Health Sciences

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.

Applications to the MPH program in Community Health Education are accepted for the Fall semester only. Please see the Master of Public Health website for detailed applicant instructions and application deadline information.

The following criteria are used for evaluating applicants holistically to the Community Health Education graduate 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.
4. Passed the Writing Proficiency Exam (WPE). The exam may be waived with approval for applicants who completed the UDWPE at CSUN or another Cal State University, or scored a 3 or above on the analytical writing assessment section of the GRE.

*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, GRE and/or UDWPE 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 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 693C Supervised Field Training (1)
HSCI 694 Research Design (3)

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.

HHD 501 Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Aging (3)
HHD 504 Current Issues in Aging (3)
HHD 513 Leadership/Professional Competencies for Health and Human Development Disciplines (3)
HSCI 510 Systems for Health Delivery in the U.S. (3)
HSCI 511 Health Services Administration Theory and Practice (3)
HSCI 515 Seminar in Healthcare Information Management (3)
HSCI 517 Health Economics and National Health Policy (3)
HSCI 518 Managed Care (3)
HSCI 521 Healthcare Ethics (3)
HSCI 523 Seminar in Healthcare Organization (3)
HSCI 526 Global Women’s Health (3)
HSCI 534 Lactation Education for the Healthcare Professional (3)
HSCI 536 Cultural Issues in Healthcare (3)
HSCI 537 Communications in Health Education (3)
HSCI 539 Current Issues in Public Health (3)
HSCI 540 Grantsmanship for Health and Human Development (3)
HSCI 545 Seminar: Mental Health (3)
HSCI 588 Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases (3)
HSCI 589 Epidemiology of Common Chronic Diseases I (3)
HSCI 591 Quantitative Demography for Health Science (3)
HSCI 595A-Z Experimental Topics Courses (3)
HSCI 699 Independent Study (1-6)

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

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