Professional Enhancement
Program Curriculum (minimum of 42 sh)
SPH Core Requirements
(20 semester hours)
EPID 403 Introduction
to Epidemiology: Principles & Methods* (3
sh)
BSTT 400 Biostatistics
I (4 sh)
HPA 400 Principles of
Management in Public Health (3 sh)
CHSC 400 Public Health
Concepts and Practice (3 sh)
EOHS 400 Principles
of Environmental Health Sciences (3 sh)
CHSC 401 Behavioral
Sciences in Public Health (3 sh)
IPHS 698 MPH Capstone
Experience (1 sh)
Epidemiology Requirements
(18 sh)
EPID 406 Epidemiologic
Computing (3 sh)
EPID 404 Intermediate
Epidemiologic Methods (4 sh)
EPID 410 Epidemiology
of Infectious Diseases (2 sh)
EPID 411 Epidemiology
of Chronic Disease (3 sh)
EPID 591 Current Epidemiologic
Literature (2 sh)
BSTT 401 Biostatistics
II (4 sh)
Electives (1 sh)
PEP minimum requirement
(1 sh)
Field Experience
IPHS 650 Field Experience in Public Health 3-5 sh
Any required course may
be waived on the basis of prior education or experience.
Please refer to the section on Academic Policies and
Standards for course waiver rules and procedure.
Students must select electives
in consultation with their advisor. In developing
the program of study, students should consult the
SPH Student Handbook and the semester course schedule
which are available online at the SPH
website.
Field Experience: IPHS 650
The field experience may be for 3-5 semester hours, based on the field experience responsibilities. Field experience is not required for students in the Professional Enhancement Program (PEP). SPH Memorandum of Understanding and Field Learning Agreement forms must be completed prior to embarking upon the field experience.
The field experience must
be practical, applied and public health in orientation,
and should preferably be with an organized public
or private agency. Working with his/her academic
advisor, and with the latter's signed approval the
student must submit a detailed (but brief) field
experience proposal to the field supervisor. Final
Student and Supervisor Evaluation Forms must be
given to the advisor for review and signature in
order to obtain a grade for IPHS 650.
Capstone Requirement: IPHS 698
Students must enroll in
IPHS 698 (MPH Capstone Experience), for 1 credit
hour. Students must complete a formal oral presentation
to Division students and faculty on a topic as described
below. The presentation will conform to the format
and time length of a paper delivered at the annual
meetings of the American Public Health Association
(APHA). Students are cautioned to restrict their
courseload during the semester of capstone registration,
as this is an involved and challenging project.
The topic is to be approved
by the student's advisor, and a final abstract of
the presentation is to be submitted at least one
week prior to the presentation. The topic should
not be the same as one already addressed in a paper
submitted for a previous course. Where appropriate,
students are encouraged to present findings based
on their field experience (IPHS 650). However, it
may take an alternative form, such as a comprehensive
review of the literature on a public health issue
from an epidemiologic perspective; a report on another
research project in which the student has taken
part; a proposal for a study to address an important
public health issue; or another format acceptable
to the student and his/her academic advisor or faculty
mentor. Students may consult with other faculty
mentors in addition to their academic advisor for
the purposes of developing their capstone presentation.
Three faculty members
will evaluate the quality of the presentation. Each
faculty member will assess the experience based
on three criteria: content (60%), organization (20%)
and oral presentation (20%). A presentation should
consist of an introduction to the problem or issue,
an explanation of the methods used to research the
topic, a summary of the results or findings, conclusions
as to the public health implications of the results,
and recommendations for practical applications or
further research.
If the presentation is
evaluated as unsatisfactory by at least two of the
three faculty members, the student will be required
to submit a written paper, including citations,
covering the same material as the oral presentation.
The written paper will be evaluated by the three
committee members on the content and organization
of the material. In some cases, the capstone review
committee may simply require written clarification
or additional analyses pertinent to identified deficiencies
in the oral presentation.
Students should refer
to the Program Requirements for the MPH Degree in
this Handbook for more detail about the field experience
and capstone.
IRB: Institutional Review
Board
All students must undergo
Institutional Review Board (IRB) training by the
end of their first year of study, and, where required,
must submit IRB review or exemption forms prior
to beginning the field experience. Students should
consult the SPH Student Reference Guides available
in the division, and speak with their advisors.
Where required, the field experience and capstone
cannot be undertaken without first obtaining IRB
review or exemption.
Standards of Performance
for Epidemiology MPH Program
In addition to school-wide
standards, for students in Epidemiology no grade
below "B" is acceptable in any epidemiology
or biostatistics course. If a grade below "B"
is achieved in such a course, it may be repeated
once. Failure to maintain this standard will be
grounds for dismissal from the epidemiology program.
MPH in Maternal and Child
Epidemiology (53-58 sh)
In conjunction with the
Community Health Sciences division, the Division
of Epidemiology and Biostatistics allows students
the opportunity to pursue an MPH in Epidemiology
under the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Epidemiology
track. This program offers courses in both maternal
and child health and epidemiology for students wishing
to focus on applied MCH epidemiology.
In addition to the 20
sh of core MPH course requirements, students in
the Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology track
must take the following courses:
Community Health Sciences
Courses (6-7 sh)
Choose 2 of 5:
CHSC 431 Community Assessment
in Public Health (3 sh)
CHSC 432 Analytic Methods in Public Health (3 sh)
CHSC 433 Public Health
Planning and Evaluation (3 sh)
CHSC 446 Research Methods
in Community Health (3 sh)
PA 540 Research Methods
for Public Administration (4 sh)
Biostatistics and
Epidemiology Courses (16 sh)
BSTT 401 Biostatistics
II (4 sh)
EPID 406 Epidemiologic
Computing (3 sh)
EPID 404 Intermediate
Epidemiologic Methods (4 sh)
EPID 410 Introduction
to Infectious Disease Epidemiology (2 sh)
EPID 411 Introduction
to Chronic Disease Epidemiology (3 sh)
MCH Concentration
Courses (10 to 11 sh)
CHSC 441 Introduction to Maternal and Child Health (3 sh)
Choose one:
CHSC 542 Advanced Maternal and Child Health Applied Programs (3 sh) OR
CHSC 543 MCH Policy and Advocacy (3 sh)
Choose one:
CHSC 548 Readings in Reproductive and Perinatal Epidemiology (1 sh) OR
EPID 591 Current Epidemiologic Literature (2 sh)
Choose one:
EPID 518 Epidemiology of Pediatric Diseases (3 sh) OR
EPID/CHSC 545 Reproductive and Perinatal Health (3 sh)
Field Experience (3-5 sh)
IPHS 650 Field Experience
in Public Health (3-5 sh)
Any required course may
be waived on the basis of prior education or experience.
Please refer to the section on Academic Policies
and Standards for course waiver rules and procedure.
Field Experience: IPHS
650:
The Field Experience
or practicum for MCH Epidemiology must be undertaken
in conjunction with a state or local public health
agency.
Students in the Maternal
and Child Health Epidemiology program should adhere
to all other guidelines for the Epidemiology MPH degree,
in addition to the Program Requirements for the MPH
Degree in this Handbook.
Additional learning
objectives for students in epidemiology:
In addition to the schoolwide learning objectives, for students pursuing the MPH degree in epidemiology, the following objectives apply:
- Appreciate the history and philosophy of epidemiology as a public health science.
- Understand the implications of epidemiology for other health specialists.
- Understand the fundamental measures and study designs used in epidemiology.
- Understand and be able to apply statistical methods commonly used in epidemiology.
- Have substantive knowledge of epidemiology.
- Have knowledge of protocol development, subject recruitment, data collection, quality control, reporting and presentation of findings.
- Demonstrate the ability to conduct data analyses and interpret results.
- Demonstrate the ability to manage and analyze data using statistical and epidemiological software packages.
Learning Objectives for students pursing the MPH in MCH-Epidemiology can be found at: http://www.uic.edu/sph/downloads/mph_%20mch_%20epi_competencies.doc.
A Masters of Public Health
(MPH) degree in Quantitative Methods is offered through
the School's Biostatistics program. The degree is
tailored to those within the public health work-force
who require competency in the management, analysis
and interpretation of public health data, and knowledge
of data analysis issues as applied to a particular
area of public health.
Program of Study (Minimum credit hour requirement:
49 sh)
SPH Core Requirements
(20 semester hours)
EPID 403 Introduction
to Epidemiology: Principles & Methods (3 sh)
BSTT 400 Biostatistics
I (4 sh)
HPA 400 Principles of
Management in Public Health (3 sh)
CHSC 400 Public Health
Concepts and Practice (3 sh)
EOHS 400 Principles
of Environmental Health Sciences (3 sh)
CHSC 401 Behavioral
Sciences in Public Health (3 sh)
IPHS 698 MPH Capstone
Experience (1 sh)
Quantitative Methods
Core Requirements (19 sh)
BSTT 401 Biostatistics
II (4 sh)
BSTT 505 Logistic Regression and Survival Analysis (2 sh)
BSTT 506 Design of Clinical Trials (3 sh)
BSTT 507 Sampling and Estimation Methods (3 sh)
EPID 404 Intermediate
Epidemiologic Methods (4 sh)
CHSC 447 Survey Research
Methods (3 sh)
Concentration Electives
Minimum of 7 sh; may
be more depending on the concentration 7-10 sh
The following are examples
of courses in each of the three areas of concentration
which would satisfy requirements for the MPH in
Quantitative Methods. (Courses will be selected
in consultation with a faculty advisor from the
student's chosen area of concentration.)
Concentration in EOHS
Option 1:
EOHS 405 Environmental Calculation (1 sh)
EOHS 411 Water Quality Management (4 sh)
EOHS 418 Analysis of Water and Waste Water Quality
(2 sh)
EOHS 421 Fundamentals of Industrial Hygiene
(2 sh)
Option 2:
EOHS 431 Air Quality Management I (3 sh)
EOHS 438 Air Quality Laboratory (2 sh)
EOHS 532 Air Quality Management II (2 sh)
Concentration in CHS
CHSC 433 Public Health
Planning and Evaluation (3 sh)
CHSC 434 Qualitative Methods (2 sh)
CHSC 442 Introduction to Community Assessment
(2 sh)
Concentration in HPA
HPA 403 US Health
Care System (3 sh)
HPA 417 Quality management Health Services (3
sh)
HPA 465 Health Information and Decision Support
Systems (4 sh)
Field Practicum (3-5 sh)
IPHS 650 Field Practicum 3-5 sh
Field Experience: IPHS 650
The field experience
or practicum must be practical, applied and public
health in orientation, and should preferably be
with an organized public or private agency. A
student works with his/her advisor to determine
an appropriate practicum site. Students must complete
all forms required by the School of Public Health
in the semester prior to registration for the
Field. (see Program Requirements for the MPH degree
in this Handbook).
Capstone Requirement: IPHS 698
All MPH Quantitative
Methods students are required to complete a capstone
project in their area of concentration, typically
a data management and analysis project for a study
in that area. Each student will identify a key
faculty member in his or her area of concentration
as well as a faculty member in Biostatistics.
The student will work with these two faculty members
to design a plan for an appropriate capstone project,
which should include substantive interpretation
of results and discussion of consequences in addition
to actually carrying out the analysis. The student
will write a report which will be evaluated by
the two faculty members. The data set may arise
from the student's field practicum experience.
Students should refer to
the Program Requirements for the MPH Degree in this
Handbook for more details about the field experience
and capstone.
IRB: Institutional Review
Board
All students must undergo
Institutional Review Board (IRB) training by the
end of their first year of study, and, where required,
must submit IRB review or exemption forms prior
to beginning the field experience. Students should
consult the SPH Student Reference Guides available
in the division, and speak with their advisors.
Where required, the field experience and capstone
cannot be undertaken without first obtaining IRB
review or exemption.
Standards of Performance
for Biostatistics MPH Program
Students in Biostatistics
are allowed only one grade of C in required courses.
A student who receives two Cs in required courses
will not be allowed to graduate from the program.
A student may re-take a course one time and attempt
to replace the C with a higher grade.
