Academics

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Understand the methods by which public health identifies potential causes of population health status, and identifies potential targets for intervention.
• Describe the fundamental roles of public health and how those roles are operationalized in public health organization, funding, workforce, and regulations.
• Describe the role of physical activity in health and wellness.
• Demonstrate knowledge of scientific concepts related to physical activity.
• Apply scientific concepts towards assessing, promoting, or enhancing physical health, fitness, or performance.
• Demonstrate skill in communication.
• Integrate principles of the physiologic responses to exercise, including the causes of these responses and their effector mechanisms.
• Describe issues of equity, inclusion, diversity, and social justice in relation to physical activity.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Understand the methods by which public health identifies potential causes of population health status, and identifies potential targets for intervention.
• Describe the fundamental roles of public health and how those roles are operationalized in public health organization, funding, workforce, and regulations.
• Translate and apply relevant theory and research to culturally-responsive, evidence-based practices with individuals, families, and communities.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the ecological contexts in which individuals and families develop and how contexts reinforce systems of privilege and oppression.
• Demonstrate growth in a commitment to equity, inclusion, diversity and social justice in practice with individuals, families and communities.
• Critically evaluate policies, programs, and practices with relevance to the wellbeing of all individuals and families.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Understand the methods by which public health identifies potential causes of population health status, and identifies potential targets for interventions.
• Describe the fundamental roles of public health and how those roles are operationalized in public health organization, funding, workforce, and regulations.
• Locate, interpret, evaluate and use evidence based literature in critical thinking activities.
• Use current information technologies.
• Demonstrate effective and professional oral and written communication.
• Identify food sources for obtaining adequate nutrients across the life span.
• Recall how race, gender, age, socioeconomic status and body size influence nutrition-related health disparities across the lifespan.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Understand the methods by which public health identifies potential causes of population health status, and identifies potential targets for intervention.
• Describe the fundamental roles of public health and how those roles are operationalized in public health organization, funding, workforce, and regulations.
• Demonstrate the importance of public health data in understanding health and disease in populations.
• Explain the foundations of public health.
• Identify environmental health hazards and their potential effects on human health.
• Describe how behavioral factors contribute to specific individual and community outcomes.
• Differentiate the relationship between local, state, and federal public health systems and their roles in the US public health system.
• Effectively communicate public health information in both oral and written forms through a variety of media and to diverse audiences.
• Demonstrate ability to locate, use, evaluate, and synthesize public health information.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Apply the public health principles advocating for health equity at workplace, school, local, domestic and global settings.
• Analyze and interpret public health data, summarize visually and communicate the findings in order to advance health equity.
• Through the lens of health equity, summarize key elements needed to plan, manage and evaluate public health services and programs to assist diverse communities in ongoing and emerging public health issues.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Identify the main components and issues of the organization, financing, and delivery of health services in the U.S..
• Apply the appropriate principles and metrics to address performance issues within and between health care organizations.
• To establish, build, and sustain professional contacts for the purpose of building networks of people with similar goals and that support similar interests.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Evaluate the sociocultural determinants of health behavior across the lifespan in diverse populations.
• Participate in the planning and implementation of messages and programs to promote health.
• Identify and appraise evidence-based public health practices and programs and adapt them for diverse populations and communities.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Know and apply discipline-specific scientific and theoretical concepts critical to the development of physically educated individuals.
• Plan and implement developmentally appropriate learning experiences aligned with local, state, and national standards to address the diverse needs of all students.
• Use effective communication and pedagogical skills and strategies to enhance student engagement and learning.
• Utilize assessments and reflection to foster student learning and inform instructional decisions.
• Demonstrate dispositions essential to becoming effective professionals.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Develop, implement, and monitor injury and illness prevention strategies.
• Incorporate clinical reasoning in the selection of assessment procedures to formulate diagnoses.
• Create and implement therapeutic interventions.
• Conduct research or produce some other form of creative work.
• Demonstrate mastery of subject material.
• Conduct scholarly or professional activities in an ethical manner.

• 01. Apply epidemiological methods to settings and situations in public health practice.
• 02. Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context.
• 03. Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software, as appropriate.
• 04. Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice.

• 05. Compare the organization, structure and function of health care, public health and regulatory systems across national and international settings.
• 06. Discuss the means by which structural bias, social inequities, and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community and systemic levels.

• 07. Assess population needs, assets and capacities that affect communities’ health.
• 08. Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design, implementation, or critique of public health policies or programs.
• 09. Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention.
• 10. Explain basic principles and tools of budget and resource management.
• 11. Select methods to evaluate public health programs.

• 12. Discuss the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence.
• 13. Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes.
• 14. Advocate for political, social or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations.
• 15. Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity.

• 16. Apply leadership and/or management principles to address a relevant issue.
• 17. Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges.

• 18. Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors.
• 19. Communicate audience-appropriate (i.e., non-academic, non-peer audience) public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation.
• 20. Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content.

• 21. Integrate perspectives from other sectors and/or professions to promote and advance population health.

• 22. Apply a systems thinking tool to visually represent a public health issue in a format other than standard narrative.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Describe the roles biostatistics serves in the discipline of public health.
• Describe basic concepts of probability, random variation and commonly used statistical probability distributions.
• Describe preferred methodological alternatives to commonly used statistical methods when assumptions are not met.
• Distinguish among the different measurement scales and the implications for selection of statistical methods to be used based on these distinctions.
• Apply descriptive and graphical techniques commonly used to summarize public health data.
• Apply common statistical methods for inference.
• Apply descriptive and basic inferential methodologies according to the type of study design for answering a particular research question.
• Interpret results of statistical analyses found in public health studies.
• Develop written and oral presentations based on statistical analyses for both public health professionals and educated lay audiences.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Identify and assess the major environmental and occupational health and safety hazards that impact public health.
• Communicate culturally appropriate strategies for preventing and controlling environmental and occupational health and safety hazards.
• Conduct ethical environmental and occupational health and safety applied research.
• Promote just practices by analyzing the relationships between business, policy, regulatory and social factors that influence environmental and occupational health practices.
• Apply environmental and occupational health and safety knowledge and skills in practical settings that reflect cultural sensitivity and reduce inequalities in vulnerable populations.
• Adhere to established environmental and occupational health and safety professional practices and ethical standards that value equity, inclusion, diversity and environmental justice.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Recognize public health problems pertinent to diverse populations and identify key related sources of data.
• Explain, calculate and apply epidemiological terms, measures, and methods.
• Apply principles of equity, inclusion, diversity, cultural competency, and good ethical/legal practices as they relate to study design, data collection and analysis, and reporting.
• Draw appropriate inferences from epidemiological data including identifying strengths and limitations of reports.
• Communicate epidemiologic findings to diverse audiences to empower all groups to benefit from public health information.
• Assist with developing and evaluating evidence-based interventions and control measures to inform equitable and just public health practice.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Design health development programs that are responsive to social, political, cultural, economic, and environmental factors to promote global health equity.
• Apply innovative strategies and skills to build multi-stakeholder coalitions and partnerships for advancing participatory and sustainable global health solutions.
• Use methods that promote sustainable development and local accountability.
• Analyze the roles, relationships, and resources of the entities influencing global health.
• Cultivate partnerships and collaborative strategies to work in, and adapt to, wide-ranging global contexts for health development in accordance to universally and locally acceptable ethical standards.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Integrate economic, legal, organizational, and ethical theories and frameworks to improve health systems and policies.
• Employ health equity concepts in analyzing and developing health policies.
• Apply economic theory and empirical findings to appraise health policy issues.
• Examine current issues in health system financing and delivery and propose strategies for resolving them.
• Analyze the use of law and policy to promote health and healthy living conditions.
• Design, conduct, and report empirical evaluations of health systems or health policies.
• Examine leadership theories and techniques to develop solutions to public health or health systems problems.
• Develop effective oral and written communications to advance a public health policy issue.
• Apply ethical principles to decision making in health systems and policies.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Apply theory in the development, implementation and evaluation of health promotion interventions, programs, and/or policies.
• Create an implementation plan for new programs or adapted evidence-based programs.
• Solicit and integrate input from stakeholders, community, and organizations.
• Design and deliver health communication messages.
• Evaluate and interpret results from program evaluations and other research.
• Define public health problems, select research procedures and outline methods of analyses.
• Incorporate cultural values in the planning, adaptation, implementation, and/or evaluation processes for use in diverse settings.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Describe the biological principles as they pertain to physical activity.
• Identify and characterize behavioral principles as they pertain to physical activity.
• Describe how physical activity integrates within the core areas of public health across multiple spheres of influence.
• Recognize and describe how population-level physical activity patterns and disparities are related to health and disease.
• Design and implement physical activity interventions in diverse populations and community settings.
• Evaluate and disseminate findings from physical activity interventions in diverse populations and community settings.
• Communicate and advocate for equity, inclusion, and diversity in physical activity.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Synthesize information from a wide range of sources to inform public health action.
• Collaborate with diverse stakeholders to prioritize needs and engage in equitable problem solving to advance public health goals based on social justice and human rights.
• Apply appropriate solutions to manage resources for public health initiatives.
• Leverage knowledge of public and private systems to recommend health policy at local, state, national or international levels.
• Demonstrate the ability to plan and implement evidence-based public health practice.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Understand and recognize how human sciences, social and behavioral factors and the environment influence public health.
• Demonstrate knowledge of key principles in their field of study.
• Comprehend and critically evaluate research.
• Conduct, interpret and communicate a thesis or project in accordance with acceptable ethical standards.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Understand and recognize how human sciences, social and behavioral factors and the environment influence public health.
• Understand the fundamental epidemiological methods used in public health practice and research.
• Summarize central issues and current research trends in the field.
• Understand and use research methods appropriately to explore the current issues in the field.
• Synthesize the major theories and beliefs that guide current thinking in their field through oral and written communication.
• Complete and defend an original manuscript based on original research.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Understand the fundamental principles and concepts that address the social, behavioral, and environmental determinants of public health. Social determinants include race and ethnicity, disability status, and socioeconomic status.
• Summarize and communicate major issues and current research problems in the field of nutrition.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the major issues and current research problems in the field of macronutrient metabolism.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the major issues and current research problems in the field of micronutrient metabolism.
• Design and carry out original research in the field of nutrition.
• Communicate original research orally and in written form.
• Identify ethical issues in biomedical research and articulate remedies for dealing with these issues.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Understand and recognize how human sciences, social and behavioral factors and the environment influence public health.
• Synthesize and communicate knowledge in their field of study.
• Identify central issues, problems and research priorities in their field of study.
• Design, conduct, interpret and communicate original research.
• Demonstrate ethical behavior related to responsible conduct of research.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Understand and recognize how human sciences, social and behavioral factors and the environment influence public health.
• Understand the fundamental epidemiological methods used in public health practice and research.
• Synthesize the central issues and current research trends in the field.
• Understand and apply research methods appropriately to explore the current issues in the field.
• Synthesize the major theories and beliefs that guide current thinking in the field through oral and written communication.
• Design, carry out and present an original work of research that contributes to their discipline.

Upon satisfactory completion of the degree students will be able to:

• Understand the fundamental principles and concepts that address the social, behavioral, and environmental determinants of public health. Social determinants include race and ethnicity, disability status, and socioeconomic status.
• Summarize and communicate major issues and current research problems in the field of nutrition.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the major issues and current research problems in the field of macronutrient metabolism.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the major issues and current research problems in the field of micronutrient metabolism.
• Design and carry out original research in the field of nutrition.
• Communicate original research orally and in written form.
• Identify ethical issues in biomedical research and articulate remedies for dealing with these issues.

Public Health doctoral students are expected to develop competencies in theory, research methods, public health principles and practices, and professional skills. These competencies are minimum competencies that form the foundation of doctoral training. Students have additional specialized competencies in their areas of concentration:

• Demonstrate understanding of and ability to apply theories and conceptual frameworks/models in the field of public health.
• Demonstrate and appropriately apply a range of research and statistical methods to improve understanding of specific public health problems.
• Assess public health problems in terms of their multi-disciplinary nature including but not limited to cultural, social, environmental, behavioral, and economic factors related to prevention and control.
• Demonstrate professional skills that uphold standards of professional integrity and that allow for effective synthesis, communication, instruction, and collaboration.

Upon satisfactory completion of the Ph.D. degree in Public Health with a concentration in Environmental and Occupational Health, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate ability to anticipate, recognize, evaluate and control environmental and occupational safety and health hazards in diverse settings and populations.
• Design and conduct ethical research to better understand the effects of environmental and occupational health and safety hazards on human health and vulnerable populations including the use of culturally-appropriate study designs, data collection methods, appropriate use of statistical methods, interpretation of results, and publication of findings.
• Conceptualize environmental and occupational health and safety hazards in terms of their multi-disciplinary nature and ethical and ideological underpinnings including cultural, social, economic, environmental, behavioral, and legal factors.
• Apply professional skills that uphold standards of equity, inclusion, diversity and professional integrity and that allow for effective synthesis and communication of research questions and results, including working with and reviewing the work of others in a respectful and collegial manner.

Upon satisfactory completion of the Ph.D. degree in Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of basic and advanced concepts of epidemiology.
• Exhibit proficiency in advanced data analysis techniques and epidemiologic methods.
• Demonstrate ability to critically evaluate results of epidemiologic studies.
• Show competence in scientific and grant writing.
• Design and conduct research to improve population health which addresses issues of equity, promotes inclusion and diversity, and demonstrates cultural competence.

Upon satisfactory completion of the Ph.D. degree in Public Health with a concentration in Global Health, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate understanding of and ability to apply critical theories and conceptual models of health equity and social justice in the field of global health.
• Conceptualize global health challenges in terms of their multi-disciplinary nature and ethical and ideological underpinnings, to include cultural, social, economic, environmental, behavioral, and political systems.
• Design and conduct collaborative research to examine the effectiveness of interventions and systems in global health and translate findings into global health practice and systems capacity strengthening.
• Demonstrate the skills necessary to contribute to a community of scholars and stakeholders who are collegial and respectful and uphold ethical standards in collaborations and partnerships with each other and the community at large.

Upon satisfactory completion of the Ph.D. in Public Health with a concentration in Health Policy, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of theoretical frameworks and research literature regarding the development and implementation of health policy.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the issues, research literature, conceptual frameworks, and research tools in a specific area of public health policy.
• Design and conduct research from the initial conception of an idea to study design, data collection, application of appropriate analytic methods, interpretation of results, publication of findings, and translation into program and policies.
• Communicate scientific findings through written and oral methods to technical and lay audiences.
• Demonstrate the skills necessary to contribute to the establishment and maintenance of a community of scholars who are collegial and respectful and who uphold standards of professional integrity in interactions with each other and the community at large.

Upon satisfactory completion of the Ph.D. in Public Health with a concentration in Health Promotion and Health Behavior, students will be able to:

• Conceptualize and critically evaluate public health problems at multiple levels and within diverse cultural, social, behavioral, economic, environmental, policy, and other contexts.
• Design and conduct theoretically driven research that reflects an understanding of the determinants of health and health-related behaviors and provides the foundation to (a) develop effective social, behavioral, and/or structural interventions or (b) disseminate and implement effective programs.
• Critically evaluate, select, and apply social and behavioral science research methods to conduct basic, intervention, and/or dissemination and implementation science research.
• Apply dissemination and implementation science principles to communicate and promote the translation of public health findings to practice.
• Demonstrate the capability to design and execute rigorous social and behavioral research to address contemporary public health issues and to reduce health disparities.
• Demonstrate the skills necessary to contribute to the establishment and maintenance of a community of scholars who are collegial, respectful, and uphold the standards of professional integrity.