Northeastern University - Master of Public Health Program - Overview
The Northeastern University Master of Public Health Program in Urban Public Health
The Northeastern University Master of Public Health Program in Urban Public Health prepares graduate students for careers in some of the most pressing public health issues facing urban areas in the US and around the world.
With a particular emphasis on racial and ethnic health disparities, the program addresses a broad range of public health concerns, including environmental issues such as air, water, and food quality; the control of infectious diseases; illnesses associated with the built environment; substance abuse; and international terrorism.
Professional opportunities in public health abound, and graduates with master's degrees in public health commonly go on to take jobs in settings such as federal, state, and local health agencies, academia, hospitals, community-based agencies, pharmaceutical industries, and private foundations.
Non-Thesis Curriculum Leads to MPH
The Master of Public Health Program in Urban Public Health at Northeastern University is a non-thesis (professional) master's degree program with a curriculum that typically requires two years of full-time study to complete. However, the degree may be earned on a part-time basis as well.
The program includes 5 core courses: Epidemiology; Biostatistics; Occupational and Environmental Health; Public Health Administration and Policy; and Society, Behavior, and Health.
In addition, students take 3 core urban health courses, including Principles and History of Urban Health; Race, Ethnicity, and the United States; and Urban Community Health Assessment.
Students are required to receive a B- grade or higher in all required courses.
Capstone Project
In keeping with Northeastern University's heavy emphasis on experiential learning, students in the Master of Public Health Program in Urban Public Health, instead of completing a thesis, complete a capstone project, in which they work on-site in a wide range of public health practice settings.
The capstone projects relate to students' chosen areas of urban health focus, and allow for the integration of theory and practice experiences in major research, program planning, policy development, management, service delivery, or evaluation projects.
Faculty members provide guidance and mentoring on the student-led, community-based projects, and students also participate in capstone seminars to support the integration of their practice and analytic experiences.
The Boston Puerto Rican Health Study
Northeastern University hosts one of 10 Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities (CPHHD), funded by the National Institute of Health.
The center works to address disparities and inequities in the prevalence and outcomes of several diseases, and its Boston Puerto Rican Health Study, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, is working to investigate associations between diet and stress and their effects on cardiovascular disease and overall health.
Expert Faculty
The faculty of the Public Health Program in Urban Public Health represents an interdisciplinary mix of experts in various fields, including population health, health disparities, nutritional epidemiology, medical sociology, public policy, and mental health. Professor Katherine L. Tucker, for instance, who is the chair of the Department of Health Sciences, has published extensively on nutritional epidemiology and was recently the chair-elect for the American Society of Nutrition's Nutritional Sciences Council.
Hortensia Amaro, associate dean of the Department of Health Sciences, specializes in topics including substance abuse, mental health, violence, HIV prevention, and women's health.
Research associate Irina Todorova specializes in issues including psychosocial aspects of health and well-being, gender and health, social change in Eastern Europe, and implications for health.
Admission
Students applying to the Master of Public Health Program in Urban Public Health are required to have an undergraduate grade point average of 3.00 or higher, along with three letters of recommendation.
Students to the MPH program at Northeastern University should also submit official GRE scores taken within the past 5 years, and a 2- to 3-page personal goal statement describing interests and experiences in public health, along with goals in the program.
Northeastern University Thrives in the Heart of Bustling Boston
Founded in 1898, Northeastern University is located in the heart of Boston and mirrors its urban surroundings with a diverse student population. Students in the Master of Public Health Program in Urban Health are closely involved with the broad array of community agencies and neighborhood health centers around the city.
The Master of Public Health Program in Urban Public Health is part of Northeastern University's Bouve College of Health Sciences, and the college works closely with many other departments and centers at Northeastern University, including the Urban Health Research, the Center for Community Health Education Research and Service, and the NIH-funded Center for Population Health and Health Disparities.