Health Sciences

The mission of the CSUN Public Health program is to prepare professionals to:

• Identify and assess needs and assets of diverse communities.
• Plan, implement and evaluate programs.
• Apply analytic and research methodologies to public health practice.
• Serve as leaders and advocates in their community and profession.
• Provide solutions for current and future public health challenges.
• Collaborate across interdisciplinary and community sectors.

The graduate program in Community Health Education provides advanced study for health educators working in a variety of settings, such as community health agencies, patient education, consumer health advocacy, training and continuing education, organizational development and team building, schools and other positions within public, private and professional settings. This program is nationally accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. The program is designed to enable health educators to meet responsibilities for leadership, supervisory, administrative and consultative roles in these health education settings.

Applications to the MPH program in Community Health Education are accepted for the Fall semester only. Applicants should visit the Master of Public Health website for detailed instructions and deadlines.

The following criteria are used for evaluating applicants holistically to the MPH program:

1. Cumulative undergraduate GPA.
2. Graduate Record Examination for applicants with an undergraduate GPA less than 3.0.
3. Work experience.
4. Three letters of recommendation.
5. Statement of purpose.

The Master of Public Health program requires a minimum of 42 semester hours of coursework beyond the bachelor’s degree. A minimum grade of “B-” is required for each course; an overall program GPA of 3.0 is required for graduation.

A. For Admission to Classified Graduate Status*

1. A bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or college.
2. A cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above for all undergraduate work.
3. Evidence of satisfactory completion of at least one of the following: verbal, quantitative or analytical sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). The GRE may be waived with approval for applicants who have a minimum of 3.0 GPA overall and in the major, or have a 3.2 GPA in the last 60 units of undergraduate work, or who already have an advanced graduate degree from an accredited school.

*Admitted students who do not meet the above classified status requirements are identified as conditionally classified.

B. Advancement from Conditional to Classified Status

Students admitted as conditionally classified must complete all qualifying coursework and GRE prior to moving from conditional to fully classified status. In addition:

1. A GPA of 3.0 or better must be achieved in qualifying coursework.
2. No more than 12 units of work taken prior to attaining fully classified status will be applied to the master’s program.
3. Students completing qualifying coursework must meet with their faculty advisor to complete the paperwork to advance from conditional to classified status.

Qualifying Courses: To be determined at advisement.

C. Requirements for the Degree

The MPH in Community Health Education requires a minimum of 42 semester hours of coursework beyond the bachelor’s degree. A minimum grade of “B-” is required for each course; an overall program GPA of 3.0 is required for graduation.

1. Required Public Health Core Courses (21 units)

EOH 554MPH Environmental and Occupational Health Problems (3)
HSCI 533 Advanced Health Behavior Theory (3)
HSCI 541 Administration and Management in Public Health (3)
HSCI 587 Seminar: Epidemiology (3)
HSCI 592 Advanced Biostatistics (3)
HSCI 693A Supervised Field Training (2)
HSCI 693C Supervised Field Training (1)
HSCI 694 Research Design and Methodology (3)

2. Required Community Health Education Core Courses (9 units)

HSCI 531 Program Planning and Evaluation (3)
HSCI 535 Curriculum Development in Public Health (3)
HSCI 538 Community Health Action (3)

3. Electives (9 units minimum)

With approval of the graduate advisor, students may take 500- and 600-level courses in such areas of study as Communications, Health Administration, Environmental and Occupational Health, or related areas of interest.

Note: Due to the cohort nature of the program, electives are prescribed for students enrolling through The Tseng College.

4. Culminating Experience (3 units)

One of the following:

HSCI 697 Directed Comprehensive Studies (3)
or HSCI 698C Graduate Thesis (3)
or HSCI 698E Integrative Learning Graduate Project (3)
or HSCI 698F Directed Comprehensive Project (3) (Online MPH students)

Note: Students in The Tseng College cohorts may register only for HSCI 698F.

Total Units Required for the M.P.H. Degree: 42

For more information about this program, please contact mph@csun.edu.