About the Program
With dual degrees, students gain knowledge in two fields as they prepare for their professional careers.
Dual degree candidates must be accepted into each of the programs in order to pursue the dual degree: Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) and Master of Public Health (MPH). The MPH-DPT is a joint degree consisting of both the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) and Master of Public Health (MPH) degrees. Physical therapy practice has traditionally been seen as rehabilitation or tertiary prevention. In the evolving healthcare environment, physical therapy practice is expanding into primary and secondary prevention activities as well. As physical therapists’ roles and responsibilities have increased, so have their educational horizons. The combined MPH-DPT degree will enable future physical therapists to become leaders in health promotion and health policy, and impact healthcare in innovative ways both domestically and internationally.
The Master of Public Health (MPH) has a Community Health Concentration and is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). The MPH degree, offered through the College of Health Sciences, extends clinical practice by incorporating broader knowledge and action related to preventing disease and disability and improving individual and population-level outcomes. Public health is centered in achieving health equity and reducing disparities, including understanding and addressing the social and community context of disease, illness, disability and recovery, as well as health promotion and health research. Our MPH trains students to work effectively as public health professionals in local and global communities through a wide variety of health-related organizations.
Highlights of our program curricula includes the following:
- Program planning and evaluation
- Healthcare and broader public health policy
- Epidemiology, research methods, and biostatistics
- Public health communication
- Capstone projects that integrate practice and research
- Internships that give students first-hand experience in public health settings
- Interprofessional education experiences
- Opportunities for domestic and international service projects
The MPH program educates future community public health professionals to promote the health of individuals, families, communities, and the environment. This is accomplished through a program that integrates education, research and practice in a globally-minded environment. Our goal is that our students:
- Understand community public health and develop the skills needed to succeed in a public health career.
- Are engaged in an academic, applied environment that integrates community public health education with research and practice.
- Recognize the connection between health status and human rights and act to improve outcomes.
- Translate knowledge into practice through collaborative service projects and internships with community-based organizations, health facilities, government organizations, and local health departments.
- Employ scientific investigation to advance public health knowledge of the relationship between health and the structural environment within which individuals live and work.
Our program allows for broad interests in public health but we also encourage students to focus their coursework on a specific area of interest, choose an Internship experience that emphasizes their individualized interests, and plan a Capstone project focused in the same area. In this way, each student can develop a specialized knowledge base about public health issues related to his or her specific area of interest.
Our dual-degree programs train health professionals in the core areas of community-based public health. The application of the public health skill set added to the skills learned within the clinical and behavioral primary degree instills a public health perspective to blend and build an interdisciplinary career.
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