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MASTER OF SCIENCE IN PUBLIC HEALTH (MSPH) IN GLOBAL DISEASE EPIDEMIOLOGY AND CONTROL

Required and Elective Courses, 2023-2024

Required and Elective Courses

All students in the MSPH in the Global Disease Epidemiology and Control Program must take the required courses listed below. All required courses must be taken for a letter grade except for courses only offered for pass/fail grading. Below you'll find the lists of required and elective courses, as well as a general student timeline and an example of how a schedule might look for someone in their first year of the program.

Required Courses 2023-24
Course No. Course Title Term Credits
Year 1: General Degree Requirements

550.860

Academic and Research Ethics at BSPH

1

0

223.840

Special Studies and Research GDEC: Individualized Goals Analysis (IGA) (register and select your advisor’s name) 

1

1

223.801

Global Disease Epidemiology and Control (GDEC) Program Seminar 1 

1

1

223.802

GDEC Program Seminar 2 

2

1

223.803

GDEC Program Seminar 3 

3

1

220.600

International Travel Preparation, Safety, and Wellness (only take once) 

2, 3, 4

1

Epidemiology Requirement (choose one option)

Option 1 or

340.721

340.722

Epidemiologic Inference in Public Health I 

Epidemiologic Inference in Public Health II 

1

2

5

4

Option 2 or

340.721

340.770

Epidemiologic Inference in Public Health I 

Public Health Surveillance 

1

3

5

3

Option 3

340.751

340.752

Epidemiologic Methods 1 

Epidemiologic Methods 2 

1

2

5

5

Biostatistics 

140.621

Statistical Methods in Public Health I 

1

4

140.622

Statistical Methods in Public Health II 

2

4

140.623

Statistical Methods in Public Health III 

3

4

140.624

Statistical Methods in Public Health IV 

4

4

International Health 

220.601

Foundations of International Health

1, 4

4

223.680

Global Disease Control Programs and Policies 

4

4

Infectious Disease (Choose one)

223.663

Infectious Disease and Child Survival 

3

3

223.682

Clinical and Epidemiological Aspects of Tropical Diseases

4

4

Study Design and Implementation (Choose one)

223.664

Design and Conduct of Community Trials

3

4

221.645

Large-Scale Effectiveness Evaluations of Health Programs 

2

4

223.705

Good Clinical Practice: A Vaccine Trials Perspective 

4

4

Vaccines Requirement

223.662

Vaccine Development and Application 

2

4

Environmental Health Requirement

180.602

Environment and Health in LMICs 

3

2

Management Sciences Requirement

221.602

Applications in Managing Health Organizations in LMICs 

1

3

Social and Behavioral Sciences – Qualitative Methods Requirement

550.604

Qualitative Reasoning in Public Health 

1, 2

2

Social and Behavioral Sciences – Design Implementation Requirement

224.689

Health Behavior Change at Individual, Household, and Community Levels 

2

4

Leadership and Interprofessional Practice Requirement

552.625

Building Collaborations Across Sectors to Improve Population Health

1, 3

0.5

552.623

Principles of Negotiation and Mediation for Public Health Professionals

1, 2, 3

0.5

552.624

Applications of Negotiation and Mediation for Public Health Professionals

1, 2, 3

0.5

Capstone and Practicum Requirements (Year 2 only)

223.810

GDEC Practicum 

1 – 4

28+

223.850

MSPH Capstone GDEC (register in the term you plan to graduate)

2 – 4

4+

Elective Courses 2023-24

Course No.

Course Title

Term

Credits

International Health and Diseases

221.627

Issues in the Reduction of Maternal and Neonatal Mortality in LMICs 

2

4

Infectious Disease

340.612

Epidemiologic Basis of Tuberculosis Control 

1, 3

2

340.646

Epidemiology and Public Health Impact of HIV and AIDS 

1, 2

4

340.627

Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases

2

4

340.609

Concepts and Methods in Infectious Disease Epidemiology 

3

4

340.677

Infectious Disease Dynamics: Theoretical and Computational Approaches 

4

4

Chronic Disease

223.667

Chronic Diseases in LMICs: Prevalence and Epidemiology 

3

4

Nutrition

222.641

Principles of Human Nutrition in Public Health 

1

4

222.647

Nutrition Epidemiology 

3

3

222.630

Nutrition, Infection, and Immunity 

4

3

222.649

International Nutrition 

4

3

Population / Program Evaluation

380.611

Fundamentals of Program Evaluation 

1, 3

4

221.641

Measurement Methods in Humanitarian Emergencies 

2

2

380.600

Principles of Population Change 

2

4

380.603

Demographic Methods for Public Health 

3

4

223.866

Special Topics in Program Evaluation in International Health

3

1

223.632

Methods for Planning and Implementing Evaluations of Large-Scale Health Programs in LMICs 

4

4

Research Ethics

306.665

Research Ethics and Integrity: US and International Issues 

3

3

306.655

Ethical Issues in Public Health 

2

3

Vaccines

223.867

Special Topics in Vaccine Science

2, 3

1

223.687

Vaccine Policy Issues 

3

3

223.689

Biological Basis of Vaccine Development 

4

3

Data Management / Survey Design

340.696

Spatial Analysis I: ARCGIS 

1

3

340.697

Spatial Analysis II: Spatial Data Technologies 

2

2

140.630

Introduction to Data Management 

2, 3, 4

3

340.717

Health Survey Research Methods 

2

4

340.701

Epidemiologic Applications of GIS

3

2

380.711

Issues in Survey Research Design 

3

3

140.632

Introduction to the SAS Statistical Package 

4

3

Epidemiology Methods

340.653

Epidemiologic Inference in Outbreak Investigations 

1

3

340.753

Epidemiologic Methods 3 

3

5

340.682

Pharmacoepidemiology Methods 

2

3

Qualitative Methods

224.690

Qualitative Research Theory and Methods 

1, 3

3

224.691

Qualitative Data Analysis 

2, 4

3

Environmental Health

180.611

The Global Environment, Climate Change, and Public Health 

1

4

182.626

Issues for Water and Sanitation in tropical Environmental Health 

3

2

182.640

Food and Water-Borne Diseases 

3

3

Management Sciences

221.722

Quality Assurance Management Methods for Developing Countries 

1

4

312.603

Fundamentals of Budgeting and Financial Management 

1 – 4

3

317.600

Introduction to Risk Sciences in Public Policy 

1, 3

4

305.607

Public Health Practice 

2, 4

4

552.626

Systems Thinking: Concepts and Methods 

2, 4

0.5

221.610

Pharmaceutical and Supply Chain Management: Realities From the Field

3

3

Social and Behavioral Sciences

410.620

Program Planning for Health Behavior Change 

1, 4

3

410.650

Introduction to Persuasive Communication: Theories and Practice 

2

4

221.635

Global Advances in Community-Oriented Primary Health Care

3

3

410.651

Health Literacy: Challenges and Strategies for Effective Communication 

3

3

221.688

Social and Behavioral Foundations of Primary Health Care 

3

4

410.630

Implementation and Sustainability of Community-Based Health Programs 

3, 4

3

Injury

221.612

Confronting the Burden of Injuries: A Global Perspective

2

3

Digital Health

223.621

Design and Implementation of Global Digital Health Interventions I 

3

3

223.622

Design and Implementation of Global Digital Health Interventions II 

4

3

223.626

Special Topics in Global Digital Health 

4

1

Communication

410.653

Contemporary Issues in Health Communication 

1

1

552.606

The Critical Importance of Evidence in Advancing Public Health Knowledge 

1, 3

0.5

260.720

Communications Primer for the Public Health Sciences 

1 – 4

1

260.710

Communication Practice for Health Science Professionals 

2, 4

3

300.650

Crisis and Response in Public Health Policy and Practice

3

3

Climate Change

180.611

The Global Environment, Climate Change, and Public Health 

1

4

180.641

Climate Change and Public Health Problem Solving Seminar: Global Challenges and Solutions for Mitigation, Adaptation, and Sustainability 

1

3

188.688

Global Sustainability and Health Seminar 

2, 4

1

Student Timeline

The MSPH degree can be completed in 1.5 years; all requirements should be completed within 2 years.

In the first year of their degree, MSPH students will engage in intensive coursework, complete a comprehensive departmental examination, and write their practicum proposal. The second year will consist of various elective courses, a capstone essay about an applied topic of international health, and a field-based practicum focused on a significant issue related to the health of underserved populations.

Sample Year 1 Plan

This is an example schedule for the first year of the MSPH in Global Disease Epidemiology and Control with required courses and example elective courses. Please note this is just an example for students to use as a guide as they develop their own schedule.

To each term, add in selections from the following:

  • General: International Travel Preparation, Safety, and Wellness
  • Infectious Disease
  • Applied Epidemiology/Randomized Trials

1st Term

550.860

Academic and Research Ethics at BSPH

0 credits

223.840

Special Studies and research GDEC (with advisor)

1 credit

223.801

Global Disease Epidemiology and Control Program Seminar 1

1 credit

340.721 or

340.751

Epidemiologic Inference in Public Health I or

Epidemiologic Methods I

5 credits

140.621

Statistical Methods in Public Health I

4 credits

220.601

Foundations of International Health

4 credits

221.602

Applications in Managing Health Organizations in LMICs

3 credits

550.604

Qualitative Reasoning in Public Health (can be taken in other terms)

2 credits

Total: 20 credits + elective options (if desired)

3rd Term 

223.803

Global Disease Epidemiology and Control Program Seminar 3

1 credit

180.602

Environment and Health in LMICs

2 credits

140.623

Statistical Methods in Public Health III

4 credits

552.625

Building Collaborations Across Sectors to Improve Population Health (can also be taken 1st term)

0.5 credits

552.623

Principles of Negotiation and Mediation for Public Health Professionals (can also be taken 2nd term)

0.5 credits

552.624

Applications of Negotiation and Mediation for Public Health Professionals (can also be taken 2nd term)

0.5 credits

Total: 11.5 credits + elective options

2nd Term

223.802

Global Disease Epidemiology and Control Program Seminar 2

1 credit

340.722 or

340.770 or

340.752

Epidemiologic Inference in Public Health II or

Public Health Surveillance or

Epidemiologic Methods II

4 credits

3 credits

5 credits

140.622

Statistical Methods in Public Health II

4 credits

223.662

Vaccine Development and Application

4 credits

224.689

Health Behavior Change at Individual, Household, and Community Levels

4 credits

Total: 16-17 credits + elective options  

 

 

 

 

4th Term 

223.680

Global Disease Control Programs and Policy

4 credits

140.624

Statistical Methods in Public Health IV

4 credits

Total: 8 credits + elective options