Brooklyn College of the City University of New York - Program in Public Health - Overview
Graduate Programs at Brooklyn College
Since 1935, the Division of Graduate Studies at Brooklyn College has provided an excellent graduate education at reasonable cost. The division offers more than 60 full-time and part-time programs leading to master's degrees and advanced certificates. Its proximity to New York City provides opportunities for internships and field study in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and throughout New York.
Graduate Programs in Community Health and Nutrition at Brooklyn College
In the Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences at Brooklyn College, graduate students learn to help people maintain and recover good health in all contexts: locally, globally, geographically, culturally, socially, and emotionally. Innovative programs and a distinguished faculty prepare students for careers in fields such as public policy, teaching, and clinical practice.
The department's excellent reputation and its New York City location enable grad students to pursue internship opportunities that can lead -- even before graduation -- to important contacts in clinics, government institutions, hospitals, and schools.
The Brooklyn College faculty includes experts in bioethics and medical decision making, epidemiology, health-care policy and financing, health risks from occupational and environmental contaminants, HIV/AIDS, and social and cultural influences on health.
M.A. Degrees in Community Health Education or Thanatology
The M.A. program in community health serves U.S. and international students who wish to pursue careers in health promotion and disease prevention. Many students in this program are community health professionals who come to Brooklyn College for advanced training and professional development.
The program has two concentrations: community health education and thanatology. The community health education concentration prepares students to design, conduct, and evaluate activities that improve the health of individuals and communities. Graduates typically find employment in clinics, community-based organizations, public health departments, and hospitals. They are likely to work as community organizers, health coaches, health education teachers, health program managers, patient educators, and public health educators.
The thanatology concentration develops expertise in dying, death, and bereavement. An M.A. graduate in thanatology might work as a bereavement counseling program director, funeral aftercare counselor, hospice program director, hospice volunteer coordinator, or hospital bereavement coordinator.
The Advanced Certificate Program in Grief Counseling
This program provides grief counseling training for individuals who work with -- or are interested in working with -- dying and bereaved people. Courses cover a variety of topics, including bereavement, traumatic grief, and thanatological counseling. The program accepts both individuals with baccalaureate degrees and master's graduates who seek further training.
In addition, the program enables practitioners to maintain existing licenses or certifications by meeting continuing education requirements. For those who are interested in becoming certified or maintaining their certification in thanatology, Brooklyn College's program conforms to the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) certification requirements.
The Master of Public Health Degree in Community Health
The Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) program offers in-depth study in 3 tracks: community health, healthcare management, or healthcare policy and administration. Providing a multidisciplinary, critical perspective on pertinent issues, the program teaches principles of public health and public policy, as well as biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, health service administration, and social and behavioral sciences. The curriculum focuses on public urban health issues on local, national, and international levels. In addition to their classes, students complete research, internships, and master's theses.
Geared to the needs of working adults, the program offers all classes during evening hours in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Program graduates are employed as administrators, managers, planners, and researchers in community programs, departments of health, hospitals, nonprofit agencies, and state and national health organizations.
The M.P.H. in Community Health program is accredited by the Council on Education in Public Health (CEPH).
The Master of Science Degree in Health Teaching
Students in the M.S. program in health teaching take courses at Brooklyn College's School of Education as well as in the Department of Health and Nutrition. The program enables K-12 health educators to focus on contemporary health issues, curriculum development, and research skills. Course topics include health counseling, human sexuality, nutrition, substance abuse, and physiology.
The Master of Science Degree in Nutrition
The M.S. in Nutrition offers advanced studies in nutritional science and clinical nutrition. Program graduates may become registered dieticians, nutrition educators, nutritionists, or researchers. Some graduates administer programs that provide nutritional services in commercial or institutional settings. Others work in academia, business, government, or mass media to interpret research for the public.
A Sampling of Graduate Classes in the Department of Health and Nutrition
A recent sampling of courses included Advanced Experimental Foods; Aging: A Study of Needs and Services; Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Health; Bioethics: Health and Medical Dilemmas; Biological Basis for Healthful Living; Biostatistics in Health and Nutrition Sciences; Children and Death; Cultural Aspects of Foods; Drug Education in the School Curriculum; Environmental Health in the Urban Community; Family and Personality Development; Geriatric Nutrition; Health Crisis Intervention; Health Issues of the Urban Society; Health Sciences in Elementary School; International Health; Law and Public Health; Nutrition and Exercise; Nutrition and World Food Problems; Principles in the Care of the Terminally Ill; and Trauma and Traumatic Grief.