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About the Degree > Areas of Study > Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Concentration Area

The Health Promotion and Disease Prevention concentration will prepare students to be public health practitioners and to contribute to the mission of public health, which is "the fulfillment of society's interest in assuring the conditions in which people can be healthy" (IOM, 1988, p. 40) and emphasizes community health.  The population focus of public health requires the combination of didactic and field work that focuses on public health as a social institution, a discipline and as a practice (Last, 1995). Students of this area will explore various approaches to the assessment and diagnosis of vulnerable and at-risk populations with regard to health-related needs, resources, and environmental influences.  These approaches will enable Health Promotion and Disease Prevention graduates to collect and analyze data that document the needs of urban and rural target populations and at-risk families and individuals within designated populations.  Graduates will be trained to analyze legal, economic, and political trends and issues that influence health and illness.  The Health Promotion and Disease Prevention area will emphasize evidence-based policies, programs, and service-delivery recommendations to address specific community health concerns within designated populations, and will feature tactics for empowering and mobilizing target populations in collaborative public health efforts.

Program of Study for the Master's Degree

45 credit hours are required for degree completion.

  • 36 credit hours are from required courses.
  • A minimum of 9 credit hours are required from approved elective courses.

Semester 1 - Fall (12 credit hours minimum)

  • P_HLTH 7150 Principles of Public Health (3 credit hours)
  • P_HLTH 8920 Social and Behavioral Sciences in Public Health (3 credit hours)
  • STAT 7020 Stat Methods in the Health Sciences (3 credit hours) *OR* STAT 7410 Biostatistics I (3 credit hours)- Stat 7410 is typically offered in odd fall terms, e.g., FS2007, FS2009, etc.
  • One Approved Elective (3 credit hours)

Semester 2 - Spring (9 credit hours minimum). 

  • P_HLTH 8150 Human Health and the Environment (3 credit hours)
  • FCM 8420 Principles of Epidemiology (3 credit hours)
  • SOCWK 7952 Research Methods in Social Work (3 credit hours) *OR* NURS 7150 Research Methods in Nursing (3 credit hours)

Summer (6 credit hours)

  • P_HLTH 8980 Public Health Internship (6 credit hours)

Semester 3 - Fall (9 credit hours minimum).  

  • SOC_WK 8953 Evaluative Research in Social Work and Public Health (3 credit hours) *OR* NURS 8130 Developing and Evaluating Public Health Programs (3 credit hours) 
  • HP 7300 Health Care in the U.S. (3 credit hours) *OR* NURS 8140 Nursing and Health Policy (3 credit hours)
  • One Approved Elective (3 credit hours)

Semester 4 - Spring (9 credit hours minimum)

  • NURS 8120 Community-Based Public Health Interventions (3 credit hours)
  • SOCWK 8970 Professional Practice Seminar Public Health Section Capstone Course (3 credit hours)
  • One Approved Elective (3 credit hours)

Recommended Elective Courses offered by semester:

Fall Semester:

  • P_HLTH 8001 Topics in Public Health: Equity and Disparities in Health (3 credit hours) 
  • FCM 7001 Topics in Aging (3 credit hours)
  • RU_SOC 7370 Environmental Sociology (3 credit hours)
  • SOC 7200 Social Inequalities (3 credit hours)
  • SOC_WK 7330 Addiction Treatment and Prevention (3 credit hours)
  • SOCWK 7400 Domestic Violence (3 credit hours)
  • SOC_WK 8350 Management of a Social Agency (3 credit hours)
  • PUB_AF 8530 Strategic Planning and Performance Measurement (3 credit hours)
  • PUB_AF 8720 Financial Management in Public and Nonprofit Sector (3 credit hours)

Spring Semester:

  • NURS 7600 Women's Health (3 credit hours)
  • NUT_SCI 8340 Human Nutrition in Health and Disease (3 credit hours)
  • PUB_AF 8520 HR Management and Development in Public & Nonprofit Sector (3 credit hours)
  • SOCWK 7400 Domestic Violence (3 credit hours)

Notes:

  • Additional electives may be selected from courses offered by the School of Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, Public Affairs, Social Work, or the College of Arts and Sciences, Business, Veterinary Medicine, etc.  Elective courses require the approval of the Area Coordinator and Program Director.
  • Course substitutions for required courses also require approval of the Area Coordinator and Program Director.