Description of Professional Paper Requirement

To complete the Masters in Public Health degree, one of the Culminating Experience options students have is to submit an approved professional paper or thesis. The professional paper or thesis must be prepared following a process of

• preparation of a written proposal;
• selection of a committee;
• approval of the proposal by the committee;
• if necessary, submission of protocol to the Human Research Review Committee (HRRC);
• approval of the written proposal by the MPH Program;
• investigation and analysis;
• writing the professional paper (thesis);
• submission of the professional paper (thesis) to the student’s committee;
• oral presentation of the professional paper (thesis) to the committee and other interested persons;
• submission of the approved professional paper to the MPH Program, or
• alternatively, submission of the approved thesis to the UNM office of Graduate Studies.

It is highly recommended that students opt to complete a professional paper in lieu of a thesis; however, the choice is left to the student. A thesis may require skills and knowledge such as research methods, survey design, etc. that are not currently part of the core courses offered by the MPH Program. Academic rigor is required for both the professional paper and the thesis. Students are strongly encouraged to submit their professional papers and theses for publication in peer-reviewed journals. In addition to MPH Program requirements, a thesis must conform to the general University requirements, standards, guidelines, and timelines as specified by the Office of Graduate Studies. They are posted on the Office of Graduate Studies home page (select "Manuscripts") or call the Office of Graduate Studies Manuscript Advisor, Kimberly Summers, Tel 277-2711). Recognizing the additional work involved in preparation of a manuscript suitable for submission as a thesis, the University allows up to six (6) credit hours for the thesis, as opposed to 3 credit hours for the professional paper.

A professional paper project generally involves a critical investigation of a well-defined public health issue or problem based on original analysis. The written product of this effort is a scholarly manuscript. It is professionally written, develops a persuasive argument, and addresses an important public health issue. It may or may not include the collection of original data, and may be presented in the form of a case study, intervention development, or policy analysis. The professional paper requires a more detailed and extensive analysis of the issue or problem than that included in a term paper. It is not merely a literature review, needs assessment, or a chronology of work in the practicum.

Samples of professional papers completed by previous MPH students are available for review in the MPH Program office. The range of topics addressed in professional papers is large and reflects the diversity of the field of public health as well as the diversity of MPH students and their interests.

The length of the manuscript, though closely related to the scope of the topic or research problem, normally ranges from 30 to 50 pages. Manuscripts written for submission to professional journals are of a shorter length, 20 to 25 pages. However, sections on the implications of the study, recommendations for public health practice and a summary of the student’s experience as a public health practitioner must be added as addenda. These sections are expected to add another 5 to 10 pages to the total length of the professional paper if it is written for submission to a journal. Manuscript length may also depend on other products of the professional paper work, including the production of educational materials that are best presented in a form other than a printed paper manuscript, such as videotapes or interactive CD-ROM. It is the candidate’s responsibility to define the contents of the final manuscript and other products of the professional paper with her/his committee during the approval of the proposal.

Students may begin a professional paper and enroll for credit only after completion of one semester of graduate studies with a minimum GPA of 3.0 in all graduate coursework. The student shall be enrolled in the Professional Paper course (PH 596) for at least 1 credit hour during the semester when the paper will be submitted. It should be noted that students may enroll in PH 596 for a maximum of 3 credit hours; additional professional paper credits will not be counted toward graduation. Once formal enrollment is begun, students must enroll for at least 1 credit per semester until the paper is completed. Students who do not complete the paper during a semester when enrolled in PH 596 will receive a grade of "progress" and must enroll for a subsequent minimum of 1 credit hour to complete and submit their professional paper. PH 596 may be taken for a letter grade or credit/ no credit (CR/ NC).

Students may consider enrollment in the "Professional Paper Seminar" (PH 560) to strengthen their skills in conceiving and planning research projects, and in writing proposals. This 1 credit hour course is offered each Fall semester. For maximum benefit, students should enroll in the course before they begin writing their proposal.

As students near graduation and are planning their professional paper, they should also file an "Application for Candidacy" for the master’s degree with the UNM Office of Graduate Studies. This form is available in the MPH Program Office and must be completed at least one semester before the student expects to complete the MPH degree requirements and graduate.

Selecting the Professional Paper Committee

Students should discuss their ideas for the professional paper with their prospective chair and committee members in advance of beginning to prepare their proposal. Committee members may recommend other courses be taken, depending upon the nature of the work required to complete the professional paper. The student’s committee must be comprised of at least three (3) faculty, two (2) of whom must hold appointments as "regular" faculty (tenured, tenure-track, or research). Committee chairs must be regular faculty who hold appointments in the MPH Program (consult the MPH Program office). Adjunct faculty, faculty from outside the MPH program, and emeriti may informally serve on the committee at the discretion of the student and her/ his committee members.

All members of the committee must be approved for graduate instruction and service on examination and thesis committees by the UNM Office of Graduate Studies. At the end of the preparation of the professional paper, and two weeks before the Oral Presentation, the student must complete and submit the "Announcement of Examination" form which lists the Professional Paper Committee members (see below).

Preparing the Proposal

Students are required to submit a draft of their proposal to their committee before the initial semester of work on their professional paper begins. The committee will review and comment on this draft, and the student will make revisions as appropriate before submitting the proposal to the MPH Professional Paper/Thesis Proposal Committee for review (see Section 4). Prior to, or during the semester of preparing the proposal, students are required to enroll in the 1 credit-hour course "Professional Paper Seminar" (see Section 1).

The proposal for the professional paper must contain:

a.   Title Page

Title

Student’s Name

Professional Paper Committee Members (indicate Chair)

b.   Background and Rationale

Introduction to the public health problem (literature review)

Significance for public health practice

c.   Purpose

Research Questions and/or Hypotheses

d.   Methods

Data collection (if appropriate)

Analysis approach

Human Research Review Committee Approval (if working with human subjects)

            HRRC Approval number or letter granting exempt status limitations

e.   Student’s Role in the Project

f.    Timetable

g.   References

h.   Appendix (e.g., consent form, questionnaires, previous publications)

The length of the proposal, though related to the scope of the proposed topic, usually ranges from 5 to 15 pages, depending on the length of the literature review. The proposal must be typed with double-spaced text lines. Pages must be numbered and the proposal should not be bound.

The Professional Paper Proposal Approval Form

The student’s committee shall indicate their approval of the proposal with their signatures on the Program’s Professional Paper Approval form (available from the MPH Program office). The student shall submit the signed form with a copy of the proposal to the MPH Program office or directly to the Chair of the MPH Professional Paper/Thesis Proposal Committee.

The professional paper proposal should be given to the Chair of the MPH Professional Paper/Thesis Proposal Committee by the mid-point of the semester prior to the semester in which the student will complete the paper. These dates are:

• October 15^th for expected completion in the Spring Semester
• March 15^th for expected completion in the Summer Semester
• July 1^st for expected completion in the Fall Semester

Students who enroll in the Professional Paper Seminar during the Fall Semester will finish development of their proposal after the mid-semester deadline. For these students, the October 15^th deadline for submission of the proposal will be extended through the end of the semester.

Within one-week of receipt of the proposal, the MPH Professional Paper/Thesis Proposal Committee will make a decision on approval and provide written notification to the student and her/his committee on the decision. The MPH Professional Paper/Thesis Proposal Committee can approve the proposal, require a memo from the student responding to the issues raised by the MPH Professional Paper/Thesis Proposal Committee, or require the proposal to be re-written.

The proposal will be evaluated for completeness according to the outline described in Section 3 above. The review will identify the strength and weaknesses of the proposal, and consider the appropriateness of the proposed committee membership vis-à-vis the topic area.

Preparing the Professional Paper

The professional paper manuscript must be presented in a form amenable to examination and review. This means that documentation of the research or inquiry process must be provided in a form that is sufficient to allow others to follow the line of reasoning and to evaluate the credibility of the work.

At a minimum, the professional paper must meet criteria of content and presentation that are as rigorous as those applied to work done in a professional public health setting (public agency, non-profit organization, etc.). However, if the manuscript is to be submitted to a peer-reviewed scientific journal, the student and committee may agree that higher standards are appropriate. It is the student’s responsibility to define the content of the professional paper manuscript and other products of the research in the proposal.

The MPH Program requires these content areas in each professional paper:

1. Title page, abstract, and table of contents;
2. Introduction to the public health problem;
3. Literature review;
4. If the project involves research (e.g., epidemiological study), then, the paper must contain a section on study design and methods;
5. If the project involves research, the paper must include a section on results;
6. Discussion of the issue as a research question, case study, policy analysis, intervention, program evaluation, etc.;
7. Discussion of the implications of the study and recommendations for public health practice, and development of a plan for dissemination of information;
8. Discussion of the student’s role as a public health practitioner in relation to the problem, and if appropriate, to the agencies addressing with the issue or problem.

The manuscript shall be typed and organized in a style that is in accordance with one of three professional organizations:

1. American Psychological Association – Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Fourth Edition. American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C., 1998. ISBN 1-55798-241-4.
2. American Public Health Association – What AJPH Authors Should Know printed in the front pages of each month’s issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
3. American Medical Association – Manual of Style. 9^th Edition. Williams and Wilkens, Baltimore, MD, 1998. ISBN 0683-40206-4.

Current editions of these style manuals are available from the Medical/Legal Bookstore. Sample style pages are available from the MPH Program office and the Health Sciences Center Library. With prior advice and approval of the student’s committee, other professionally recognized guidelines may be followed (e.g., American Journal of Epidemiology, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, etc.).

From time to time, a student has requested permission to use as their professional paper a manuscript that has been prepared or accepted for publication. The MPH Program has generally approved these requests but requires an introductory section describing the public health problem, as well as additional sections which describe the implications of the research for public health practice and the student’s role as a public health practitioner. These are generally not included in the body of the manuscript which has been prepared for publication but are addenda. The MPH Program strongly encourages publication of research, but the student must recognize that these additional requirements exist to create a coherent statement of the research work that is being submitted for the MPH degree.

Students who submit their professional papers for publication are strongly encouraged to consult the authorship guidelines proposed by the American Journal of Public Health, the Journal of the American Medical Association, or the New England Journal of Medicine. Students should not automatically assume that Professional Paper Committee members must be included as co-authors on a manuscript submitted for publication. Authorship should be decided by the criteria proposed by these professional journals. The inclusion of a committee member is to be based on whether the author has contributed substantively to the conception/design of the project, analysis/interpretation, and writing of the paper. The issue of authorship should be discussed at initial meetings of the student’s Professional Paper Committee. In many cases, authorship cannot be determined until the manuscript has been completed, but the student and their Committee should reach agreement as to how this decision will be made at the appropriate time.

Completing the Oral Presentation

When all major work and writing on the professional paper manuscript are completed, and the Chair and committee members have approved the manuscript, the Oral Presentation should be scheduled. Working with her/his committee, the student should arrange an appropriate time and place for the presentation. Two weeks prior to the Oral Presentation, each committee member must be provided with a clear, typed copy of the professional paper. Preparation of the final typed copy of the professional paper should be delayed until after the Oral Presentation since the committee may, on the basis of the defense, require that the student make revisions.

In the eyes of the University, the Oral Presentation is the equivalent of the "Master’s Examination". University forms refer to the Master’s Examination Committee; this is the same as the Professional Paper Committee. Students must complete the Announcement of Examination form (available from the MPH Program Office) to document the selection of committee members. The form must be submitted to the UNM Office of Graduate Studies at least two (2) weeks in advance of the date of the examination. The Office of Graduate Studies will review the committee membership to confirm that at least three (3) faculty have agreed with their signature to serve on the examination committee. Two of these committee members must hold regular faculty appointments and must be approved for graduate instruction and service on examination and thesis committees.

The MPH Program will announce the time and place of the Oral Presentation so that interested faculty and students may attend. The University requires at a minimum, the attendance of all committee members. If all of the Professional Paper Committee members do not attend, then, the Oral Presentation must be rescheduled.

The Oral Presentation is a formal presentation of the professional paper, summarizing the public health problem addressed, the research questions asked, the methods used, the findings and implications for the practice of public health. If appropriate, the MPH candidates should consider using transparencies in their presentation. The candidate should be prepared to answer questions of the committee and audience.

At the conclusion of the presentation, the committee will meet immediately in private to discuss the candidate’s presentation and manuscript. The Chair and all members of the Professional Paper Committee will sign the "Announcement of Graduation" form which states whether the professional paper is rated as a "pass" or "pass with distinction".

It is within the authority of the Professional Paper Committee to require revisions to the professional paper manuscript before granting final approval. The number of revisions likely to be required after the defense will be reduced if the student has worked closely with all committee members throughout the research and writing process.

In extraordinary circumstances, the Chair of the Professional Paper Committee, in consultation with the Director of the MPH Program, may determine that the professional paper manuscript in itself meets the MPH degree requirements and waive requirements for the oral presentation.

Submitting the Professional Paper

Documentation of the completion of the Oral Presentation (e.g., Announcement of Graduation form and "gray sheets") must be submitted with the final professional paper manuscript to the UNM Office of Graduate Studies by the following dates to allow graduation:

• November 15^th to allow graduation at the end of the Fall Semester
• April 15^th to allow graduation at the end of the Spring Semester
• July 15^th to allow graduation at the end of the Summer Semester

This paperwork is completed and submitted by the chair of the student Professional Paper Committee and the Director of the Masters in Public Health Program. However, it is the candidate’s responsibility to deliver the final revised professional paper manuscript to the MPH Program office with adequate time to be processed with the other documentation of completion of the Oral Presentation (including revisions to the manuscript).

Notification of Intent to Graduate

Due to the MPH Program an entire semester in advance of graduation - by the following deadlines:
Fall graduation: June 15th
Spring graduation: September 15th
Summer graduation: February 15th
The POS may be submitted any time after completion of 12 credit hours. POS must be approved before a student can take their master’s exam.

Announcement of Exam: Due to OGS two weeks before the master’s exam. Must provide date and time of exam to the MPH Program no later than October 15th (Fall), March 15th (Spring),
June 15th (Summer).

Master’s Exam and Report of Exam: Must be completed and
turned in to OGS by November 15th (Fall), April 15th (Spring),
July 15th (Summer).

Professional Paper (if applicable): Must be completed and approved
by Committee Chair and turned into the MPH Program by
November 15th (Fall), April 15th (Spring), July 15th (Summer).

Incompletes: Must be removed and grade recorded by
November 15th (Fall), April 15th (Spring), July 15th (Summer), or graduation will be delayed until satisfied.

ALL REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADUATION (except for classes in which you are currently enrolled) MUST BE COMPLETED BY November 15th (Fall), April 15th (Spring), July 15th (Summer), or graduation will be delayed.

Forms are available at: http://www.unm.edu/grad/forms/forms.html

Please call (505) 272-3982 with questions.

Summary of Deadlines

Candidates should closely monitor UNM and MPH Program requirements and due dates at all times while they are completing the requirements for the Master’s in Public Health degree. Deadlines are listed in the University Calendar, that is a part of the Class Schedule published each semester. It is the student’s responsibility, and not the responsibility of the Chair or members of the Professional Paper Committee, or the MPH Program, to ensure that the general University requirements and due dates have been met for graduation. Students who plan to graduate should consult the Office of Graduate Studies to ensure requirements and deadlines are understood.

Summary of Professional Paper and Graduation Deadlines

Professional Paper Proposal Submitted to MPH Professional Paper/Thesis Proposal Committee: Mid-point of semester before student writes the manuscript.

Application for Candidacy: By end of semester prior to the semester of expected graduation.

Notification of Intent to Graduate: The beginning of semester of expected graduation.

Fall Semester Graduation: October 1^st

Spring Semester Graduation: March 1^st

Summer Semester Graduation: July 1^st

Announcement of Masters Examination: Once your final manuscript has been signed off by your Chair and committee members, you should schedule your oral presentation using this form. The form lists your committee members and must be signed by the MPH Program Director and delivered to the Office of Graduate Studies two weeks prior to the oral presentation. Oral Presentations must be completed by:

• Fall Semester: November 15^th
• Spring Semester: April 15^th
• Summer Semester: July 15^th