What We Do
The Johns Hopkins Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health is housed in the Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health. The Department’s research and educational programs are grounded in a life course framework and demography as a science and a tool to understand and promote the health of MCH populations. The programs offer opportunities to enhance skills in program evaluation, evidence-based advocacy, leadership, demographic methods, and translation of research evidence for programs and policy. They also emphasize the science and research base of MCH; a systems approach to addressing MCH concerns; the social and environmental context of MCH; critical thinking and analytical skills; diversity and its impact on health; equity, and the importance of family for MCH populations.
The Department offers multidisciplinary training programs for master’s and doctoral students in MCH; promote MCH knowledge and advocacy to the Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH) community; undertake research and practice involving students in collaboration with faculty; engage in interprofessional education and training; and provide technical assistance to the broader MCH community.
PFRH's graduate training programs include a Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH), a Master of Health Science in MCH (MHS online), and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). We also offer a Certificate in Maternal and Child Health for Hopkins as well as non-degree students. The Department also offers support for current doctoral students pursuing MCH Epidemiology research and a 2-year MCH Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Graduates pursue MCH leadership opportunities in evaluation, education, research and professional practice. During their degree programs, students complete core courses and designate an MCH-related area of interest. MSPH students undertake field placements in MCH agencies and engage in public health practice or pilot research projects. They also work in partnership with preceptors and faculty to produce culminating essays on critical domestic or global MCH topics. Doctoral students complete dissertations on essential MCH-related topics and emerging issues in addition to pursuing other research, practice, and educational opportunities during their course of study.
Graduate students engage in a rich array of MCH course offerings, seminars, and experiential learning both on and off campus. Core MCH courses apply life course and other frameworks to improve the health of populations, assess the causes and consequence of population change, consider principal health concerns, and evaluate strategies to promote population health, including policies and programs. Students apply these approaches in one of four areas of interest: maternal, fetal and perinatal health; child health; adolescent health, and women’s sexual and reproductive health. Coursework and varied experiences outside of class provide key opportunities for leadership development.
Graduates pursue MCH leadership opportunities in evaluation, education, research and professional practice. During their degree programs, students complete core courses and designate an MCH-related area of interest. MSPH students undertake field placements in MCH agencies and engage in public health practice or pilot research projects. They also work in partnership with preceptors and faculty to produce culminating essays on critical domestic or global MCH topics. Doctoral students complete dissertations on essential MCH-related topics and emerging issues in addition to pursuing other research, practice, and educational opportunities during their course of study.
Graduate students engage in a rich array of MCH course offerings, seminars, and experiential learning both on and off campus. Core MCH courses apply life course and other frameworks to improve the health of populations, assess the causes and consequence of population change, consider principal health concerns, and evaluate strategies to promote population health, including policies and programs. Students apply these approaches in one of four areas of interest: maternal, fetal and perinatal health; child health; adolescent health, and women’s sexual and reproductive health. Coursework and varied experiences outside of class provide key opportunities for leadership development.
MCH Postdoctoral Fellowship
This two-year postdoctoral training program provides mentorship and support for fellows to develop their MCH research agendas and link efforts to MCH public health practice. Its goal is support post-graduate training to prepare fellows for careers in MCH research and leadership positions in academic institutions by enhancing their skills in research, teaching, curriculum development and multidisciplinary collaboration. The program offers strong mentorship for fellows by faculty with research expertise and on-going research in areas of interest related to maternal and perinatal health, child health, adolescent health and women’s and reproductive health.
The MCH Center of Excellence encourages applications from candidates with doctoral training who seek further training to refine their MCH and public health skills in anticipation of an academic MCH career. Candidates with doctoral training in varied disciplines are eligible to apply; preference will be given to candidates with research-oriented doctorates (e.g., PhD, DrPH, ScD) as well as those with clinical degrees (e.g., MD, DO, DDS) and with an MPH/MHS focused on research and substantive knowledge of MCH. Preference also will be given to applicants who wish to focus on domestic MCH work. Graduates who have demonstrated scientific rigor in their graduate research training and come from historically disadvantaged groups by virtue of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status or other related factors are particularly encouraged to apply. Applicants must be US citizens or hold a permanent resident visa.
MCH Epidemiology Doctoral Training
The MCH Epidemiology Doctoral Training Program prepares doctoral students for leadership careers in the area of applied epidemiology with a focus on MCH. The goal of program is to educate doctoral students in both epidemiology and MCH to enhance the capacity of the MCH field to address the needs of women and children through research, evaluation and practice. A secondary goal is to promote the use of data and research to advocate for the MCH population and to strengthen the analytic capacity of the MCH workforce in the US for assessment, planning, data use, analysis and evaluation related to the MCH population. It emphasizes MCH Epidemiology and MCH-related research in Baltimore City, Maryland, HRSA’s Region III (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia) and nationally drawing on a history of strong relationships of BSPH and PFRH with MCH professionals in local and state MCH health agencies and nationally.
Students in the program are prepared in MCH content, critical thinking, and analytic and epidemiologic skills. As part of the program, students work with a state, city or county health department on a research project, preferably using data from this project for their dissertation research. A publishable manuscript is expected from this work. Graduates of the program are prepared to assume leadership positions in which they use epidemiological research methods, critical thinking and data analyses to develop and promote evidence-based and evidence-informed practices in the MCH community.