Master of Public Health

Yale’s Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree program is designed for highly motivated students with related work experience or a professional degree as well as a substantial interest in an area of public health. A unique sequencing of courses, community-based programmatic activities, and field or laboratory research provides students with multiple opportunities to define their specialty and tailor their course of study.

Individualized programs are shaped by frequent interactions with faculty through courses, field experiences, and the thesis. An important component of the M.P.H. program is the faculty-student relationship, institutionalized in the form of an advisory system. Students are expected to work with their adviser in selecting appropriate courses, deciding on their internship and thesis, and integrating learning from all their experiences.

M.P.H. students focus their studies in one of the following departments: Biostatistics, Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Health Policy and Management, or Social and Behavioral Sciences. In addition, students may focus their studies in programs in the Health Policy Program (HP) or the Health Care Management Program (HCM). Students select their department/program at the time of application.

The Advanced Professional M.P.H. Program is available for individuals with doctoral-level degrees in a field related to public health and for medical students. Students in the AP Program apply to one of six tracks: Applied Biostatistics and Epidemiology; Health Policy; Social and Behavioral Sciences; Global Health; Preventive Medicine; and Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

The B.A.-B.S./M.P.H. Select Program gives Yale College students interested in the field of public health the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree from Yale College and an M.P.H. degree from the Yale School of Public Health in a five-year joint-degree program.

The Accelerated M.B.A/M.P.H. Program in Health Care Management enables students to earn an M.B.A. degree from the Yale School of Management and an M.P.H. degree from the Yale School of Public Health in a twenty-two-month integrated program.

The Global Health Concentration emphasizes a multidisciplinary, problem-solving approach to global health issues that encourages creativity and innovation while fostering a global perspective. Students in the Global Health Concentration may complete this concentration while they satisfy the requirements of their respective department/division/program. Successful completion of the concentration will be recorded on the transcript when the student graduates.

The Public Health Modeling Concentration provides rigorous training in systems thinking. Students will be trained to focus on the explicit portrayal of real-world processes—their “physics,” their interactions, and their dynamics—to generate evidence about how those processes might behave under different specifications. Students will learn to integrate the mechanistic modeling approaches needed to describe underlying systems with the inferential methods necessary to motivate and inform model structure and parameterization. Successful completion of the concentration will be recorded on the transcript when the student graduates.

The Regulatory Affairs Track prepares students for future roles in the area of quality control and regulatory affairs. This track operates within the existing YSPH academic structure and will be recorded on the student’s transcript when he or she graduates if all track requirements have been met. Students complete all of the core and departmental requirements as well as the required courses for the track. Successful completion of the track will be recorded on the transcript when the student graduates.

All M.P.H. students are urged to develop programs of study that include courses from other departments within YSPH and throughout the University in order to benefit from the strengths of Yale’s professional and graduate schools and learn ways to understand the complexity and multidimensionality of most public health issues.

Students in the traditional two-year M.P.H. program are required to complete 20 course units, which include the core curriculum, departmental/program requirements, and electives both within YSPH and in other schools at the University (with the permission of the academic adviser). Course units are not given for seminars and colloquia.

Full-time students must carry a minimum of 4 course units per term for four terms and must complete all course requirements (including the thesis) within five years of matriculation. A thesis is not required for students in Biostatistics, Health Policy, or Health Care Management.

Part-time student status is granted to those students taking fewer than 4 course units per term. Part-time students are encouraged to take at least 2 course units per term and must complete all course requirements (including the thesis) within five years of matriculation.

Core Curriculum for the Traditional Two-Year M.P.H. Degree Program

Course number Course title Course units
BIS 505b Biostatistics in Public Health II (not required for BIS, HP, or HCM; students in EMD or SBS can take BIS 505b or CDE 534b) 1
EPH 100a Professional Skills Series n/a
EPH 505a Biostatistics in Public Health (not required for BIS) 1
EPH 507a Social Justice and Health Equity 1
EPH 508a Foundations of Epidemiology and Public Health 1
EPH 510a Health Policy and Health Care Systems 1
EPH 513b Social, Environmental, and Biological Determinants of Major Health Threats 1
EPH 515a Ethics and Public Health: An Introduction n/a
EPH 520c Summer Internship n/a
EPH 525b Thesis (not required for BIS, HP, or HCM) 2

Students in HCM only:

Course number Course title Course units
*MGT/HPM 698b Health Care Policy, Finance, and Economics 1

*This course is offered in the School of Management.

Public Health Practice requirement All students in the M.P.H. program are required to complete a Public Health Practice experience. YSPH Public Health Practice requirement guidelines are outlined in Appendix I. There are several options for satisfying this requirement:

Course number Course title Course units
EPH 500b Public Health Practicum 1
†EPH 520c Summer Internship n/a
EPH 542b Practice-Based Community Health Research 1
EPH 555b Practicum in Climate Change, Sustainability, and Public Health 1
HPM 555b Health Policy or Health Care Management Practicum 1
SBS/EMD 596b Global Health and Justice Practicum 2

†With the exception of those in the Advanced Professional M.P.H. program and the Accelerated M.B.A./M.P.H. program, all M.P.H. students must complete a summer internship, typically 10–12 weeks and no less than 8 weeks in duration. The summer internship may be used to complete the practice requirement for the M.P.H. degree with prior approval from the Office of Public Health Practice.

Competencies of the Core Curriculum

Upon completing the core curriculum of the M.P.H. program, the student will be able to:

  • 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 the 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.

M.P.H. Departments, Divisions, Programs, Tracks, and Concentrations

Biostatistics Department

Hongyu Zhao, Ph.D.,
 Chair

Biostatistics is a scientific discipline that focuses on developing new statistical methodology and theory to address important questions in the biological and health sciences, including study designs, data collection and analysis, as well as result interpretation. In addition to independent methodological and theoretical developments, the faculty in the Department of Biostatistics are involved in a wide variety of collaborative research efforts throughout the University, including at the School of Public Health and the School of Medicine. We bring these innovations into practice through active participation in many disciplines at Yale and beyond. Our students are well prepared for positions in public/governmental and nonprofit agencies, medical centers, and various industries, as well as for doctoral studies in biostatistics and related fields.

Departmental Requirements for the M.P.H. in Biostatistics

Course number Course title Course units
BIS 525a and b Seminar in Biostatistics and Journal Club n/a
BIS 540a Fundamentals of Clinical Trials 1
BIS 623a Applied Regression Analysis 1
BIS 625b Categorical Data Analysis 1
BIS 628b Longitudinal and Multilevel Data Analysis 1
BIS 630b Applied Survival Analysis 1
BIS 678a Statistical Practice I 1
BIS 679a Advanced Statistical Programming in SAS and R 1
BIS 681b Statistical Practice II 1
*S&DS 541a Probability Theory 1
*S&DS 542b Theory of Statistics 1

*These courses are offered in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

The thesis (EPH 525b) is not required in Biostatistics.

Competencies for the M.P.H. in Biostatistics

Upon receiving an M.P.H. with a concentration in Biostatistics, the student will be able to:

  • Describe concepts of probability, random variables, commonly used statistical probability distributions, parameter estimation, statistical inference, and hypothesis testing.
  • Develop sample size and statistical power calculations for basic study designs including those utilized in clinical trials.
  • Formulate a statistical hypothesis, perform analyses of stated hypotheses, interpret the results of the analyses, and use these results to make relevant inferences using a variety of analytic tools including linear regression, analysis of variance, logistic regression, log-linear models, multivariate analyses, longitudinal and multilevel data analysis, and methods for analyzing rates and failure time data.
  • Design efficient computer programs for study management, statistical analysis, and presentation of data using statistical programming languages (e.g., SAS). Produce edited data sets suitable for statistical analyses.
  • Produce and present, through oral and written presentations, working tables and statistical summaries describing research in health science for both public health professionals and educated lay audiences based on statistical analyses.

Regulatory Affairs Track

Robert W. Makuch, Ph.D., Director

Every drug, medical device, diagnostic test, and food sold in the United States and other countries throughout the world must meet rigorous standards that are intended to insure that all products satisfy a set of safety and performance objectives. Scientists must possess the knowledge and expertise to create and implement high-quality systems as well as understand the environment encompassing regulatory compliance. Other essential skills include project management and leadership, scientific tools that allow for proper risk assessment and risk management strategies, and the ability to clearly communicate the regulatory decisions made.

The Regulatory Affairs Track is an interdisciplinary program that may be combined with any departmental concentration. Four courses are required. The track covers a wide array of regulatory affairs topics, including complex issues involving food and drug law, ethics, clinical trials, epidemiology, risk analysis, and adverse event reporting requirements and systems.

The Regulatory Affairs Track is directed by Professor Robert Makuch, who has extensive experience working with pharmaceutical companies and government agencies on regulatory affairs issues. The track includes a focus on global regulatory similarities and differences among countries, including China, where Professor Makuch has led more than twenty training programs for senior delegations of the Chinese FDA since 2008.

Requirements for the M.P.H. in the Regulatory Affairs Track

Course number Course title Course units
BIS 540a Fundamentals of Clinical Trials 1
BIS 575b Introduction to Regulatory Affairs 1

Two of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
BIS 561b Advanced Topics and Case Studies in Multicenter Clinical Trials 1
CDE 650a Introduction to Evidence-Based Medicine and Health Care 1
EHS 511b Principles of Risk Assessment 1
HPM 570a Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and Decision-Making 1
HPM 588a Public Health Law 1
HPM 595a Food and Drug Administration Law 1

Competencies for the Regulatory Affairs Track

Upon completion of the track, the student will be able to:

  • Utilize the best scientific and ethical standards to insure that food, pharmaceutical, and medical and diagnostic devices meet quality and regulatory standards.
  • Develop/use leadership and management skills for conducting/overseeing research and clinical studies that are required by regulatory agencies.
  • Develop processes that insure clear and consistent decisions to the public and to regulatory agencies.
  • Assess/develop risk management strategies that can be used to get new products to the market swiftly, while assuring the consumer and regulatory bodies that efficacy and safety have been preserved.

Chronic Disease Epidemiology Department

Judith H. Lichtman, M.P.H., Ph.D., Chair

Epidemiology is the study of the frequency, distribution, and causes of diseases in human populations. Chronic Disease Epidemiology (CDE) aims to enhance understanding about the determinants of chronic diseases in populations and how to intervene most effectively to reduce morbidity and mortality due to chronic diseases. CDE strives to advance public health by promoting a research-based approach to the prevention and management of chronic disease. By focusing on the health of populations, as opposed to individuals, CDE utilizes places (neighborhoods, cities, states, countries), institutions (schools, housing developments, correctional facilities, workplaces), and health care facilities (newborn nurseries, nursing homes, public health clinics, hospitals) as its laboratories.

CDE students learn how to identify the types of data needed, choose appropriate data collection methods, collect the data, and analyze the data appropriately so that the whole research effort leads to the improvement of the health of populations. The CDE curriculum emphasizes critical thinking, based on thorough knowledge of research methods, and its application to the scientific literature, to the development of research protocols, and to the design, implementation, and analysis of epidemiologic investigations. A principal research instrument of the chronic disease epidemiologist is often the questionnaire. The development of valid, reliable, and unambiguous questionnaires is a skill taught to all CDE students. Increasingly, epidemiologists also make use of genetic and biologic markers to indicate exposure to potentially damaging agents or as signs of increased susceptibility to or early onset of disease. Students learn the role of these methodologies throughout the program through course work, seminars, and practicum experiences.

Students learn about the role of epidemiology in a broad range of public health and medical areas, including the fields of aging, cancer, cardiovascular disease, global health, molecular and genetic epidemiology, perinatal and reproductive epidemiology, and psychosocial epidemiology, all areas in which the CDE department has particular strength. Among the resources available to students are the Yale Cancer Center; the Connecticut Tumor Registry (the oldest of its kind in the world); the Center for Perinatal, Pediatric, and Environmental Epidemiology; the Yale Program on Aging; and the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS. M.P.H. graduates of the CDE department find employment in a variety of research, public health practice, and advocacy settings, including academic institutions; public health agencies at the international, national, state, and local levels; the pharmaceutical industry; charitable foundations; and a variety of other nonprofit organizations. For example, graduates may obtain positions in such federal agencies as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nonprofit agencies, such as cancer or heart associations, also recruit graduates to participate in or direct community health programs. Private industries, including pharmaceutical companies, find the quantitative skills of CDE graduates useful in monitoring drug safety and in conducting clinical research. Many CDE graduates subsequently pursue doctoral degrees in public health or other professional or academic fields.

Departmental Requirements for the M.P.H. in Chronic Disease Epidemiology

Course number Course title Course units
*CDE 516b Principles of Epidemiology II 1
*CDE 525a and b Seminar in Chronic Disease Epidemiology n/a
*CDE 534b Applied Analytic Methods in Epidemiology 1
EPH 525b Thesis 2

*Must be completed in the first year.

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
BIS 540a Fundamentals of Clinical Trials 1
BIS 623a Applied Regression Analysis 1
BIS 625b Categorical Data Analysis 1
BIS 628b Longitudinal and Multilevel Data Analysis 1
BIS 630b Applied Survival Analysis 1

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
CDE/EHS 502a Physiology for Public Health 1
CDE 532b Epidemiology of Cancer 1
CDE 535b Epidemiology of Heart Disease and Stroke 1
CDE 562b Nutrition and Chronic Disease 1

Chronic Disease Epidemiology students are advised to take two additional CDE elective courses.

Competencies for the M.P.H. in Chronic Disease Epidemiology

Upon receiving an M.P.H. with a concentration in Chronic Disease Epidemiology, the student will be able to:

  • Evaluate the scientific merit and feasibility of epidemiologic study designs.
  • Describe the epidemiology of common chronic diseases with more in-depth knowledge of a specialty area.
  • Apply basic principles of health promotion and disease prevention to prevent and control chronic diseases.
  • Synthesize information from a variety of epidemiologic and related studies.
  • Design and carry out epidemiologic studies at an intermediate level.
  • Analyze data and draw appropriate inferences from epidemiologic studies at an intermediate level.
  • Demonstrate oral and written communication and presentation skills to effectively communicate and disseminate results to various professional and community audiences.
  • Describe basic pathophysiology of selected chronic diseases.
  • Identify, interpret, and use routinely collected data on disease occurrence.
  • Review, critique and evaluate epidemiologic reports and research articles at an intermediate level.

Environmental Health Sciences Department

Vasilis Vasiliou, Ph.D., Chair

People are exposed to a wide range of biological, chemical, and physical environmental stressors at home, work, and school as they go about their daily activities, such as working, commuting, eating, drinking, and exercising. An estimated 30 percent of the global burden of disease is attributable to environmental exposures that could be prevented. The Department of Environmental Health Sciences (EHS) equips students with interdisciplinary training to recognize and assess the impact of environmental hazards on human health and to identify solutions to reduce exposures to those hazards and prevent diseases in the population.

Students in EHS can select an emphasis in Environmental Exposure Science and Epidemiology, Environmental Toxicology, or Risk Assessment. Within these emphasized areas, there is flexibility for students to design, with their adviser, a program to meet individual needs. Students can take advantage of the wide variety of courses relevant to environmental health offered by the department and throughout the University, particularly those in the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

M.P.H. graduates of the EHS department find employment in city, state, and federal government agencies; environmental consulting firms; nongovernmental organizations; pharmaceutical companies; and private sector companies in the area of environmental or occupational health and safety. They also take research positions in academic organizations and government agencies. In addition, many students go on to pursue their Ph.D. and independent research careers.

Departmental Requirements for the M.P.H. in Environmental Health Sciences

Course number Course title Course units
EHS 503b Public Health Toxicology 1
EHS 507a Environmental Epidemiology 1
EHS 508b Environmental and Occupational Exposure Science 1
EHS 511b Principles of Risk Assessment 1
EHS 525a and b Seminar and Journal Club in Environmental Health (4 terms) n/a
EPH 525b Thesis 2

Note: Students may apply for exemptions from these requirements based on previous course work, at the discretion of the course instructor.

Competencies for the M.P.H. in Environmental Health Sciences

Upon receiving an M.P.H. with a concentration in Environmental Health Sciences, the student will be able to:

  • Discuss the basic principles of how contaminants are introduced into the air, water, soil, and food and then transported through the environment.
  • Describe the mechanisms of toxicity of biological, chemical, and physical stressors, including absorption, distribution, metabolic transformation, elimination, and genetic susceptibility.
  • Understand emerging concepts in public health toxicology such as the exposome, bioanalytical methods for measuring exposure, and governmental regulation of toxicology assessment.
  • Design and apply epidemiological, toxicological, statistical, and exposure assessment techniques to evaluate risks associated with environmental hazards in the occupational, residential, and community environments.
  • Apply the basic principles of risk management to develop a solution to mitigate risks associated with exposure to environmental hazards.
  • Review, critique, and evaluate the scientific merit of environmental epidemiologic, toxicological, and exposure studies.
  • Evaluate the scientific merit and feasibility of environmental epidemiology study designs.
  • Synthesize information from published work on a complex environmental health issue.
  • Coordinate an environmental epidemiology study, with minimal supervision.
  • Write and present research findings to professional audiences.

Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases Department

Albert I. Ko, M.D., Chair

Microbial disease epidemiology is the science of the cause, distribution, frequency of, and resistance to infections caused by viruses, parasites, and bacteria, and of the distribution, transmission, and control of these agents.

The M.P.H. curriculum for the Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases (EMD) is designed to train the student to understand the epidemiology of the major infectious agents, the diseases they cause, and the host response to those diseases. The interaction of the agent (parasite, bacterium, or virus) with the host and the influence of the environment on both agent and host are studied. The curriculum considers the role of age, immunological response, genetics, natural history of vectors, geographical distribution, and transmission and transport of agents. In addition to epidemiology courses, the department’s faculty teach microbiology courses relating to bacteria, viruses, and parasites—including classification, replication, biochemistry, genetics, immunology, and pathogenesis—essential to the understanding of the epidemiology of microbial disease. Through these experiences the student gains a clear understanding of the quantitative and qualitative biological spectrum of microbial diseases.

Using a problem-solving approach the student learns about surveillance through collection and analysis of data followed by synthesis of information as a basis for public health decisions. The same approach is used to investigate epidemics and to study basic biologic problems.

Emphasis is placed on the application of epidemiological concepts to intervention in transmission cycles and disease progression. Intervention may be accomplished through such measures as vaccination, antimicrobial therapy, vector control, or behavior modification. The student is encouraged to obtain a solid laboratory foundation for diagnosis, for population-based serologic surveys, and for understanding the molecular basis of the disease process and intervention strategies. Third World infectious disease problems and their solutions are considered extensively.

Nearly half of EMD graduates in the M.P.H. program enter public health practice at the local, state, or national level, and a portion of the remainder enter hospital, medical center, or industrial programs. Many students continue graduate and professional education beyond the M.P.H. degree.

Departmental Requirements for the M.P.H. in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases

Course number Course title Course units
EMD 512a Immunology for Epidemiologists 1
EMD 518a and b Principles of Infectious Diseases I and II 2
EMD 525a and b Seminar in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases n/a
EPH 525b Thesis 2

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
BIS 505b Biostatistics in Public Health II 1
CDE 534b Applied Analytic Methods in Epidemiology 1

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
CDE 516b Principles of Epidemiology II 1
EMD 553b Transmission Dynamic Models for Understanding Infectious Diseases 1

Students are required to choose at least two additional EMD courses from the list of approved EMD electives (http://publichealth.yale.edu/emd/curriculum/mph/curriculum.aspx) in collaboration with their adviser.

Competencies for the M.P.H. in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases

Upon receiving an M.P.H. with a concentration in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, the student will be able to:

  • Describe the epidemiology and burden of the major infectious diseases worldwide as well as specific exposures and behaviors that relate to transmission.
  • Describe the processes, including social, environmental, and ecological factors, that drive transmission and maintenance of infectious agents.
  • Describe the pathogen and host genetic and immunologic factors that affect transmission and disease progression.
  • Interpret quantitative data to identify factors that influence infectious disease transmission and project disease risk in the future.
  • Describe and critically evaluate approaches for the prevention and control of infectious diseases and define the issues key to their effective use.
  • Design and evaluate studies on the etiology, detection, prevention, or control of infectious diseases.

Health Policy and Management Department

Mark J. Schlesinger, Ph.D., Interim Chair

The goal of the Department of Health Policy and Management (HPM) is to address the critical issues in improving public health, especially the health of high-risk and vulnerable populations. The department offers two M.P.H. programs: Health Policy and Health Care Management.

Health Policy Program

Mark J. Schlesinger, Ph.D., Interim Chair

The specific objectives of the Health Policy program are: (1) to provide its students with a basic foundation of knowledge in public health and health policy, and (2) to teach concepts, principles, and scientific skills necessary for health services policy development and evaluation and health management. The Health Policy program—within the Department of Health Policy and Management—aims to have students develop an understanding of the importance of data and research as policy and management tools. Students are taught to anticipate future needs relative to expanding technology, changing patterns of community health, and emerging societal and programmatic needs.

The program provides a unified approach to policy. It is built on the recognition that issues of health policy cannot be divorced from principles of sound management, nor can health care management or policy be developed without a fundamental understanding of morbidity, mortality, and epidemiologic methods. Further, the program recognizes that leaders cannot make successful decisions about the delivery of health care nor solve the health problems affecting society over the next decades without extensive analytic and decision-making skills. Students need to be able to translate sound scientific evidence into effective health policy. The program emphasizes training in quantitative methods, economics, financing, epidemiology, and evaluative methods for policy and management. Social and behavioral sciences are integral parts of many courses throughout the two-year curriculum.

Students design their own sequence of courses in health policy, and they may also specialize in particular substantive areas (e.g., addiction, health economics, vulnerable populations, global health, consumer decision-making, or public health modeling). Students are required to take an integrative seminar in health policy.

Graduates of the program in Health Policy are employed in both the public and private sectors, including federal and state agencies, for-profit and nonprofit health care organizations, hospitals, and private consulting firms, as well as in research.

Departmental Requirements for the M.P.H. in Health Policy
Course number Course title Course units
HPM 514b Health Politics, Governance, and Policy 1
HPM 560b Health Economics and U.S. Health Policy 1
HPM 583b Methods in Health Services Research 1
HPM 586a Microeconomics for Health Policy and Health Management 1
HPM 597b Capstone Course in Health Policy 1
HPM 697a Health Policy Leadership Seminar n/a

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
HPM 570a Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and Decision-Making 1
HPM 588a Public Health Law 1

The thesis (EPH 525b) and BIS 505b, Biostatistics in Public Health II, are not required in HPM.

Competencies for the M.P.H. in Health Policy

Upon receiving an M.P.H. with a concentration in Health Policy, the student will be able to:

  • Evaluate the efficiency of public policies using economic concepts.
  • Identify market failures in the market for public health activities and health care.
  • Conduct decision analysis to evaluate prevention, screening, and treatment alternatives in public health and clinical medicine.
  • Critically evaluate both the methods and application of cost-effectiveness analysis to inform public health decision-making.
  • Assess statistical findings and empirical literature to enhance policy design and implementation.
  • Synthesize the research literature, assessing strengths and weaknesses of published findings, to guide evidence-informed policy making.
  • Describe and assess the historical evolution of how different countries’ systems for financing and delivering health care have evolved and influenced the health of their populations.
  • Describe the role of the major U.S. political institutions in health policy and politics.
  • Identify and evaluate different strategies for financing, regulatory, and delivery system reform.
  • Influence health policy and management decision-making.
  • Understand strategies of media advocacy to effectively reshape public awareness and opinion on health-related issues.
  • Describe conceptual frameworks for political agenda setting.
  • Assess how well different governance arrangements and policy designs result in a health care system that is responsive to differences in health needs among subsets of the population.
  • Describe legal perspectives and institutions that affect health policy and public health, including assessment of legal and regulatory environments in the context of public health.
  • Understand the ethical distinctions and professional norms associated with different paradigms for policy analysis and their implications for health policy.
  • Demonstrate written communication skills to effectively communicate in professional health policy and community settings.
  • Demonstrate oral communication and presentation skills to effectively communicate in professional health policy and community settings.
  • Demonstrate leadership, team-based collaboration, and management skills.

Health Care Management Program

Howard Forman, M.D., Director

Claire Masters, M.P.H., Program Manager

Future health care managers will be involved in a wide range of settings, including hospitals, health systems, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, health maintenance organizations, managed care companies, insurance companies, and consulting. The Health Care Management program—within the Department of Health Policy and Management—was designed with the realization that both management training and public health training are needed to adequately prepare future leaders in health care management. The program is offered in conjunction with the Yale School of Management (SOM). The management courses at SOM, combined with HPM offerings and an integrative course in the second year, give students an excellent foundation for work in the field.

Departmental Requirements for the M.P.H. in Health Care Management
Course number Course title Course units
HPM 583b Methods in Health Services Research 1
HPM 586a Microeconomics for Health Policy and Health Management 1
HPM 699a and b Colloquium in Health Care Leadership 0.5
*MGT/HPM 502a Foundations of Accounting and Valuation 1
*MGT 525b Competitive Strategy 1
*MGT/HPM 698b Health Care Policy, Finance, and Economics 1
*MGT 856b Managing Marketing Programs 0.5
*MGT 879b Health Care Operations 0.5
*MGT 887a Negotiations 0.5
*MGT/HPM 995b Sustainable Innovations in Health Care 0.5

*These courses are offered in the School of Management.

The thesis (EPH 525b) and BIS 505b, Biostatistics in Public Health II, are not required in HPM.

Competencies for the M.P.H. in Health Care Management

Upon receiving an M.P.H. with a concentration in Health Care Management, the student will be able to:

  • Evaluate health care financing, regulatory, and delivery systems.
  • Conduct financial analyses, including reading and analyzing financial statements.
  • Utilize statistical analysis skills to conduct health systems and policy research.
  • Apply management problem-solving skills to improve functioning of organizations and agencies in health systems.
  • Apply operations management concepts to address organizational performance issues in health service organizations.

Social and Behavioral Sciences Department

Trace S. Kershaw, Ph.D., Chair

The Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) department aims to understand and improve health equity and social justice, both domestically and globally. SBS provides instruction in the theory and methods of the social and behavioral sciences that emphasize individual, interpersonal, community, and structural influences on health, illness, and recovery. The primary emphases are focused on (1) understanding the psychosocial, behavioral, community, and societal influences on health in the general population, with a focus on those who are disadvantaged; and (2) creating multilevel interventions that eliminate barriers to health, from infancy to old age. The SBS curriculum takes an interdisciplinary approach and focuses on integrating methods from epidemiology and the social sciences, training scientists with a broad skill set that allows them to answer a host of complex research questions. The department has numerous research strengths including in HIV/AIDS, aging health, community-engaged health research, maternal-child health, mental health, health equity and disparities, and stigma prevention and health. In addition, SBS students will conduct a thesis that draws on a topic and methods related to the social and behavioral sciences.

Departmental Requirements for the M.P.H. in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Course number Course title Course units
EPH 525b Thesis 2
SBS 525a and b Seminar in Social and Behavioral Sciences n/a
SBS 541b Community Health Program Evaluation 1
SBS 574a Developing a Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Intervention 1

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
BIS 505b Biostatistics in Public Health II 1
CDE 516b Principles of Epidemiology II 1
CDE 534b Applied Analytic Methods in Epidemiology 1

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
SBS 580b Qualitative Research Methods in Public Health 1
SBS 676b Questionnaire Development 1

Remaining elective courses may include any course in social and behavioral sciences from across the University at level 300 or above, with approval of course instructor and YSPH faculty adviser.

Competencies for the M.P.H. in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Upon receiving an M.P.H. with a concentration in Social and Behavioral Sciences, the student will be able to:

  • Identify the effects of social, psychological, and behavioral factors on individual and population health, including prevention, treatment, and management of disease; adjustment to illness; adherence to treatment regimens; and promotion of recovery.
  • Analyze health from multiple levels, including the individual, the social group, and society (e.g., understand a broad ecological model of health).
  • Identify ways to address health inequalities and promote health equity.
  • Apply social, psychological, and behavioral theory in the design, implementation, and evaluation of prevention interventions aimed toward: (a) decreasing health-damaging behaviors (e.g., risky sex); (b) increasing health-promoting behaviors (e.g., nutrition, exercise); and (c) increasing psychosocial well-being (e.g., coping with chronic illness).
  • Apply ethical principles involved in social and behavioral sciences as they relate to public health.

Public Health Modeling Concentration

A. David Paltiel, Ph.D., Director

Students in the traditional two-year M.P.H. program may complete this concentration while they satisfy the requirements of their respective departments or programs.

The Public Health Modeling Concentration (PHMC) provides rigorous training in systems thinking: the explicit portrayal of real-world processes—their “physics,” their interactions, and their dynamics—that leave populations vulnerable to risk and disease. The concentration will train students to generate evidence about how those processes might behave under different specifications, with or without intervention. Modeling serves as a practical means of assembling the existing evidence base about mechanisms and conducting formal assessments in situations where financial, logistical, temporal, and/or ethical obstacles may conspire against the implementation and study of those mechanisms in real life.

Requirements for the M.P.H. Public Health Modeling Concentration

Course number Course title Course units
EMD 553b Transmission Dynamic Models for Understanding Infectious Diseases 1
EPH 520c Summer Internship (a substantive modeling component is required) n/a
EPH 581a and b Seminar for Modeling in Public Health (two terms) n/a
HPM 570a Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and Decision-Making 1

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
BIS 557a Computational Statistics 1
EMD 538a Quantitative Methods for Infectious Disease Epidemiology 1
HPM 573b Advanced Topics in Modeling Health Care Decisions 1
Additional requirement Course units
One additional elective course chosen from a preapproved list or by approval of the concentration committee* 1

*A list of preapproved elective courses is available on the Public Health Modeling Concentration website: http://publichealth.yale.edu/modeling.

Competencies for the M.P.H. Public Health Modeling Concentration

Each student in the Public Health Modeling Concentration will master the core curriculum competencies and the competencies for the student’s department/program. In addition, upon receiving an M.P.H. degree in the Public Health Modeling Concentration, students will be able to:

  • Identify questions in public health policy and practice that may be amenable to model-based approaches.
  • Demonstrate that modeling is advantageous in describing the processes that drive transmission and control of infectious diseases.
  • Apply stochastic and deterministic modeling approaches, including computational methods for simulation and data analysis.
  • Review, critique, and interpret the findings of model-based public health research and peer-reviewed literature.
  • Apply public health modeling concepts, principles, and methodologies obtained through formal course work in a practice-based setting.

Global Health Concentration

Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, Ph.D., Director

Students in the traditional two-year M.P.H., Advanced Professional M.P.H., and B.A.-B.S./M.P.H. programs may complete this concentration while they satisfy the requirements of their respective departments or programs.

The multidisciplinary approach of the Global Health Concentration (GHC) encourages creativity and innovation, while fostering a global perspective on public health. The concentration emphasizes an integrative, problem-solving approach to global health issues and to diseases and conditions that afflict low- and middle-income countries. Students who complete this concentration will be well prepared for positions in a variety of sectors/organizations—public and private, national, bilateral and multilateral—dedicated to global health challenges.

All students in the GHC will complete six global health courses and a global health-focused internship. The internship must be conducted in a low- to middle-income country during the summer between the first and second years of the M.P.H. program. If students have already had 10–12 weeks of previous global health experience, they can do an internship based in the United States or another high-income country as long as it is pertinent to global health; otherwise, they must do an internship abroad. This alternative option must be approved by the GHC office prior to the start of the internship. All GHC students conducting an international internship must complete the International Pre-Departure Training held in the spring term of their first year. Students are strongly encouraged to write a global health-related thesis (as determined by their department/program).

Requirements for the M.P.H. Global Health Concentration

Course number Course title Course units
EMD/HPM 566b Critical Issues in Global Health (taken in first year) 1
EMD/HPM 580a Reforming Health Systems: Using Data to Improve Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries 1
EPH 520c Summer Internship (must be global health-related in a low- to middle-income country) n/a
EPH 591a Global Health Seminar (taken in first year) n/a
Additional requirement Course units
Three global health courses selected from at least two of the five perspectives on public health* 3

*The five perspectives on public health are (1) biomedicine, (2) epidemiology, (3) psychosocial/social and behavioral/anthropology, (4) development/political economy, and (5) ethics/history/humanities. A list of courses offered in each of the five areas is available on the GHC website. Please note that all courses listed may not be offered each term.

Students pursuing the GHC may also propose courses not listed here as potential GHC electives. In this case, students must complete the required approval form, which is available on the GHC website. Requests must be approved before the YSPH course registration deadline. Upon receiving the form, the YSPH GHC program will let the student know if the course meets GHC elective requirements.

Competencies for the M.P.H. Global Health Concentration and the Advanced Professional M.P.H. Program Global Health Track

Each student in the GHC will master the core curriculum competencies and the competencies for the student’s department/program. In addition, upon receiving an M.P.H. degree in the GHC, the student will be able to:

  • Describe the major causes of morbidity and mortality in the world, including an understanding of the global burden of disease.
  • Describe cross-national determinants of health based on courses selected from the five perspectives on public health: biomedicine; epidemiology; psychosocial/social and behavioral/anthropology; development/political economy; and ethics/history/humanities.
  • Analyze global health problems taking into account their social, political, economic, legal, and human rights dimensions.
  • Understand and critically assess the different components of the global health governance infrastructure.
  • Assess global health issues from an interdisciplinary perspective, including public health disciplines, medicine, international relations, environmental studies, political science, law, anthropology, and others.
  • Apply necessary leadership skills to serve as bridges between the global health research and practice settings.
  • Apply research methods in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of global health initiatives.
  • Explain and propose solutions for the unique challenges involved in conducting public health research in low-resource settings.
  • Describe and analyze different roles of global public health practitioners and apply this to individual career development.

Advanced Professional M.P.H. Program

Mayur M. Desai, M.P.H., Ph.D., Director

The eleven-month Advanced Professional M.P.H. Program provides rigorous public health training to:

  1. individuals with a doctoral-level (or international equivalent) degree in a field related to public health (e.g., physicians, dentists, veterinarians, attorneys, and those with a doctorate in the biological, behavioral, or social sciences);
  2. individuals with a master’s degree and at least two years of relevant work experience;
  3. individuals with a bachelor’s degree and at least five years of relevant work experience; and
  4. students who have completed their third year in an accredited medical, dental, or podiatric school in the United States.

The program is designed for mature individuals with clear goals in public health. Students can enter the program to gain skills in the public health sciences and to prepare for careers in a variety of settings, including academia; local, national, or international public health agencies; industry; and nonprofit foundations and research organizations. Physicians in preventive medicine, occupational and environmental medicine, and aerospace medicine residency programs can enter the program to complete their M.P.H. degree requirement.

Students concentrate in one of six tracks: Applied Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Health Policy, Global Health, Preventive Medicine, or Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The program begins with an intensive seven-week summer session (July–August), followed by two full-time terms of study. After completing the seven-week summer session, students may choose to complete the remainder of the program on a part-time basis; however, all requirements must be completed within three years of the date of matriculation.

Curriculum for the Advanced Professional M.P.H. Program

Applied Biostatistics and Epidemiology Track

Core Requirements
Course number Course title Course units
BIS 515c Accelerated Biostatistics 2
CDE 515c Accelerated Epidemiology 1
EPH 100a Professional Skills Series n/a
EPH 510a Health Policy and Health Care Systems 1
EPH 513b Social, Environmental, and Biological Determinants of Major Health Threats 1
EPH 515a Ethics and Public Health: An Introduction n/a
SBS 505c Social Foundations of Health 1

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
EPH 500b Public Health Practicum 1
EPH 542b Practice-Based Community Health Research 1
SBS/EMD 596b Global Health and Justice Practicum 2
Track Requirements
Course number Course title Course units
CDE 534b Applied Analytic Methods in Epidemiology 1

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
BIS 540a Fundamentals of Clinical Trials 1
CDE 650a Introduction to Evidence-Based Medicine and Health Care 1

Two of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
BIS 623a Applied Regression Analysis 1
BIS 625b Categorical Data Analysis 1
BIS 628b Longitudinal and Multilevel Data Analysis 1
BIS 630b Applied Survival Analysis 1
Additional requirements Course units
Two additional biostatistics and/or epidemiology courses 2
Two elective courses 2

One of the following capstone courses:

Course number Course title Course units
CDE 617b Developing a Research Proposal 1
EPH 608b Frontiers of Public Health 1
SBS 574b Developing a Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Intervention 1

Social and Behavioral Sciences Track

Core Requirements
Course number Course title Course units
BIS 515c Accelerated Biostatistics 2
CDE 515c Accelerated Epidemiology 1
EPH 100a Professional Skills Series n/a
EPH 510a Health Policy and Health Care Systems 1
EPH 513b Social, Environmental, and Biological Determinants of Major Health Threats 1
EPH 515a Ethics and Public Health: An Introduction n/a
SBS 505c Social Foundations of Health 1

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
EPH 500b Public Health Practicum 1
EPH 542b Practice-Based Community Health Research 1
SBS/EMD 596b Global Health and Justice Practicum 2
Track Requirements
Course number Course title Course units
CDE 534b Applied Analytic Methods in Epidemiology 1

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
SBS 580b Qualitative Research Methods in Public Health 1
SBS 676b Questionnaire Development 1

Two of the following (or permission of academic adviser to substitute):

Course number Course title Course units
CDE 545b Health Disparities by Race and Social Class 1
CDE 572a Obesity Prevention and Lifestyle Interventions 1
SBS 531a Health and Aging 1
SBS 573a Social and Cultural Factors in Mental Health and Illness 1
SBS 581a Stigma and Health 1
SBS 585a Sexuality, Gender, Health, and Human Rights 1
SBS 594a Maternal-Child Public Health Nutrition 1
Additional requirement Course units
Four elective courses 4

One of the following capstone courses:

Course number Course title Course units
CDE 617b Developing a Research Proposal 1
EPH 608b Frontiers of Public Health 1
SBS 574b Developing a Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Intervention 1

Health Policy Track

Core Requirements
Course number Course title Course units
BIS 515c Accelerated Biostatistics 2
CDE 515c Accelerated Epidemiology 1
EPH 100a Professional Skills Series n/a
EPH 510a Health Policy and Health Care Systems 1
EPH 513b Social, Environmental, and Biological Determinants of Major Health Threats 1
EPH 515a Ethics and Public Health: An Introduction n/a
SBS 505c Social Foundations of Health 1

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
EPH 500b Public Health Practicum 1
EPH 542b Practice-Based Community Health Research 1
HPM 555b Health Policy or Health Care Management Practicum 1
SBS/EMD 596b Global Health and Justice Practicum 2
Track Requirements
Course number Course title Course units
HPM 514b Health Politics, Governance, and Policy 1
HPM 570a Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and Decision-Making 1
HPM 583b Methods in Health Services Research 1
HPM 586a Microeconomics for Health Policy and Health Management 1
Additional requirements Course units
One additional Health Policy and Management course 1
Three elective courses 3

One of the following capstone courses:

Course number Course title Course units
HPM 597b Capstone Course in Health Policy 1
HPM/MGT 995b Sustainable Innovations in Health Care 0.5

Global Health Track

Core Requirements
Course number Course title Course units
BIS 515c Accelerated Biostatistics 2
CDE 515c Accelerated Epidemiology 1
EPH 100a Professional Skills Series n/a
EPH 510a Health Policy and Health Care Systems 1
EPH 513b Social, Environmental, and Biological Determinants of Major Health Threats 1
EPH 515a Ethics and Public Health: An Introduction n/a
SBS 505c Social Foundations of Health 1

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
EPH 500b Public Health Practicum 1
EPH 542b Practice-Based Community Health Research 1
SBS/EMD 596b Global Health and Justice Practicum 2
Track Requirements
Course number Course title Course units
EMD/HPM 566b Critical Issues in Global Health 1
EPH 591a Global Health Seminar n/a

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
CDE 534b Applied Analytic Methods in Epidemiology 1
HPM 583b Methods in Health Services Research 1
Additional requirements Course units
Three Global Health courses from at least two of the five perspectives on public health (list of courses published each fall) 3
Three elective courses 3

One of the following capstone courses:

Course number Course title Course units
CDE 617b Developing a Research Proposal 1
EPH 608b Frontiers of Public Health 1
HPM 597b Capstone Course in Health Policy 1
HPM/MGT 995b Sustainable Innovations in Health Care 0.5
SBS 574b Developing a Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Intervention 1

Preventive Medicine Track

Core Requirements
Course number Course title Course units
BIS 515c Accelerated Biostatistics 2
CDE 515c Accelerated Epidemiology 1
EPH 100a Professional Skills Series n/a
EPH 510a Health Policy and Health Care Systems 1
EPH 513b Social, Environmental, and Biological Determinants of Major Health Threats 1
EPH 515a Ethics and Public Health: An Introduction n/a
SBS 505c Social Foundations of Health 1

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
EPH 500b Public Health Practicum 1
EPH 542b Practice-Based Community Health Research 1
SBS/EMD 596b Global Health and Justice Practicum 2
Track Requirements
Course number Course title Course units
CDE 534b Applied Analytic Methods in Epidemiology 1
EHS 575a Introduction to Occupational and Environmental Medicine 1

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
CDE 562b Nutrition and Chronic Disease 1
CDE 572a Obesity Prevention and Lifestyle Interventions 1
SBS 541b Community Health Program Evaluation 1

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
BIS 538b Survey Sampling: Methods and Management 1
BIS 540a Fundamentals of Clinical Trials 1
CDE 650a Introduction to Evidence-Based Medicine and Health Care 1

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
EHS 503b Public Health Toxicology 1
EHS 511b Principles of Risk Assessment 1
Additional requirement Course units
Three elective courses 3

One of the following capstone courses:

Course number Course title Course units
CDE 617b Developing a Research Proposal 1
EPH 608b Frontiers of Public Health 1
SBS 574b Developing a Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Intervention 1

Occupational and Environmental Medicine Track (Yale OEM Fellows)

Core Requirements
Course number Course title Course units
EHS 503b Public Health Toxicology 1
EPH 100a Professional Skills Series n/a
EPH 505a Biostatistics in Public Health 1
EPH 507a Social Justice and Health Equity 1
EPH 508a Foundations of Epidemiology and Public Health 1
EPH 510a Health Policy and Health Care Systems 1
EPH 513b Social, Environmental, and Biological Determinants of Major Health Threats 1
EPH 515a Ethics and Public Health: An Introduction n/a
Track Requirements
Course number Course title Course units
CDE 534b Applied Analytic Methods in Epidemiology 1
EHS 508b Environmental and Occupational Exposure Science 1
EHS 511b Principles of Risk Assessment 1
EHS 573b Epidemiological Issues in Occupational and Environmental Medicine 1
EHS 575a Introduction to Occupational and Environmental Medicine 1
EPH 525b Thesis 2
Additional requirement Course units
Three elective courses 3

Note: Yale Occupational and Environmental Medicine Fellows may count their practicum year, accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, as the required practice experience for the M.P.H. program.

Occupational and Environmental Medicine Track (11-month students)

Core Requirements
Course number Course title Course units
BIS 515c Accelerated Biostatistics 2
CDE 515c Accelerated Epidemiology 1
EPH 100a Professional Skills Series n/a
EPH 510a Health Policy and Health Care Systems 1
EPH 513b Social, Environmental, and Biological Determinants of Major Health Threats 1
EPH 515a Ethics and Public Health: An Introduction n/a
SBS 505c Social Foundations of Health 1

One of the following:

Course number Course title Course units
EPH 500b Public Health Practicum 1
EPH 542b Practice-Based Community Health Research 1
SBS/EMD 596b Global Health and Justice Practicum 2
Track Requirements
Course number Course title Course units
CDE 534b Applied Analytic Methods in Epidemiology 1
EHS 508b Environmental and Occupational Exposure Science 1
EHS 511b Principles of Risk Assessment 1
EHS 573b Epidemiological Issues in Occupational and Environmental Medicine 1
EHS 575a Introduction to Occupational and Environmental Medicine 1
Additional requirement Course units
Two elective courses 2

One of the following capstone courses:

Course number Course title Course units
CDE 617b Developing a Research Proposal 1
EPH 608b Frontiers of Public Health 1
SBS 574b Developing a Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Intervention 1

Competencies for the Advanced Professional M.P.H. Program

Core Curriculum

Upon completing the core curriculum of the Advanced Professional M.P.H. program, the student will be able to:

  • Demonstrate a knowledge base in the disciplines of biostatistics, chronic and infectious disease epidemiology, health systems, public policy, social and behavioral sciences, and environmental health.
  • Apply basic research skills to specific public health problems in both group and individual settings, including the ability to define problems; construct, articulate, and test hypotheses; draw conclusions; and communicate findings to a variety of audiences.
  • Explain the interrelationships among a multitude of factors that can impact a public health problem, including scientific, medical, environmental, cultural, social, behavioral, economic, political, and ethical factors.
  • Review, critique, and evaluate public health reports and research articles.
  • Apply public health concepts, principles, and methodologies obtained through formal course work to actual problems experienced in the community or work environment.
  • Critically evaluate programs, interventions, and outcomes that relate to public health practice.
  • Apply ethical standards and professional values as they relate to the practice of public health.
  • Demonstrate sensitivity to the social context within which public health professionals practice.

Applied Biostatistics & Epidemiology Track

Upon receiving an M.P.H. degree in the Advanced Professional M.P.H. Program, with a concentration in Applied Biostatistics and Epidemiology, the student will be able to:

  • Describe intermediate to advanced concepts of random variation and commonly used statistical probability distributions.
  • Develop an efficient design for collecting, recording, and storing data collected in the conduct of public health and medical research.
  • Design efficient computer programs for study management, statistical analysis, as well as presentation using SAS and other programming languages.
  • Produce edited data sets suitable for statistical analyses.
  • Produce working tables and statistical summaries describing research in health science.
  • Evaluate the scientific merit and feasibility of epidemiologic study designs.
  • Describe the epidemiology of common chronic diseases.
  • Synthesize information from a variety of epidemiologic and related studies.
  • Design and carry out epidemiologic studies, with minimal supervision.
  • Analyze data and draw appropriate inferences from epidemiologic studies at an intermediate to advanced level, using a variety of analytical tools.
  • Write an NIH-type epidemiologic research proposal.
  • Identify, interpret, and use routinely collected data on disease occurrence.
  • Review, critique, and evaluate epidemiologic reports and research articles, as well as the broader health sciences literature, at an intermediate level, using principles of epidemiology and biostatistics.
  • Develop written presentations based on intermediate to advanced statistical and epidemiologic analyses for both public health professionals and educated lay audiences.

Social & Behavioral Sciences Track

Upon receiving an M.P.H. degree in the Advanced Professional M.P.H. Program, with a concentration in Social and Behavioral Sciences, the student will be able to:

  • Identify the effects of social, psychological, and behavioral factors on individual and population health, including prevention, treatment, and management of chronic disease, adjustment to illness, adherence to treatment regimens, and promotion of recovery.
  • Analyze health from multiple levels, including the individual, social group, community, and society.
  • Critically evaluate and interpret the public health scientific literature as presented in professional journals and the popular media, including descriptive, analytic, and intervention studies.
  • Construct research hypotheses and design a study to test these hypotheses.
  • Apply social, psychological, and behavioral theory in the design, implementation, and evaluation of prevention interventions aimed toward: (a) decreasing health-damaging behaviors (e.g., risky sex); (b) increasing health-promoting behaviors (e.g., exercise); and (c) increasing psychosocial well-being (e.g., coping with chronic illness).
  • Design an intervention aimed at changing a particular health behavior or preventing a disease.
  • Develop procedures and training materials to implement effective behavioral interventions.
  • Describe how culture, social inequities, and biology influence health across the lifespan.
  • Identify ways to address health inequalities and promote health equity.
  • Describe the appropriate statistical analyses to examine different types of research questions in the social and behavioral sciences.
  • Demonstrate oral and written communication and presentation skills to effectively communicate and disseminate results to various professional and community audiences.
  • Explain the dynamic interaction between policies and the social and behavioral sciences.
  • Apply the ethical principles involved in social and behavioral sciences as they relate to public health.
  • Write an NIH-type research proposal.

Health Policy Track

Upon receiving an M.P.H. degree in the Advanced Professional M.P.H. Program, with a concentration in Health Policy, the student will be able to:

  • Apply the principles of microeconomics (e.g., markets and market failure) in a health policy context.
  • Conduct economic analysis, including cost-effectiveness analysis, to inform public health decision-making.
  • Describe and assess the historical evolution of the U.S. health care system.
  • Describe the role of the major U.S. political institutions in health policy and politics.
  • Utilize statistical analysis skills to conduct health systems and policy research.
  • Utilize research design and data management skills to conduct health policy and management research.
  • Evaluate health care financing, regulatory, and delivery systems.
  • Demonstrate written communication skills to effectively communicate in professional health policy and community settings.
  • Demonstrate oral communication and presentation skills to effectively communicate in professional health policy and community settings.
  • Describe conceptual frameworks for political agenda setting.
  • Perform strategic analysis and planning for public health care organizations.
  • Evaluate health policies in terms of efficiency, efficacy, equity, and feasibility.
  • Describe legal perspectives on health policy and management issues, including assessment of legal and regulatory environments in the context of public health.
  • Apply ethical decision-making in a health care context.
  • Demonstrate leadership, team-based collaboration, and management skills.
  • Work with and incorporate the perspectives of culturally diverse groups.

Global Health Track

Upon receiving an M.P.H. degree in the Advanced Professional M.P.H. Program, with a concentration in Global Health, the student will be able to:

  • Describe the major causes of morbidity and mortality in the world and in the world’s major regions.
  • Describe the epidemiology, transmission, and pathogenesis of global infectious diseases, including neglected tropical diseases.
  • Apply burden of disease measures to the analysis of global health disparities.
  • Explain the causes of global health disparities.
  • Review methods available to control each of the world’s major diseases.
  • Evaluate which disease control measures would be most appropriate for a given setting.
  • Describe cross-national determinants of health, including globalization, international trade policy, practices of multinational corporations, urbanization, migration, international conflict, and environmental change.
  • Analyze global health problems, taking into account their social, political, economic, legal, and human rights dimensions.
  • Critically assess the global health governance infrastructure and analyze alternative approaches for health care delivery, regulation, and financing.
  • Apply relevant concepts and theories to policy and management challenges faced by health systems in low-, middle-, and high-income countries.
  • Assess global health issues from an interdisciplinary perspective, including public health disciplines, medicine, international relations, environmental studies, political science, law, anthropology, and others.
  • Apply necessary leadership skills to serve as bridges between the global health research and practice settings.
  • Apply quantitative and qualitative research methods to global health issues.
  • Explain and propose solutions for the unique challenges involved in conducting public health research in low-resource settings.

Preventive Medicine Track

Upon receiving an M.P.H. degree in the Advanced Professional M.P.H. Program, with a concentration in Preventive Medicine, the student will be able to:

  • Evaluate the scientific merit and feasibility of epidemiologic study designs.
  • Construct research hypotheses and design a study to test these hypotheses.
  • Synthesize information from a variety of epidemiologic and related studies.
  • Describe the appropriate statistical analyses to examine different types of epidemiologic and social and behavioral research questions.
  • Identify, interpret, and use routinely collected data on disease occurrence.
  • Review, critique, and evaluate epidemiologic reports and research articles at an intermediate level.
  • Write an NIH-type research proposal.
  • Apply social, psychological, and behavioral theory in the design, implementation, and evaluation of prevention interventions.
  • Describe the role of health behavior in disease.
  • Evaluate and interpret health behavior change interventions.
  • Review, interpret, and evaluate epidemiologic reports and research articles pertaining to occupational and environmental risk factors.
  • Review, interpret, and evaluate toxicological reports and research articles pertaining to occupational and environmental risk factors.
  • Synthesize complex data sources about occupational and environmental hazards to make inferences about human risk.

Occupational & Environmental Medicine Track

Upon receiving an M.P.H. degree in the Advanced Professional M.P.H. Program, with a concentration in Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the student will be able to:

  • Evaluate the scientific merit and feasibility of occupational and environmental health study designs.
  • Describe and apply alternative strategies for assessment of occupational and environmental exposures.
  • Design and conduct an occupational/environmental health study, with minimal supervision.
  • Review, interpret, and evaluate epidemiologic reports and research articles pertaining to occupational and environmental risk factors.
  • Review, interpret, and evaluate toxicological reports and research articles pertaining to occupational and environmental risk factors.
  • Synthesize complex data sources about occupational and environmental hazards to make inferences about human risk.
  • Evaluate work, home, and other environments for potential hazardous exposures.
  • Utilize industrial hygiene principles to develop a plan to evaluate and control workplace hazards.
  • Communicate occupational and environmental health information to employers, workers, professional audiences, and the general public, orally and in writing.

B.A.-B.S./M.P.H. Select Program

The Select Program in Public Health gives Yale College students interested in the field of public health the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree from Yale College and an M.P.H. degree from the Yale School of Public Health in a five-year joint program.

A total of 18 course units is required for the M.P.H. degree. Students in the B.A.-B.S./M.P.H. program affiliate with one of seven departments or programs at the School of Public Health. Their primary adviser comes from this department/program, and their specific requirements within the five-year program are defined by this affiliation. Several course requirements can be taken while a senior at Yale College, with the remaining requirements satisfied during the one-year enrollment at the School of Public Health.

In their four years of Yale College enrollment, students complete a standard Yale College major, which consists of at least 36 course credits, 32 of which must be Yale College undergraduate approved courses credits. Two of those Yale College courses may be counted as electives toward the M.P.H. degree requirements. These electives must be on the School of Public Health’s list of approved courses.

The remaining 4 course credits of the 36 required for a Yale College degree are typically taken at YSPH in order to fulfill the M.P.H. degree requirements. Students may take additional YSPH courses while at Yale College, as long as they complete the required 32 undergraduate courses.

Students accepted into the B.A.-B.S./M.P.H. program typically take four or more of the following YSPH courses during their senior year:

EPH 505a, Biostatistics in Public Health

EPH 507a, Social Justice and Health Equity

EPH 508a, Foundations of Epidemiology and Public Health

EPH 510a, Health Policy and Health Care Systems

EPH 513b, Social, Environmental, and Biological Determinants of Major Health Threats

EPH 515a, Ethics and Public Health: An Introduction

Students who follow this pattern will take 6 course units per term during their fifth year. However, most students are able to reduce the course load in the fifth year by receiving credit for additional course units while they are at Yale College. There are several ways they may be able to do this:

  • Take additional YSPH courses. Students may have received advance placement credit or have satisfied most of the requirements for their Yale College major, and consequently may have more flexibility in their schedule. As mentioned, Yale College students may take additional YSPH courses while at Yale College, as long as they complete the required 32 undergraduate courses. They simply will not get credit on their Yale College transcript if they have already taken four graduate-level courses. They should work with their college dean on any logistics surrounding this.
  • Take cross-listed courses. YSPH cross-lists several courses with Yale College. A student taking a cross-listed course should register for the Yale College course number. That way it will not count as one of the student’s graduate and professional school courses, but YSPH can count it as a YSPH course and give the student an additional Yale College elective.
  • Take Yale College courses as Global Health Concentration (GHC) electives. Like any M.P.H. student, Yale College students are eligible to take courses from the approved list of Global Health electives. (See the Global Health Concentration curriculum guidelines.) Many of these courses are taught on the central campus.

Before beginning their fifth year at YSPH, students complete a public health internship during the summer between the fourth and fifth years of the B.A.-B.S./M.P.H. program. Information about the summer internship is available at http://publichealth.yale.edu/internship.

Students are in full-time residence at the School of Public Health during their fifth year in the program, during which time they complete the remaining required courses and the master’s thesis. In order to complete the program and fulfill YSPH’s residency requirements, students must take at least 10 course units during their fifth year in the program. Information on each department’s degree requirements is available at http://publichealth.yale.edu/admissions/programs/mph.

Yale College students may apply to YSPH for the joint program in the fall term of their junior year. Candidates for admission must present evidence of a commitment to public health, as well as quantitative skills. In addition, a year of college-level mathematics and a year of science and social science are strongly preferred, although some of these expectations can be completed after applying to the program. Additional expectations may apply to particular departments or programs. Applicants must complete YSPH application forms and submit transcripts, SAT scores, two letters of recommendation (at least one from an instructor in a Yale course), and a personal statement. Approval by the dean of the student’s residential college is also required.

Financial aid, if provided during the fifth year, will come from YSPH. The School cannot guarantee that the financial aid award in the fifth year will be equivalent to previous awards.

Further information about this program may be obtained from the Office of Student Affairs, 47 College St., Suite 108, New Haven CT 06510, 203.785.6260, or online at http://publichealth.yale.edu/admissions/programs/mph/select.

Shanghai Jiao Tong B.S./M.P.H. Dual-Degree Program

The Shanghai Jiao Tong B.S./M.P.H. Dual-Degree Program in public health gives undergraduate students interested in the field of public health the opportunity to earn a B.S. degree from the Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and an M.P.H. degree from the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) in a five-year joint program.

As participants in the dual-degree program, students will complete their first three academic years at SJTU (including potential study-abroad opportunities that are part of the regular SJTU curriculum). The fourth and fifth academic years of the program will take place at YSPH. After the successful completion of all SJTU requirements (including all requirements for course credits and graduation thesis), students will receive a B.S. degree from SJTU at the end of their fourth academic year; and after successful completion of all program requirements at Yale, students will receive an M.P.H. degree from Yale at the end of their fifth academic year.

SJTU students wishing to apply to the dual-degree program will become eligible to do so in the third year of their academic program at SJTU. Applicants must be in the top of their student cohort (e.g., the third-year class of which they are a member) at SJTU. SJTU students may apply to the dual-degree program between October 1 and November 1 of the third year of their academic program. Students must notify the registry at SJTU of their intent to apply to the program. A committee at SJTU will preselect at most twenty of the most qualified applicants and notify Yale of the intent of those students to apply. Applications must be submitted to the YSPH via its online application system. The registry at SJTU must also be notified of the intent to apply. Students may apply for a concentration in Biostatistics, Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Health Care Management, Health Policy, or Social and Behavioral Sciences.

SJTU students admitted to the program will spend the entire fourth and fifth years of the program in residence at YSPH taking prescribed classes. A total of 20 course units is required for the Yale M.P.H. degree. Students admitted to the program will also participate in a public health-related internship during the summer between the end of the fourth academic year and the start of the fifth academic year. The internship must be approved by the YSPH Office of Public Health Practice.

Further information about this program may be obtained from the Office of Student Affairs, 47 College St., Suite 108, New Haven CT 06510, 203.785.6260, or online at http://publichealth.yale.edu.

Yale-NUS College Concurrent-Degree Program

The Yale-NUS College Concurrent-Degree Program in public health gives undergraduate students interested in the field of public health the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree from Yale-NUS College (Yale-NUS) and an M.P.H. degree from the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) in a five-year joint program.

As part of the concurrent-degree program, students will complete their first three academic years at Yale-NUS (including potential study-abroad opportunities that are part of the regular Yale-NUS curriculum). The first term of the fourth academic year will then take place at YSPH. In order to satisfy each student’s bachelor’s degree requirements, the second term of the fourth academic year will take place at Yale-NUS in Singapore. The entire fifth academic year will take place at YSPH. After successful completion of both programs’ requirements, students will receive a B.A. or B.S. degree from Yale-NUS and an M.P.H. degree from the Yale School of Public Health.

Yale-NUS students wishing to apply to the concurrent-degree program will become eligible to do so in the third year of their academic program at Yale-NUS. Applicants must be among the top students in their cohort (e.g., the third-year class of which they are a member) at Yale-NUS. Yale-NUS students may apply to the concurrent-degree program between October 1 and November 1 of the third year of their academic program at Yale-NUS. Applications must be submitted to YSPH via its online application system. The registry at Yale-NUS must also be notified of the intent to apply. Students must apply for a concentration in Biostatistics, Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Health Policy, or Social and Behavioral Sciences. Yale-NUS students admitted to the concurrent-degree program will not be eligible to apply for a concentration in Health Care Management.

The first term of the fourth academic year will be spent at YSPH taking 4 credits and beginning work on a capstone project (e.g., senior thesis). The second term of the fourth academic year will be spent at Yale-NUS, where the student will complete a capstone project, take two approved public health-related modules at Yale-NUS or the National University of Singapore, and take one elective/major module. The entire fifth year of the program will be spent in residence at YSPH taking prescribed classes. A total of 18 course units is required for the M.P.H. degree. Students may, with prior approval, count two courses in their major (e.g., Life Sciences, Mathematics, Computer Science, etc.) or selective electives at Yale-NUS toward the M.P.H. degree requirements of the concurrent-degree program.

As part of the program, Yale-NUS students admitted to the concurrent-degree program will participate in a public health-related internship during the summer between the end of the fourth academic year and the start of the fifth academic year. The internship must be approved by the YSPH Office of Public Health Practice. Students who are not U.S. citizens must complete the internship outside of the United States.

Further information about this program may be obtained from the Office of Student Affairs, 47 College St., Suite 108, New Haven CT 06510, 203.785.6260, or online at http://publichealth.yale.edu.

Zhejiang University B.S./M.P.H. Dual-Degree Program

The Zhejiang University B.S./M.P.H. Dual-Degree Program in public health gives undergraduate students interested in the field of public health the opportunity to earn a B.S. degree from Zhejiang University (ZJU) and an M.P.H. degree from the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) in a five-year joint program.

As participants in the dual-degree program, students will complete their first three academic years at ZJU (including potential study-abroad opportunities that are part of the regular ZJU curriculum). The fourth and fifth academic years of the program will take place at YSPH. After the successful completion of all ZJU requirements (including all requirements for course credits and graduation thesis), students will receive a B.S. degree from ZJU at the end of their fourth academic year; and after successful completion of all program requirements at Yale, students will receive an M.P.H. degree from Yale at the end of their fifth academic year.

ZJU students wishing to apply to the dual-degree program will become eligible to do so in the third year of their academic program at ZJU. Applicants must be in the top of their student cohort (e.g., the third-year class of which they are a member) at ZJU. ZJU students may apply to the dual-degree program before December 15 of the third year of their academic program. Students must notify the registry at ZJU of their intent to apply to the program. A committee at ZJU will preselect at most twenty of the most qualified applicants and notify Yale of the intent of those students to apply. Applications must be submitted to the YSPH via its online application system. The registry at ZJU must also be notified of the intent to apply. Students may apply for a concentration in Biostatistics, Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Health Care Management, Health Policy, or Social and Behavioral Sciences.

ZJU students admitted to the program will spend the entire fourth and fifth years of the program in residence at YSPH taking prescribed classes. A total of 20 course units is required for the Yale M.P.H. degree. Students admitted to the program will also participate in a public health-related internship during the summer between the end of the fourth academic year and the start of the fifth academic year. The internship must be approved by the YSPH Office of Public Health Practice.

Further information about this program may be obtained from the Office of Student Affairs, 47 College St., Suite 108, New Haven CT 06510, 203.785.6260, or online at http://publichealth.yale.edu.

Accelerated M.B.A./M.P.H. Program in Health Care Management

The Accelerated M.B.A./M.P.H. Program in Health Care Management enables students to earn an M.B.A. degree from the Yale School of Management (SOM) and an M.P.H. degree from the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) in a twenty-two-month integrated program. The program is designed to provide future health care leaders with the interdisciplinary training and perspective needed to address complex and multidimensional industry challenges.

Students begin the program with an intensive summer session at YSPH, where they complete M.P.H. core courses in Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. The first year is spent at SOM, and students take courses at both schools during the final year.

Curriculum for the Accelerated M.B.A./M.P.H. in Health Care Management

In this program, students complete a minimum of 14 course units at YSPH and 52 course units at SOM, which include 33 units of core requirements and 19 elective course units. The 14 course units completed at YSPH can be applied to the 19 elective course units required at SOM.

Yale School of Public Health

Core Requirements
Course number Course title Course units
BIS 515c Accelerated Biostatistics 2
CDE 515c Accelerated Epidemiology 1
EPH 100a Professional Skills Series n/a
EPH 510a Health Policy and Health Care Systems 1
EPH 513b Social, Environmental, and Biological Determinants of Major Health Threats 1
EPH 515a Ethics and Public Health: An Introduction n/a
SBS 505c Social Foundations of Health 1
Health Care Management Requirements
Course number Course title Course units
HPM 570a Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and Decision-Making 1
HPM 583b Methods in Health Services Research 1
HPM 698b Health Care Policy, Finance, and Economics 1
*HPM 699a and b Colloquium in Health Care Leadership (four terms) 1
Additional requirement Course units
Three electives at YSPH 3

One of the following global health courses:†

Course number Course title Course units
CDE 551b Global Noncommunicable Disease 1
EMD/HPM 566b Critical Issues in Global Health 1
EMD/HPM 580a Reforming Health Systems 1
HPM 576b Comparative Health Care Systems 1

*Students may replace the second year of HPM 699a and b with an elective at YSPH.

†Students may select an alternative global health course from the Global Health Concentration course list.

Yale School of Management

Core Requirements
Course number Course title Course units
MGT 401a Managing Groups and Teams 1
MGT 402a Basics of Accounting 2
MGT 403a Probability Modeling and Statistics 2
MGT 404a Basics of Economics 2.5
MGT 405a Modeling Managerial Decisions 2
MGT 408b Introduction to Negotiation 0.5
MGT 410a Competitor 2
MGT 411a Customer 2
MGT 412a Investor 2
MGT 413b State and Society 2
MGT 417a Power and Politics 2
MGT 418b Global Virtual Teams 2
MGT 420b Employee 2
MGT 421b Innovator 2
MGT 422b Operations Engine 2
MGT 423a Sourcing and Managing Funds 2
MGT 425b The Global Macroeconomy 2
MGT 430b The Executive 2
Additional requirement Course units
International Experience (during spring break) n/a

Competencies for the Accelerated M.B.A./M.P.H. in Health Care Management

Core Curriculum

Upon completing the core curriculum of the M.P.H. program, the student will be able to:

  • Demonstrate a knowledge base in the disciplines of biostatistics, chronic and infectious disease epidemiology, health systems, public policy, social and behavioral sciences, and environmental health.
  • Apply basic research skills to specific public health problems in both group and individual settings, including the ability to define problems; construct, articulate, and test hypotheses; draw conclusions; and communicate findings to a variety of audiences.
  • Explain the interrelationships among a multitude of factors that can impact a public health problem, including scientific, medical, environmental, cultural, social, behavioral, economic, political, and ethical factors.
  • Review, critique, and evaluate public health reports and research articles.
  • Apply public health concepts, principles, and methodologies obtained through formal course work to actual problems experienced in the community or work environment.
  • Critically evaluate programs, interventions, and outcomes that relate to public health practice.
  • Apply ethical standards and professional values as they relate to the practice of public health.
  • Demonstrate sensitivity to the social context within which public health professionals practice.

Health Care Management Program

Upon receiving an M.P.H. degree in the Accelerated M.B.A./M.P.H. Program in Health Care Management, the student will be able to:

  • Conduct financial analyses, including reading and analyzing financial statements.
  • Conduct economic analyses, including cost-effectiveness analysis, to inform health management decision-making.
  • Apply operations management concepts to address organizational performance issues in health service organizations.
  • Apply the principles of marketing analysis and planning to public health programs and health service organizations.
  • Utilize statistical analysis skills to conduct health systems and policy research.
  • Utilize research design and data management skills to conduct health policy and management research.
  • Evaluate health care financing, regulatory, and delivery systems.
  • Demonstrate written communication skills to effectively communicate in health policy, management, and community settings.
  • Demonstrate oral communication and presentation skills to effectively communicate in health policy, management, and community settings.
  • Utilize advocacy, persuasion, and negotiation skills to influence health policy and management decision-making.
  • Perform strategic analysis and planning for health care organizations.
  • Describe legal perspectives on health policy and management issues, including assessment of legal and regulatory environments in the context of public health.
  • Apply ethical decision-making in a health care context.
  • Apply management problem-solving skills to improve functioning of organizations and agencies in health systems.
  • Demonstrate leadership, team-based collaboration, and conflict management skills.
  • Coach and provide constructive feedback to colleagues.
  • Work with and incorporate perspectives of culturally diverse groups.

Other Joint-Degree Programs

In addition to the joint-degree programs previously discussed, the Yale School of Public Health offers the following joint-degree programs in collaboration with the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and other Yale professional schools:

Divinity M.Div./M.P.H. and M.A.R./M.P.H.

Forestry & Environmental Studies M.F./M.P.H., M.F.S./M.P.H., M.E.Sc./M.P.H., M.E.M./M.P.H.

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences M.A./M.P.H. with the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs; International and Development Economics; and the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies

Law J.D./M.P.H.

Management M.B.A./M.P.H.

Medicine M.D./M.P.H. (please see the Advanced Professional M.P.H.) and M.M.Sc./M.P.H. with the Physician Associate Program

Nursing M.S.N./M.P.H.

Joint-degree candidates must apply to and be accepted by each school. Students should contact admissions offices at both schools to learn about admission requirements and deadlines. Joint-degree students must fulfill degree requirements for both programs. YSPH students are typically required to complete a minimum of 15 course units toward the M.P.H. degree. Advisers from the respective schools will assist students with mapping curriculum. For specific degree requirement information, students should contact the YSPH registrar.