Master of Public Health – General (MPH) Shorelight Group - University of Illinois Springfield, USA

The Master of Public Health (MPH) General program provides students with a comprehensive understanding of public health principles, preparing them to address complex health challenges in diverse populations. The program requires a minimum of 48 credit hours, encompassing core courses and concentration courses that cover essential topics such as epidemiology, biostatistics, public health policy, environmental healthand health education.

The program’s structure includes a blend of core coursework and specialized concentration courses, allowing students to focus on areas aligned with their career goals. Core courses establish a foundation in public health, while concentration courses enable students to deepen their expertise in specific areas, such as social determinants of health, advanced epidemiology, or public health policy.

To complete the MPH-General program, students must pass a comprehensive examination, which serves as the program’s closure requirement. This exam, based on a case study, tests students’ ability to integrate and apply the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the curriculum. Successful completion of all core courses, excluding the internship, is required prior to taking the comprehensive exam, although students may take it concurrently with elective courses or the internship in their final semester.

Learning Outcomes

• Apply epidemiological methods to settings and situations in public health practice.
• Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context.
• Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software, as appropriate.
• Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy, or practice.
• Compare the organization, structure and function of health care, public health and regulatory systems across national and international settings.
• Discuss the means by which structural bias, social inequities and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community and systemic levels.
• Assess population needs, assets and capacities that affect communities’ health.
• Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design, implementation, or critique of public health policies or programs.
• Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention.
• Explain basic principles and tools of budget and resource management.
• Select methods to evaluate public health programs.
• Discuss the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence.
• Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes.
• Advocate for political, social or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations.
• Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity.
• Apply leadership and/or management principles to address a relevant issue.
• Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges.
• Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors.
• Communicate audience-appropriate (i.e., non-academic, non-peer audience) public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation.
• Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content.
• Integrate perspectives from other sectors and/or professions to promote and advance population health.
• Apply a systems thinking tool to visually represent a public health issue in a format other than standard narrative.