Welcome to the Public Health Practice Concentration!
Public Health Practice is a concentration often preferred by professionals, such as physicians, nurses, social workers, and nutritionists, who work in public health settings. This concentration builds upon the strong foundation of the five basic MPH concentrations by allowing students the opportunity to develop greater breadth in two, three, or four of the existing concentrations. Such breadth is usually required of professionals who assume positions of leadership in public health. It is available to students in joint degree programs on the campus, working professionals who return to campus to study, and medical and other health professional residents in Gainesville and Jacksonville.
The curriculum for the Public Health Practice MPH follows the same model as the other five concentrations. Students begin their programs with the MPH core courses required of all students. Instead of a specified set of concentration core courses, however, these students choose 2 to 3 courses from concentration core course options in 2-4 of the other concentrations. Selections include courses with problem-based methodologies to enhance students’ practice skill sets. Students complete their degrees with a 5-8 credit internship. The concentration is offered in the traditional 48-credit format or in an accelerated 42-credit format. All students in this concentration must hold a prior health professional degree or be enrolled in a joint or concurrent graduate program. To be eligible for the accelerated option, applicants must hold a terminal degree in a health or health-related field.
Eligibility for the Public Health Practice MPH is summarized below.
| 48 credit traditional
MPH program |
42 credit accelerated
program |
| Prior professional degree (e.g., BSN, MS nutrition, MS social work) | Prior terminal degree (e.g., PharmD, DVM, MD, PhD) |
| Joint or concurrent professional/MPH program (e.g. JD/MPH, PharmD/MPH) |
A variety of curricular options may be developed. Students admitted to the Public Health Practice Concentration develop their curricula in collaboration with the Associate Director of MPH Program or the director of their joint program and the chairs of their supervisory committees by first identifying the competencies they wish to obtain and then selecting courses to achieve those competencies. Sample curricula for the 48-credit and 42-credit programs are provided below.
Sample Curriculum, Public Health Practice Concentration, 48-credit Program.
Sample Curriculum, Public Health Practice Concentration, 42-credit Program.
