Welcome to the Social and Behavioral Sciences Concentration!
The Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) Concentration is based on the assumption that health and health behavior are impacted by multiple psychological, behavioral, social, and cultural factors. Central to addressing health problems and eliminating health disparities and inequalities, these factors must be understood and addressed at multiple social-ecological levels (individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and population). Through classroom instruction, research, and field practice, MPH students who concentrate in social and behavioral sciences explore the unique issues faced by diverse groups and populations and acquire skills to achieve social and behavioral change.
Those who seek a concentration in social and behavioral sciences come from a variety of undergraduate and professional backgrounds. Undergraduate majors in sociology, anthropology, psychology and health education provide strong foundations for this concentration. However, it is also sought out by individuals with backgrounds bench science, health professions, and other professions, such as journalism, to provide a multi-layered perspective on the determinants of and solutions to health problems. MPH graduates with concentrations in social and behavioral sciences are employed in health agencies at all levels and sectors. They are usually involved in creative aspects of community assessment, program development and evaluation, and research.
Faculty in the Department of Behavioral Science and Community Health, Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, teach courses and advise students in the social and behavioral science concentration. The curriculum is designed to enable students to develop competence in very specific social and behavioral science skills. In addition to the 16 credits of public health core courses, students are required to take 15 credits of social and behavioral science core courses. The SBS core courses enable students to acquire and apply new knowledge and tools in social and behavioral theory, research methods, health communication, need and asset assessment and surveillance, and ultimately program planning and evaluation. Students also take 6 credits in SBS-specific electives that provide opportunities for exploring substantive areas deemed public health priorities, including gender, sexuality and health; international health; and health disparities. In addition, students are able to choose up to 6 credits of elective courses that allow them to tailor their education to meet their specific substantive interests and career goals. Electives may be additional epidemiology, biostatistics, public health management and policy, and environmental health courses or other graduate level Health Science Center courses. With their advisors’ approval, students may also take graduate level courses outside the Health Science Center, and/or pursue mentored practicum and research experiences. Finally, students are given the opportunity to apply their new understanding and skills to a real-world experience through participation in a mentored organizational or community-based public health internship or research project.
Click below to view full criteria for the 48-credit and accelerated 42-credit MPH programs.
- Standard 48-credit MPH Curriculum, Social and Behavioral Sciences Concentration
- Accelerated 42-credit MPH Curriculum, Social and Behavioral Sciences Concentration
Click below for descriptions of the SBS concentration core courses.
- PHC 6251/6112 Assessment and Surveillance in Public Health
- PHC 6146 Public Health Program Planning and Evaluation
- PHC 6700 Social and Behavioral Research Methods
- PHC 6937 Theoretical Foundations of Social Behavioral Science Theory
- PHC 6xxx Public Health Information for Diverse Populations
View the matrix of SBS concentration competencies and courses designed to achieve them.
PHC 6251/formally 6112—Assessment
and Surveillance in Public Health (3)
First of two courses designed to provide skills to develop and implement
public health programs. Integrating in-class and community-based work, students
develop the knowledge, skills, and methods necessary to conduct community
assessment and surveillance that will inform the design of interventions,
that impact social and behavioral factors in health and illness. Click
here for a full syllabus
PHC 6146—Public Health
Program Planning and Evaluation (3)
Second of two courses designed to provide the skills to develop and implement
public health programs. Focus on six steps in the rational planning process.
Evidence-based public health principles, organizational influences, and
other contemporary themes of program planning are emphasized. Click
here for a full syllabus
PHC 6700—Social and Behavioral
Research Methods (3)
Research methods and their specific applications to public health issues.
Students will learn the basic tenants of quantitative, qualitative, and
evaluation research for use in developing their own work, as well as for
critically examining previously published scientific research. Click
here for a full syllabus
PHC 6937---Theoretical
Foundations of Social Behavioral Science Theory (3). Prereq:
SBS majors only.
This seminar is based on the assumption that public health is a multi-disciplinary
field aimed at reducing preventable morbidity and premature mortality, and
promoting a higher quality of life of individuals, groups, and populations
through health behavior and health education intervention. Although we recognize
that biological, physical, and medical care factors contribute to population
health outcomes, our course will emphasize the relationships among health
outcomes and health behaviors and social/political/environmental structures.
We will focus on established and emerging social and behavioral science
theories and how they may be applied to inform research and practice that
strives to understand and address public health issues. A social ecological
framework forms the conceptual basis of our course, focusing attention on
multiple levels of factors: individual, interpersonal, organizational, community,
and population. By organizing the curriculum around this multi-level framework,
we will gain an understanding of the importance of multiple levels of influence
on health and the interactions among these levels. We will also be exposed
to a variety of social and behavioral science approaches to problem-solving
in public health, and particularly how to use social and behavioral science
theory, research, and practice models to achieve health goals. The wide
breadth of this course is intended to encourage an appreciation of the wealth
of conceptual and methodological approaches in the social and behavioral
sciences that can inform public health research and practice. Click
here for a full syllabus
PHC 6XXX---Public Health Information
for Diverse Populations (3)
A critical skill for SBS students is the ability to develop health messages
that are appropriate for specific audiences – including high-risk
audiences – and that will increase knowledge and change attitudes,
beliefs, and behaviors. This is an introductory course; as such, we will
be examining how individuals understand and respond to health messages across
a variety of settings (e.g., alone, with a health provider, at work, in
the community). The overall aims of the course are to: (1) survey the critical
components of a health message using relevant theories; (2) introduce qualitative
and quantitative methods of learning about message receivers and appropriate
message content; and (3) practice developing health messages. Each class
session will have multiple components from among the following: theory,
methods, findings, exercises, and article discussions. The success of the
course will depend heavily upon active participation by the students. Click
here for a full syllabus
PHC 6762/formally 6114- International Health
PHC 6937- Maternal and Child Health: Problems, Programs, and Policies
