program focuses on competencies in evidence-based approaches to public health (1–4), public health and health care systems (5–6), planning and management to promote health (7–11), policy in public health (12–15), leadership (16–17), communication (18–20), interprofessional practice (21), and systems thinking (22).

Upon completing the core curriculum, the student will be able to:

1. Apply epidemiological methods to the breadth of settings and situations in public health practice.
2. Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context.
3. Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software, as appropriate.
4. Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy, or practice.
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5. Compare the organization, structure, and function of health care, public health, and regulatory systems across national and international settings.
6. 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.
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7. Assess population needs, assets, and capacities that affect communities’ health.
8. Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design or implementation of public health policies or programs.
9. Design a population-based policy, program, project, or intervention.
10. Explain the basic principles and tools of budget and resource management.
11. Select methods to evaluate public health programs.
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12. Discuss multiple dimensions of the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence.
13. Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes.
14. Advocate for political, social, or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations.
15. Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity.
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16. Apply principles of leadership, governance, and management, which include creating a vision, empowering others, fostering collaboration, and guiding decision-making.
17. Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges.
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18. Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors.
19. Communicate audience-appropriate public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation.
20. Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content.
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21. Perform effectively on interprofessional teams.
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22. Apply systems-thinking tools to a public health issue.

Upon receiving an MPH with a concentration in Social and Behavioral Sciences, the student will be able to:

• Describe the consequence of understanding health from multiple levels, including the individual, the social group, and society (e.g., understand a broad ecological model of health).
• Develop interventions to address health inequalities and promote health equity.
• Apply social and behavioral theory in the design and implementation of prevention interventions aimed toward improving health.
• Evaluate health promotion interventions.
• Apply ethical principles to the collection of social and behavioral health data.