Master of Public Health (MPH) with concentration in Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS)

 

About the Program

The MPH in Social and Behavioral Sciences prepares students to address health outcomes, design and evaluate public health programs, and develop effective communication strategies to promote health across populations and communities. Students learn to implement evidence-based interventions, influence policy, and improve health outcomes through targeted strategies and communication. The program may be completed full-time (in four semesters) or part-time (completion varies) either on-campus or online. Upon graduation, students are eligible to take the CPH exam. 

The program is suitable for students with a background in psychology, sociology, or related fields who can to apply their skills in understanding and improving the social and behavioral factors that influence public health, public health professionals looking to design and implement programs that promote healthy behaviors and improve the well-being of communities, healthcare workers who want to understand the social determinants of health, and community 

Program Flyer - PDFRequest InformationInformation Sessions

 

Connect with Our Admissions Team

Briana McNeil, MEd
Coordinator, Recruitment and Admissions
sphadmissions@memphis.edu
(901) 678-3740

 

Curriculum

The program requires a total of forty-two (42) credit hours as follows:(a) 

• 18 credit hours of core courses
• 12 credit hours of concentration courses
• 6 credit hours of elective courses
• 3 credit hours of applied practical experiences
• 3 credit hours of culminating experience 

Core Courses (18 credit hours) 

• HADM 7105 Health Policy and Organization of Health Services
• PUBH 7120 Environmental Health I
• PUBH 7150 Biostatistical Methods I
• PUBH 7160 Social and Behavioral Sciences Principles
• PUBH 7170 Epidemiology in Public Health I
• PUBH 7180 Foundations of Public Health  

Social and Behavioral Sciences Courses (12 credit hours) 

• PUBH 7130 Social Determinants of Health
• PUBH 7132 Health Program Evaluation
• PUBH 7340 Behavioral Intervention Development
• One of the following:
  • PUBH 7014: Public Health Communication
  • PUBH 7050: Mass Communication
  • PUBH 7345: Health Literacy  

Electives (6 credit hours) 

• Two (2) 3 credit hours graduate level courses in consultation with faculty advisor  

Applied Practical Experience (3 credit hours) 

• PUBH 7985 Practicum/Field Experience 

Culminating Experience(b) (3 credit hours) 

• PUBH 7992 Master’s Project Seminar OR
• PUBH 7996 Master’s Thesis 
   
  (a) Graduate students must maintain a minimum of a 3.0 GPA ("B"). Grades of "D" and "F" will not apply toward any graduate degree but will be computed in the GPA. No more than 7 hours of "C-," "C" or "C+" will be applied towards meeting degree requirements.  
  (b) PUBH 7985 is the pre-requisite for PUBH 7992 or PUBH 7996 

 

Competencies

Foundational

• Apply epidemiological methods to the breadth of settings and situations in public health practice.
• Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context.
• Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software, as appropriate.
• Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice.
• Compare the organization, structure and function of health care, public health and regulatory systems across national and international settings.
• Discuss means by which structural bias, social inequities and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community and societal levels.
• Assess population needs, assets and capacities that affect communities’ health.
• Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design or implementation of public health policies or programs.
• Design a population-based policy, program, project, or intervention.
• Explain basic principles and tools of budget and resource management.
• Select methods to evaluate public health programs.
• Discuss multiple dimensions of the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence.
• Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes.
• Advocate for political, social or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations.
• Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity.
• Apply principles of leadership, governance, and management, which include creating a vision, empowering others, fostering collaboration, and guiding decision making.
• Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges.
• Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors.
• Communicate audience-appropriate public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation.
• Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content.
• Perform effectively on interprofessional teams.
• Apply systems thinking tools to a public health issue.

Social and Behavioral Sciences

• Assess the role of social and community factors in both the onset and solution of public health problems.
• Apply evidence-based approaches in the development, implementation, and evaluation of social and behavioral science interventions in organizational and community settings.
• Utilize behavior change theory in addressing public health problems and designing social and behavioral science interventions.
• Plan and write a health program evaluation appropriate for implementation in a community setting.
• Apply communication strategies to enhance adoption of behavioral skills for a student-designed public health intervention.