Graduate Public Health

Faculty

Melissa Galvin Lumpkin, Chair; Professor
Keith T. Elder, Professor
Monique Ahinee Amamoo, Associate Professor
Rachel Casiday, Associate Professor
Kimberly Davey, Assistant Professor

Graduate Programs and Requirements

Degree/Major
Master of Public Health (M.P.H.)
          Public Health (M.P.H.)
          Public Health w/a Concentration in Community Public Health (M.P.H.)
          Public Health w/a Concentration in Nutrition (M.P.H.)

Joint Degree (Undergraduate+Graduate)
Fast Track Master of Public Health (B.S./M.P.H.)

Joint Degree (Graduate only)
Master of Public Health/Master of Social Work (M.P.H./M.S.W.)

Coordinated Degrees
Master of Public Health/Doctor of Pharmacy (M.P.H./Pharm.D.)
Master of Public Health/Dietetic Internship (M.P.H./CRH.)

The Department of Public Health offers a master of public health degree with two optional concentrations in community public health and nutrition.

The department also offers a fast-track joint-degree program that allows students to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in their selected major and a master of public health. See the Samford University Undergraduate Catalog for more information.

At the graduate level, the department offers a joint degree in cooperation with the Department of Social Work, leading to both a master of public health and a master of social work degree. Additionally, the department offers two coordinated degrees in cooperation with the McWhorter School of Pharmacy and the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Admission Requirements

Possess a baccalaureate degree or higher from an accredited college or university (degree in any field).
Obtain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 on a 4.00 scale. If the applicant’s GPA is below a 3.00, a GRE or MAT score may be submitted for possible conditional admission (Minimum scores: Verbal: 153; Quantitative: 14; Analytical: 4.0).
Achieve a “B” or better in all “major” courses.
Submit three letters of reference through the application system. The three required references should be from a) current or previous professor, b) work supervisor, and c) professional colleague.
International applicants or American citizens who learned English as a second language must score at least 550 (paper), 213 (computer) or 80 (internet) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
Submit a LikeLive Interview Video: A link will be provided upon submission of the application.
Upon acceptance, a non-refundable fee of $500 is required to secure admission into the program. This fee is applied to the first semester’s tuition.

Academic Policies

Students in the M.P.H. program must maintain an overall 3.00 GPA in all graduate work. Graduate students who receive a grade below a B in any required course or who cumulative GPA falls below a 3.00 will be placed on academic probation.

Time Limit

All students must complete the M.P.H. within a period of five years from the academic session of first admission.

Transfer Credit

Up to 12 semester credit hours of appropriate and approved graduate coursework completed at another accredited university may be substituted for program course requirements. Coursework requested to be transferred must have been completed with a grade of at least a B in each course.

M.P.H. Program Outcomes

Students who have completed the M.P.H. degree will be able to demonstrate broad knowledge and skills based in the core areas of public health and will be able to:

Apply epidemiologic methods to the measurement of disease rates, prevention of infectious diseases, and the development and evaluation of health programs and policies.
Apply statistical methods of estimation and hypothesis testing and explain the basics of correlation and regression for the purpose of analyzing the health of populations.
Analyze how environmental contaminants (chemical, physical, and other exposures) interact with biological systems and their effect on human populations for the purpose of evaluating risk reduction strategies.
Assess the impact on health policy options of social, political, technological, economic, and cultural forces, and apply basic management techniques to address organizational challenges to providing health care.
Examine public health issues and responses from a social and behavioral sciences perspective and explain social, cultural, political, economic, and behavioral determinants of disparities in health status.
Demonstrate knowledge and skills for effective practice in selected field of study.

Joint-Degree Program

Master of Public Health/Master of Social Work (M.P.H./M.S.W.)

The M.P.H./M.S.W. joint-degree program, offered in collaboration between the Department of Public Health and the Department of Social Work, both within the School of Public Health, allows students to use credits from each department as part of the other department’s degree, thereby reducing the total number of hours for the two degrees combined. Because each program is able to accept courses from the other program to satisfy elective requirements, and because research and internship experiences are shared, time to degree completion is also shortened significantly.

Programs

Master

Courses

Public Health