The UIC College of Medicine and the School of Public Health (SPH) offer a program of study leading to the joint MD/MPH degrees. This is a five-year program of study.

Students must apply to the joint degree program at the outset of their training. In rare circumstances, medical students may apply to the joint program during their first year of medical school. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the summers before and after the College of Medicine M1 year to complete some of the MPH core course requirements. The fourth year of the five-year program will be dedicated to completing the core requirements and much of the elective course load of the Master of Public Health degree. In the fifth year students must complete all M4 requirements including the medicine sub-internship and the core sub-specialty rotations, the SPH capstone experience, and College of Medicine clinical electives which may be satisfied by approved course work in SPH. Concurrent public health course work during the M1 through M3 years is discouraged.

For further information, contact Babette J. Neuberger, JD, MPH, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, at 312-996-5381.

The combined DDS/MPH degree program is available for students in good standing in the College of Dentistry at UIC. There are two tracks for this joint degree program.

1. Registration in a dental curriculum and 4 credit hours per semester concurrently in the School of Public Health. Two summer semesters would be available to complete the additional semester hours of SPH course work and the field practicum.

2. Registration in dentistry and use of vacation and alternate semesters to carry a full-time course load in the School of Public Health.

For further information, contact Babette J. Neuberger, JD, MPH, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, 312-996-5381.

Starting in 1999-2000, SPH and the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Chicago-Kent College of Law will offer a coordinated program leading to both the Juris Doctor and the Master of Public Health degrees. The full program will take three and a half years to complete (on a full-time basis): one year at SPH and two and a half years at the law school. Students must apply to both schools, through the normal admissions processes. Admission into the program is contingent on admission to both schools. IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law offers almost two dozen classes in every aspect of health and the law: legal and ethical issues in health care; environmental law; elder law; genetics and the law; and many more. The UIC School of Public Health has three lawyers on its full-time faculty, with courses emphasizing the public health aspects of legal and public policy-making institutions and procedures.

For further information, contact Daniel Swartzman, JD, MPH, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, at 312-996-5756, or request a copy of the JD/MPH Handbook from Ms. Gwendolyn Slaughter at 312-996-6628.

The goal of the Maternal and Child Health Training Program (MCHTP) is to provide leadership training for individuals pursuing careers in maternal and child health (MCH) aspects of community practice, research, teaching, program planning and evaluation, administration, policy-making, and advocacy. It is a comprehensive, competency-based program focusing on the health needs of women, children, and families and on the services designed to meet these needs. Competencies include the ability to apply a historical, legislative, and public health knowledge base concerning Title V/MCH and related governmental programs, policy-making and advocacy, program planning and evaluation, resource allocation and service delivery, management and communication, health education, quantitative and qualitative methods, interdisciplinary collaborative skills, community assessment and collaboration, environmental health sciences, and analytic skills. The MCHTP is one of only thirteen such training programs funded in the United States through the federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

The program leads to one of four School of Public Health degrees with a specialization in MCH: the Master of Public Health (MPH), Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), Master of Science (MS), and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). It takes most students one and a half to two years full-time to complete the MPH degree program in MCH. Students may also enroll on a part-time basis.

Students first must meet the School of Public Health admission requirements and apply through the Community Health Sciences Division. Preference for admission to MCHTP is given to candidates holding an advanced degree within a professional discipline relevant to maternal and child health and who have had at least two years of experience in their profession. Applicants with a bachelor’s degree, experience in public health programs or related areas, and clear professional goals are also considered. Competitive MCH traineeships and assistantships are usually available. For further information, contact Rebecca Fields, MPH, Community Health Sciences, 312-996-8940.

HCOP is an integral part of the commitment of UIC to the Urban Health Programs.

The purpose of the program is to substantially increase the number of economically disadvantaged students, particularly black and Hispanic, who are accepted, enrolled, retained, and graduated with a Master of Public Health degree and other graduate and professional degrees in public health. HCOP works closely with a consortium of midwestern universities and colleges. This inter-institutional effort increases the program's access to students who may be interested in pursuing a health profession.

Students accepted in the program are exposed to a series of education activities. These activities include: an eight-week Summer Residential Enrichment Program (SREP) and a weekend Graduate Records Examination (GRE) Preparation Course. The SREP focuses on development of written and oral skills, the public health curriculum, test-taking strategies, developing relationships with public health professionals, computer skills, and field trips. Students who are going through the reapplication process, who scored low on the GRE, or who need a review of concepts in mathematics, vocabulary enrichment, analogies, and word meaning in context are encouraged to take the GRE preparatory course. Other support activities include the monitoring of career plans, academic progress, and continuous offerings of public health career awareness activities.

The Preliminary Education (PE) component includes support groups for biostatistics, epidemiology, and environmental health calculations. In addition, computer assistance for SAS/SPSS-X is provided on a continuing basis. Students admitted into the school are invited to participate in a three-week Pre-Matriculation Program (PMP). This activity emphasizes written and verbal skills and provides extensive exposure to the core curriculum in public health. Participating students in the Summer Residential Enrichment Program and the Pre-Matriculation Program receive a $200-per-week stipend.

Educational enrichment activities such as the Dean's Forum on Public Health Issues and the HCOP workshops are also made available to insure retention and professional development prior to graduation.

For further information, contact Shaffdeen A. Amuwo, PhD, Associate Dean for Community, Government, and Alumni Affairs, at 312-996-6625 or the HCOP director at 312-996-5955.

Cooperative Education (Co-op) is an opportunity for the student to earn money and gain valuable work experience while pursuing his or her degree. Since UIC is located near thousands of businesses, industries, government agencies, health care and private organizations, UIC Cooperative Education has been able to develop strong ties with local, national, and international employers.

The SPH Co-op program offers the student the opportunity to attain work experience in his or her academic field (work for which the student is paid while pursuing a graduate degree). Co-op provides a link between classroom theory and professional practice. By establishing learning objectives with Co-op employers, education goals are met through work experience. Progress is monitored by both the employer and the student’s advisor. Academic credit may also be awarded for Co-op work experiences.

The Co-op experience can start as early as the third semester of graduate study. Work assignments can be either alternate or parallel. Alternate assignments allow students to rotate between full-time semesters of work and study. Although this type of assignment typically extends the graduation process, it provides the student with a more intense and direct opportunity to know the company or organization. Parallel assignments, on the other hand, allow students to work and pursue academic studies on an extended-day or part-time basis.

For more information, contact Ms. Gwendolyn Slaughter at 312-996-6628.