Masters in Public Health Program

Masters in Public Health Courses

Most classes are open to non-degree students or degree students in other programs. Please see schedule of classes for restrictions.

Masters in Public Health Courses – Core (PH)

501. Principles of Public Health. (3)
Concepts of public health related to determinants of health; cultural, social, and political concepts of disease; disease prevention; health promotion, including individual behavior change and community based intervention; health policy. {Fall}.

502. Epidemiologic Methods I. (3)
Provides an overview of the methods of epidemiologic research. Designed to provide students with the capability of understanding epidemiologic measures of disease occurrence, interpreting the findings of epidemiologic studies, and integrating the results of epidemiologic research into public health practice.
Prerequisite: B or better in college algebra and a basic statistics course or permission of instructor. {Fall}
Syllabus: Fall 2005

504. Rural Health. (3)
Increases awareness of the complex factors affecting delivery of rural health services in New Mexico and the U.S. and examines rural health support systems and rural health policy.
Prerequisite: Students must be familiar/have experience in health care delivery system/public health. {Fall}
Syllabus: view or download.

505. Cultural, Social and Behavioral Theory and Health. (3)
In-depth investigation of behavioral, social and cultural theory's application to public health problem definition, prevention and intervention programs. Problem etiology and change strategy theories are investigated through application to specific public health problems among culturally distinct and marginalized groups in New Mexico. {Spring}
Syllabus: view or download.

506. Environmental/ Occupational Health. (3)
Applies the public health perspective to environmental and occupational disease. Students will learn to apply the ecologic principles of agent, host and environment to diseases associated with exposures to the physical environment and chemical contaminants.
Prerequisite: 501. {Spring}
Syllabus: view or download.

507. Health Care Systems. (3)
Provides an overview of how health care is delivered in the United States. A wide variety of delivery and payment methods are examined. In addition, the U.S. health care delivery systems will be compared to Native American, U.S. Mexican Border, Canadian and Cuban systems. Core option for students admitted any year; required for students year 2000 and later.
Syllabus: view or download.

508. Theory & Practice Seminar I. (1)
Teaches students the core public health principles of assessment. Restricted to MPH students only. Offered on CR/NC basis only. {Fall}
Syllabus: view or download

509. Theory & Practice Seminar II. (1)
Teaches students the core public health principles of assurance and policy. Restricted to MPH students only. Offered on CR/NC basis only. {Spring}
Syllabus: view or download.

510. Public Health and Health Care Management. (3)
This course will examine the history and organization of the U.S. Healthcare System and will focus on the core functions in public health healthcare management. The role and elements of professionalism and ethics will be integrated throughout the course.
Syllabus: view or download.

511. Writing for Public Health Professionals. (1-2)
Intensive writing course for public health professionals and graduate students. Course will promote understanding of multiple modes of writing; improves revising and editing strategies; and provides experience in synthesizing and integrating research into literature reviews and articles for public health journals. Offered on CR/NC basis only.

Stat 538. Biostatistical Methods I -- Statistical Summaries and Inference. (3)
Covers basic statistical methods including statistical summaries and inference. Methods of summarizing data include graphical displays and numerical summaries. Statistical inference includes hypothesis testing and confidence intervals. Methods for continuous and categorical data are studied.
Prerequisite: B or better in Math 121 or permission of instructor. {Fall}
Syllabus: view or download

560. Special Topics in Public Health. (1-3)
{Summer, Fall, Spring}

560 Section 001. Public Health Methods & GIS - Elective course for EPI concentration (3 Credit Hours)
This applied course introduces the use of geographic information system (GIS) technology in the analysis of epidemiologic and public health data. Students will develop GIS skills through structured computer lab exercises that explore New Mexico public health data using basic GIS operations, such as geocoding, data layering, mapping, buffering, and spatial query. Directed readings and class discussions will be used to augment GIS skills development, reinforce epidemiologic concepts, and provide a contextual overview of the use of GIS in public health and epidemiology.
Prerequisite: Epi Methods I & Biostat Methods I, or permission of instructor.
560 Section 014. Public Health Law - General MPH Elective (3 Credit Hours)
This course will introduce students to a broad spectrum of legal issues related to public health. Legal issues covered will include state and federal legal bases for the exercise of public health powers, isolation/quarantine, immunizations, public health emergency preparedness, administrative and legislative processes, public health financing and contracting, health information privacy, professional licensure and disciplinary actions, public health ethics and the role of legal counsel in a public health agency. Emphasis will be placed on New Mexico statutory law and administrative rules as applicable.
Syllabus: View or Download
560 Section 021. Town Design and Public Health - General MPH Elective (3 Credit Hours)
Studies the relation between public health and the design of cities, with special attention to current efforts to combat problems of physical inactivity, obesity, and related illnesses. will cover urban planning and public planning and public health perspectives on neighborhood design, traffic calming, bike and pedestrian planning, and behavior changes strategies. Following a service learning philosophy, we will work with the Albuquerque Alliance for Active Living and community leaders to develop specific strategies for the Atrisco neighborhood to improve the health of research, presentations by guest speakers, discussions with community members, and preparation of reports for the Alliance and community.
560 Section 022. Rural Health Interdisciplinary Problem -Based Learning (1-3 Credit Hours)
RHIP is a two-phase course designed to: 1) work in an interdisciplinary learning setting, 2) develop and use problem-based health-related case studies as course curriculum, and 3) complete the MPH Practicum in a rural community during the summer months of June and July. During the Spring semester, the class consists of 8 weekly tutorials on Friday afternoon in which students are introduced to problem-based learning and working with students from other health and social disciplines. Students develop cases related to interdisciplinary team members. Disciplines involved in the seminar are medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, nursing, physician's assistant, social work, dentistry, and occupational therapy. During summer, the second part of the course, students will receive stipends and be placed in the rural community that they have selected for their MPH Practicum experience.
* Students receive 1 credit in Spring, but must sign up for MPH Practicum in the summer. Students interested in problem-based learning but not interested in doing a practicum in a rural community are invited to participate in the Spring Section.
560 Section 023. Public Health & Indigenous Planning - General MPH Elective (3 Credit Hours)
Explores the meaning and significance of Indigenous Planning as an emerging theory of action by assisting a Pueblo in a community health project. Students will identify and understand indigenous values of community development based on tenets of land tenure and culture as applied to tribal planning and health practices. Faculty/students from Community and Regional Planning Program and Public Health will be involved in lectures, skill building, and a case study involving tribal community development. The case will examine the impact of urbanization on traditional lifestyles, including changes and adjustments in living and housing patterns and their impact on physical activity and built form.
560 Section 025. Public Health Systems & Globalization - General MPH Elective (3 Credit Hours)
Analyzes the relationships among health policy, public health, and social structure in comparative international perspective. We will consider special problems of health care and public health in the setting of economic underdevelopment, e.g., issues of "structural adjustment," privatization of public services, and impacts of managed care and global trade agreements on public health. we will also assess critically the recent policy orientations of multilateral lending institutions and international public health organizations. we will study the health care and public systems under capitalism, the "mixed economies", and socialism.
560 Section 310. Understanding Health Care: Policy, Politics, and Advocacy(2)
Syllabus: view or download
560 Section 332. Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: A Public Health Perspective
Syllabus: view or download. Visit: Class website.
560A Section 013. International and US Health Policy Reform
Syllabus: download (Word)

596. Professional Paper. (3)
The professional paper allows the student to engage in analyzing or solving a real public health problem. {Summer, Spring, Fall}
Syllabus: view or download.

597. Public Health Integrative Experience. (3)
One of the three options for culminating experience. Students will conduct a computer-based systematic review of the epidemiologic and health intervention literature, perform epi data analysis and apply other planning and evaluation techniques to develop a prevention plan for a New Mexico population.
Syllabus: view or download.

598. Public Health Practicum. (1-6)
Individually arranged field experience to develop and refine professional public health skills. Offered on CR/NC basis only. {Summer, Spring, Fall}

599. Masters Thesis. (1-6 hours per semester)
Offered on a CR/NC basis only.

Masters in Public Health Courses -- Required Epidemiology Courses

520. Epidemiologic Methods II. (3)
Provides a good understanding of the principles and methods involved in the design, conduct, analysis and interpretation of epidemiologic research.
Prerequisites: Biostat I and 502 or permission of instructor. {Spring}
Syllabus: view or download

522. Seminar in Epidemiology. (0-1)
Guest speakers will lecture on various topics in the field of epidemiology. To receive credit students must attend at least 12 seminars during two consecutive semesters and make a 20-minute presentation. Offered on CR/NC basis only.
Prerequisite: 502. {Fall, Spring}
Syllabus: view or download

534. Epidemiology Data Analysis. (2-3)
Students will learn how to conduct a careful epidemiologic data analysis. The focus of the course is developing the practical and critical thinking skills to conduct an epidemiologic data analysis. This course is required for epidemiology concentration students.
Syllabus: view or download.

Stat 539. Biostatistics Methods II—Introduction to Statistical Modeling. (3)
Covers basic models used in the statistical analysis of studies in the medical sciences and public health field, with an emphasis on epidemiology. Linear regression, analysis of variance, logistic regression and survival models are studied.
Prerequisite: Biostat I or permission of instructor. {Spring}
Syllabus: view or download.

Epidemiology Elective Courses

523. Applied Epidemiology Lab. (2)
A practical application of epidemiologic methods and principles using computerized statistical programs. Students will develop hypotheses, complete data, analysis, interpret results and prepare a written and oral presentation using available health data sets.
Prerequisites: completion of or concurrent enrollment in 502 and completion of a basic graduate biostatistics course or permission of instructor.
{Offered on demand}

524. Visual Display of Epidemiologic Data. (1)
Explores the visual presentation of health related data. Considers all types of charts, figures, graphs, and tables and addresses both substantive issues and technical issues, like the use of color, patterns, line types; how data are used by scientists, policy makers, and the public; and how each audience has its own needs.
{Offered on demand}

525. Epidemiology Surveillance. (2)
Covers disease surveillance in the history of public health; establishing a disease surveillance system; surveillance of infectious diseases, chronic/environmental diseases and behavioral risk factors; surveillance system evaluation and surveillance in emergency conditions. Emphasizes the central role that surveillance plays in development of public health policy.
Prerequisite: 502 and Biostat I or permission of instructor.
{Offered on demand}

526. Epidemiology of HIV Infection and AIDS. (2)
Deals with the epidemiology of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Current knowledge of the biology, virology, public health and clinical aspects of AIDS will be reviewed. Particular emphasis on the global epidemiology and impact of the HIV pandemic.
{Offered on demand}

527. Chronic Disease Epidemiology. (2)
Familiarize student with methods of measuring morbidity and mortality from chronic disease, surveillance of behavioral risk factors for chronic disease, the scientific basis and cost-benefit analysis of screening programs, evaluation of prevention efforts and modeling disease patterns to predict future needs. {Offered on demand}

528. Infectious Disease Epidemiology. (2)
Learn basic epidemiological principles of infectious diseases. Learn and understand the multiple factors associated with spread of infectious agents within populations and development, application, and evaluation of control measures to stop or prevent transmission.
{Offered on demand}

529. Nutritional Epidemiology. (2)
This course considers complex issues related to the quantification of dietary intake and nutritional status and associations with disease as either exposures or outcomes. Current topics in nutritional epidemiology will be critically reviewed.
{Offered on demand}

530. Environmental Epidemiology. (2)
This course explores key concepts and methods involved in the design, analysis and interpretation of epidemiologic studies of environmental and occupational disease. Lectures and Case Studies critically evaluate public health problems related to environmental exposures.
Prerequisites: 502, Stat 538 or permission of instructor. {Offered on demand}

531. Perinatal Epidemiology. (2)
Review of a wide range of topics central to perinatal epidemiology. Highlighted topics will include conception and early fetal loss, design issues in studies of adverse reproductive outcomes and epidemiologic aspects and public health approaches to prevention of congenital malformation.
Prerequisite: 502 or permission of instructor. {Offered on demand}
Syllabus: view or download

532. Cancer Epidemiology. (2)
Covers basic concepts and methods in cancer research. Specific topics for discussion include cancer surveillance, measures of disease occurrence, descriptive epidemiology of cancer, casual mechanisms, etiologic factors, screening issues, cancer prevention and control, and intervention studies.
Prerequisites: successful completion of both 502 and Biostat I. An understanding of research methodology and biology will be assumed.
{Offered on demand}

533. Public Health Research Methods. (2-3)
Gives students an understanding of the principles and skills of doing social science research, using qualitative and quantitative approaches, in public health settings.
Prerequisites: 502 and Biostat I or permission of the instructor.
{Offered on demand}

Stat 574. Biostatistical Methods: Survival Analysis and Logistic Regression. (3)
A detailed overview of methods commonly used to analyze medical and epidemiological data. Topics include the Kaplan-Meier estimate of the survivor function, models for censored survival data, the Cox proportional hazards model, methods for categorical response data including logistic regression and probit analysis, generalized linear models.
Prerequisite: 528 or 540 or permission of instructor.

Masters in Public Health Courses -- Other Electives

512. Public Health Proposal Writing Workshop. (1)
Prepares students to write their professional paper, thesis or completing another MPH culminating experience. Participants must be ready to write either their professional paper proposal or drafts of their professional paper. Offered on CR/NC basis only.

521. Web-Based Introduction to Epidemiology. (1-3)
Designed for students pursuing an MPH certificate. Provides students with basic epidemiologic background and methods to analyze and interpret disease occurrence in populations. Emphasizes community assessment, surveillance, problem solving, health promotion and disease prevention.

550. The Political Economy of Health. (3)
Examines economic policies associated with health and well-being. Critically reviews economic theories and arguments and analyzes indicators of economic growth and income distribution. Introduces theories and tools of policy analysis to explore public health issues on the political agenda. {Spring}

551. Health Care Strategic Management. (2)
Designed to provide an overview of human resources in areas such as supervision and teamwork, financial management to include budgeting and other management issues in health care organizations. Taught using case-study method.

552. Program Planning and Proposal Writing. (3)
An exploration of rational health planning methods. Methods will be applied in the development of a health program plan within a social context where public health planning actually occurs. Involves the development of a realistic program plan addressing a health-related problem and writing a proposal for funding. {Spring}

553. Practical Health Policy. (2)
Covers the process of legislation and advocacy in producing health policy and analysis of New Mexico Medicaid Managed Care as a template in the creation of health policy.

554. Health Care and Public Health Policy. (2)
Explores the private and public aspects of health care and public health. Emphasis is placed upon understanding the role of private initiatives like HMOs versus public initiatives like Medicare/Medicaid and Public Health in the U.S. {Offered on demand}

555. Public Health Evaluation Methods. (3)
Introduces students to the language and theory of program evaluation to undertake their own evaluation design: how to pose evaluation research questions; data collection methodologies available to them; how to make decisions about appropriate data collection methods for different types of evaluation objectives. {Spring}
Syllabus: view or download.

556. Tobacco Control. (2)
Comprehensive background history of tobacco; epidemiology of tobacco use; health effects of tobacco; individual, school, worksite and community interventions in tobacco control; and the role of public policy and advocacy in tobacco control.

557. International Health. (2)
This class applies economic, sociologic and anthropologic perspectives to health care problems across national and international groups. Strategies for analyzing needs in a cultural context are stressed. Offered on CR/NC basis only.

558. Community Organizing for Health. (3)
This class emphasizes community organization as a major educational approach to change community dynamics and creation of healthier communities. It examines the role of public health practitioners as change agents and the values and ethical issues which arise within this context.

559. The History of Public Health. (3)
A survey of public health issues from the ancient world to the modern world including plague, syphilis, smallpox and AIDS. Addresses interrelation of history, philosophy, economics and disease. {Spring}
Syllabus: view or download.

561. Maternal Child Health Issues. (2-3)
This course provides an overview of Maternal and Child Health in context of principles and practices of public health. Students will explore historical trends and contemporary MCH issues in U.S. and New Mexico.
Prerequisite: 501 or comparable work or educational experience with permission of instructor. {Every other year}

562. Women's Health Issues. (2-3)
This course will provide an overview of Women's Health issues in the context of principles and practices of public health and to develop critical understanding of contemporary Women's Health issues in the United States and New Mexico. {Every other year}
Syllabus: view or download.

563. Social Medicine in Latin America. (2)
Reviews critically several topics in Latin American social medicine; the history of social medicine; national and international groups working in social medicine; health policy analysis; occupational and environmental health; social class and health outcomes; gender issues; social epidemiology-content and methods and educational reform.
Syllabus: view or download.

564. Health Communication. (2-3)
Explores topics in patient-doctor and client-health care worker communication. From the public health standpoint, emphasizes communication about health promotion and disease prevention. Considers critically the communication processes in public health campaigns, especially how health policy issues are portrayed in mass media.
Syllabus: view or download.

565. Public Health: Law Policy and Ethics. (3)
This course will deal with the role of law in public health, history of American public health, history of law concerning public health, ethics of modern epidemiology, early research, public health and public accountability, and issues in public health. {Fall}

566. Injury/Violence Prevention. (3)
Considers the causes, consequences and preventive strategies of unintentional and intentional injury within developmental, social and economic contexts. Examines dilemmas and methodologic concerns in injury research and prevention.

567. The Role of the Lay Health Worker in Community-based Health Systems. (2)
Examines practical models for the training and utilization of non-professional, community-based health care promoters and providers. Emphasis on lessons from developing countries and rural settings, primary health care tasks, health promotion and prevention, and education for health.

568. Popular and Empowerment Education. (2-3)
Focuses on empowerment education and popular learning methodologies within the context of public health. Theoretical and experiential course creating opportunities for dialogue between theory and practice. {Spring}

569. American Indian Health Issues. (2)
Descriptive overview of health-related topics and issues of American Indian and Alaska Native people. Provides an understanding of the most important, health-related challenges these communities face. Topics include: population, Indian tribes, major health conditions, the Federal Trust relationship, Indian Health Service and self-determination.

570. Tuberculosis Control. (1)
Will cover the basics of tuberculosis and its management. Develop an understanding of the principles of TB control as executed in the U.S. and in other countries, developed and less developed ones.

571. Adolescent Social Action Program (ASAP). (2-3)
Provides a multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary approach to primary prevention of health-related high-risk behaviors among adolescents. The ASAP Program offers course credit for university students to work with adolescents in New Mexico's communities. {Fall and Spring}

572. Community Health Intervention Models. (2)
The present course examines the current models for health interventions at the community level. In contrast to the traditional focus on behavior change at the individual level, this course is designed to provide a broad exposure to the foundations for preventive health interventions at the community level.

573. Introduction to Public Health Planning and Evaluation. (1-2)
Basics of public health planning and evaluation. Overview of the concepts of prevention, risk/needs assessment, health promotion theory and models, intervention development including prioritizing, objectives and strategies and evaluation. The course will be partially problem-based so students have an opportunity to apply the concepts.

574. Community Health Improvement Strategies. (1)
Designed to assist public health professionals in identifying and avoiding system features that result in program implementation failure. It applies the methods of systems thinking and continuous quality improvement to program implementation at the state and community level.

575. Public Health Leadership on Facilitation. (1-2)
Facilitation skills for public health settings such as coalitions, working in teams and community meetings. Explores methods, role of facilitator, assumptions behind different styles, setting priorities and action planning. Variable credit to meet professional and graduate student needs. For 1 credit, a 5 page problem analysis; for 2 credits, additional 10 page literature review.

576. Public Health Leadership in Cross Cultural Communication and Conflict. (1-2)
Explores the legacy of historical trauma and colonization on population health among diverse populations. Divided into practice sessions to enhance participants' capacity for communication and problem solving in intercultural public health situations. Variable credit to meet professional and graduate student needs. For 1 credit, a 5 page problem analysis; for 2 credits, additional 10 page literature review.

577. Public Health Leadership in Policy and Advocacy. (1-2)
Problem solving on health policy issues and practical experience with health bills in legislature. Involves a one-day field trip to the New Mexico legislature, in addition to guest speakers. Small group work on media advocacy skills, interacting with policy-makers and presenting testimony. Variable credit to meet professional and graduate student needs. For 1 credit, a 5 page problem analysis; for 2 credits, additional 10 page literature review.

578. Environmental Health Policy. (2)
Examines policy processes affecting environmental health. Explores theories of power and powerlessness and how social constructions are used in policy debates. Case studies illustrate how interest groups access and affect the political agenda.

579. New Mexico Border Health. (2)
Provides an overview of history of U.S./Mexican Border. In particular the course focuses on current relevant public health problems, policies and health care delivery to address this issue. For example, this course will also examine how the North American Free Trade Agreement has impacted public and environmental health. Immigration Policy and effects of the Maquiladora Industry will also be examined.

580. Public Health Community Health Assessment. (1-3)
Introduces participants to a participatory community assessment model. Participants will learn and practice the following: steps in the participating community assessment model, data sources and data collection strategies for sub-county areas, data analysis, using results of community assessment to make change. One credit, a 5 page problem analysis; 2 credits, additional 10 page paper and 3 credits will include additional data analysis.

581. Fundamentals of Public Health. (1-2)
Provides basics of public health, its history and development, the current organization of public health activities, the concept of population as a unit of measurement, epidemiology, the determinants of disease, surveillance, monitoring and planning. Variable credit to meet professional and graduate student needs. For 1 credit, a 5 page problem analysis; for 2 credits, additional 10 page literature review.

582. Basic Public Health Epidemiology. (1-2)
Acquaints public health professionals working in the field with those basic epidemiology fundamentals and uses of data that are important for understanding the distribution and determinants of disease. Variable credit to meet professional and graduate student needs. For 1 credit, a 5 page problem analysis; for 2 credits, additional 10 page literature review.

583. Health Systems and Globalization. (2)
Analyzes relationships among medicine, public health, and social structure in a comparative international perspective. examines public health care and systems under differing economic systems and the impacts of managed care in Latin America and Africa. {offered on demand}

584. Child Health & Child Rights. (3)
Surveys history, development and issues surrounding child health status and children's rights. discusses current measures of child health and international movement in children's rights. Specific topics include war, abuse, racism, poverty and economic structural adjustment. {offered on demand}

585. Public Health Mental Health. (3)
Covers the history and epidemiology of mental health, nationally and internationally, and mental health cross-culturally and in contexts of age, race, gender, and ethnicity. Also explores social determinants of mental illness and mental health promotion. {offered on demand}
Syllabus: view or download.

595. Critical Integrative Literature Review (CIRL). (3)
The CIRL guides students through a critical integrative literature review on a public health problem of their choosing. Required: proposal approval by Culminating Experience Committee.

Other courses will be added upon student demand. Additions to this course list will be provided in future updates.

Updated November 19, 2007