Public Health, BS/MS

Contact

Brooks B. Gump, Director of Graduate Programs in Public Health
344H White Hall
Ph: 315-443-2208
Email: bbgump@syr.edu

Core Faculty

Brooks B. Gump, Brittany Kmush, Sandra D. Lane, David Larsen, Katherine McDonald, Lutchmie Narine, Arthur Owora

Affiliated Faculty

Indu Gupta, Commissioner of Health, Onondaga County Health Department

Description

The BS/MS in Public is a 150 credit hour, 5-year academic program that provides students with an accelerated pathway to an advanced degree in public health. Students gain core knowledge, research, and practice skills necessary for the advancement of evidence-based public health, while eliminating redundancy if the degrees were completed separately.

Students complete an internship experience, a specialization track in either global health or biostatistics, and a master’s thesis. The bachelor’s and master’s degree are awarded at the completion of the 5th year of study.

Admission

Students may apply at two points: at the time of admission to Syracuse University (freshman entry) or during the fourth semester of study for students who entered Syracuse University as freshman public health majors. All students declare a program specialization by the sixth semester of study.

Internal and external transfer students may not apply directly to this program. Such students are admitted to the B.S. in public health program. If interested in the dual degree program, students must meet with the program directors to determine if prior coursework is applicable and if the program can be completed within the 5 year time period.

Freshman entry admission will be preferred for applicants with SAT or ACT scores within the 85th percentile. Sophomore student admission will be considered for applicants with an UG GPA of 3.3 or better.

A personal statement is required. The GRE is not required.

Financial Support

Undergraduate financial aid will be provided as awarded via Syracuse University Financial Aid Office.

Graduate assistantships for year 5 will be provided as are feasible under the Falk College annual budget.

Facilities

Courses will be taught in classrooms across the newly renovated Falk Complex. Public health faculty and administrative offices are housed in 2 suites within the Falk Complex. In addition to administrative and academic program offices and classrooms, the Falk Complex also offers student access to dedicated study/collaborative space, computer labs and comforts like a café and student lounge.

Student Learning Outcomes: BS

At the completion of the B.S./M.S. degree in public health, students will be able to:

1. Apply theories, concepts, and models from social and behavioral disciplines as they relate to public health practice
2. Use relevant data, information sources, and evidence based approaches to inform public health practice
3. Plan, implement, and evaluate public health programs
4. Communicate public health information to diverse populations using a variety of media
5. Assess the health status of populations, determinants of health & illness, and factors contributing to health promotion and disease prevention across the lifespan
6. Analyze social, environmental, and behavioral factors that affect health and contribute to health disparities
7. Compare and contrast the United States health care system structure to systems in other countries
8. Apply basic principles of epidemiology to interpret public health problems
9. Demonstrate cultural competence to meet the needs of diverse groups and vulnerable populations
10. Act according to professional values and ethics in public health practice, research, and education
11. Analyze how communities, community forces, and research shape health policies and regulations
12. Collaborate with community members and other stakeholders to promote community health

Student Learning Outcomes: MS

At the completion of the B.S./M.S. degree in public health, students will be able to:

1. Appraise the health of populations using a biological, environmental, behavioral, and social determinants framework
2. Affect positive changes in health through research, policy analysis and evidence-based health programming
3. Based on specialization track completed, demonstrate advanced knowledge in global health or biostatistics
4. Conduct independent, original, discipline-specific scientific research

Program Requirements

Liberal Arts Requirements (62 credits)

Writing skills: 6 credits to include WRT 105 and WRT 205
Quantitative skills: 6 - 8 credits, to include MAT 121 or 221
Natural Science: 9 credits, to include NSD 225
Social Science: 9 credits, to include PSY 205
Humanities: 9 credits, to include health ethics
Liberal Arts electives: to reach 62 credits of LA coursework

General Electives (15 credits)

To include communication, and depending on specialization track, ANT 663/HTW 663 Global Health or HTW 631 Intermediate Biostatistics

Public Health Requirements (49 credits)

HSH 101 - First-Year Gateway
HTW 121 - Personal and Social Health
HTW 221 - Community Health Promotion
HTW 302 - Influencing Healthy Behavior
HTW 303 - Environmental Health
HTW 304 - Community Health Education
HTW 306 - Public Health Administrative Systems
HTW 307 - Culturally Competent Health Care
HTW 311 - Health Literacy
HTW 422 - Senior Capstone Internship
• HTW 661 Development & Evaluation of Global Health Programs (3)

• HTW 664 Social & Behavioral Determinants in Global Health (3)

• HTW 665 Applied Global Health Practice and Policy (3)

• HTW 668 Applied Epidemiology in the Global Community (3)

• HTW 706 Environmental Epidemiology (3)

Research and Statistics Requirements (15 credits)

Required: (12 credits)
• HTW 621 Research Methods in Public Health (3)
• HTW 622 Research Proposal Development (2)
• HTW 623 Ethics in PFN Research (1)
• HTW 630 Introductory Biostatistics (3)
• HTW 997 Master’s Thesis (3)

Elective: Choose 1 from the following (3 credits):
• HTW 631 Intermediate Biostatistics (3)¹
• GEO 683 Geographic Information Systems (3)
• SOC/WGS 614 Introduction to Qualitative Research (3)
• HTW 704 Epidemiology of Modern Plagues (3)
¹ This course is an option here only for those planning on a Global Health track - it is
included as required course for Biostatistics track

Specialization Track

Choose 1, 9-credit concentration

Global Health

Choose 3 from the following (9 credits):
• ANT662/HTW 662 Cultural & Reproductive Health (3)
• ANT 665 Critical Issues in Medical Anthropology (3)
• ANT 669 Medical Anthropology in Ecological Perspectives (3)
• FST 603 Right to Food (3)
• FST 703 Transnational Food, Health and the Environment (3)

• HTW 669 Disability and Global Health (3)

• NSD 555 Food, Culture & Environment (3)
• NSD 617 Food as Medicine (3)

Biostatistics

Required:
• HTW 632 Advanced Biostatistics (3)

• Electives: Choose 2 from the following (6 credits):
• HTW 633 Spatial Statistics in Public Health (3)

• CIE 687/GEO 687 Environmental Geostatistics (3)
• GEO 683 Geographic Information Systems (3)

• GEO 685 Community Geography: Theory & Practice (3)

Total Credits Required = 150

B.S. in Public Health: 123

M.S. in Public Health: 42
[with 15 credits shared across both degree]

Transfer Credits

Syracuse University rules will apply for the consideration of transfer credit. Transfer credit will be considered for undergraduate level courses (100-499) that are an integral part of the program. Grades of C or better are required for UG courses considered for transfer. A maximum of 66 credits of UG coursework may be transferred. Transfer credit will be considered for graduate level courses (600-799) that are an integral part of the program. Grades of B or better are required for UG courses considered for transfer. A maximum of 9 credits of GRAD coursework may be transferred.

Part-Time Study

This program cannot be completed part-time.

Satisfactory Progress

Students are required to maintain a CUM GPA of 2.0 or higher to meet degree requirements for the BS degree.

Students are required to maintain a CUM GPA of 3.0 or higher to meet degree requirements for the MS degree.