The mission of the MPH program in Community Health Education is to prepare professional community health educators to enhance the general health and well-being of diverse human populations and communities.

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.

A. For Admission to Conditionally Classified Graduate Status

Applications to the graduate program in Community Health Education are accepted for the Fall and Spring semesters. Students should send applications and transcripts (two sets) directly to the University Graduate Admissions Office. Additionally, three letters of recommendation should be sent directly to Director, Master of Public Health Program, Department of Health Sciences, CSUN. (Recommendation forms are provided.)

The following criteria are used for evaluating applicants to the Community Health Education graduate program:

1. Overall GPA.
2. Graduate Record Examination scores for applicants with an undergraduate GPA less than 3.0.
3. Work experience in either health education or a related health field.
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.

6. A bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or college with a major in Health Science or its equivalent.
7. A cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above for all undergraduate work.
8. Students not meeting requirement one above may be assigned a program of prerequisites in the Health Sciences. Under certain circumstances, students not meeting requirement two above may be assigned a qualifying program. Specific information concerning prerequisites or qualifying programs may be obtained through consultation with a program graduate advisor.
9. Students must provide evidence of satisfactory completion of the verbal and/or quantitative and/or analytical sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

The GRE may be waived with approval for those students 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.

B. Advancement from Conditional to Classified Status

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

10. A GPA of 3.0 or better must be achieved in qualifying coursework.
11. No more than 12 units of work taken prior to attaining fully classified status will be applied to the master’s program.

Students completing qualifying coursework must meet with their faculty advisor to complete the paperwork to advance from conditional to classified status.

12. Any student who has not had HSCI 390/L or an equivalent statistics course will be required to take it before advancing to classified status.

C. Requirements for the Degree

1. Required Public Health Core Courses (21 units)

EOH 554 Seminar: Environmental and Occupational Health Problems (3)
HSCI 533 Advanced Concepts of Health Behavior (3)
HSCI 541 Administration, Supervision and Consultation in Public Health (3)
HSCI 587 Seminar: Epidemiology (3)
HSCI 592 Advanced Biostatistics for the Health Sciences (3)
HSCI 693A Supervised Field Training (2)
HSCI 694 Research Design in the Health Science (4)

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

HSCI 531 Seminar: Health Education Program Planning and Evaluation (3)
HSCI 535 Curriculum Development in Health Education (3)
HSCI 538 Seminar: 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 though The Tseng College.

4. Culminating Experience (3 units)

One of the following:

1. Comprehensive Examination: Student registers for HSCI 697 Directed Comprehensive Studies (3).
2. Thesis or Graduate Project: Student registers for HSCI 698C Thesis or Graduate Project (3).

Note: Students in Tseng College cohorts may register only for HSCI 697.

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