Are you passionate about improving your community’s health and well-being? Do you want to prevent people from becoming sick, or protect them from natural emergencies? Are you interested in a growing and evolving field that touches all populations?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should strongly consider obtaining a master’s in Public Health (MPH) degree. Public health encompasses all facets of people’s lives. An MPH degree can open the door to various career paths that significantly impact individuals, communities, and populations across the globe.
Keep reading to learn what an MPH degree is, what you will find in an MPH program, and the many benefits of obtaining this degree.
What is an MPH?
An MPH, or Master of Public Health, is a graduate-level program that emphasizes the practical aspects of public health. It is an interdisciplinary graduate degree designed to educate and build skills in epidemiology, environmental health, health policy, biostatistics, program planning, and evaluation.
Additionally, an MPH degree is designed to prepare students for roles that protect and improve the health of entire populations. This is done by promoting community awareness about injury, violence prevention, infectious diseases, and other issues that affect a community’s health and safety.
What can I expect from an MPH program?
In MPH programs, students learn how to tackle the challenging issues that affect communities, work with people across sectors, and educate the public about best healthcare practices.
How? By studying current health and wellness trends and learning scientific methods and best practices, students leave ready to help change health behaviors in various areas.
Through a relevant and innovative competency-based curriculum, like the 42-credit program offered at University of Bridgeport (UB), students are prepared to become public health practitioners who work for governmental organizations, at non-profits, and in industries that help raise public awareness of best healthcare practices.
Typically, MPH students study these core areas:
- Statistics/Biostatistics
- Epidemiology
- Environmental Health
- Policy
- Behavioral sciences
These students also complete additional courses that cover:
- Toxicology
- Program evaluation
- Health care administration
- Diversity issues
MPH programs also offer a variety of concentrations for students to choose from, including global health, community health, and health policy and management. These concentrations provide students with specific knowledge about an area of interest.
Upon completing an MPH program, students typically participate in written exams based on case studies, internships, capstone projects, and local community field experiences to apply what they have learned in the program.
What can I do with an MPH degree?
There are many career paths that graduates of MPH programs can choose from. Most graduates work in healthcare settings, non-profit organizations, and government agencies.
Career choices for individuals with an MPH degree include, but are not limited to:
- Community outreach coordinator
- Public health educator
- Health engagement marketing manager
- Public health administrator
- Epidemiologist
- Clinical dietician
- Medical records and health information technician
- Substance-abuse counselor
- Environmental health scientist
Additionally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the healthcare industry will add more jobs than any other field in the coming decade. Healthcare jobs will increase by 13 percent, with management roles, in particular, increasing by 28 percent between 2021 and 2031.
Consider that growth closely, because jobs requiring MPH degrees typically offer higher-than-average salaries. You can see why obtaining an MPH degree is an excellent choice for students passionate about public health.
Why is a career in Public Health important?
In today’s society, experts in public health can make a life-or-death difference in their community and the world.
To fulfill their mission of promoting wellness and disease prevention, public health practitioners must be aware of events that can impact populations, like natural disasters, war, infectious diseases, and social disparities in accessing healthcare.
By obtaining an MPH degree and becoming a public health practitioner, you can ensure you are making a difference in your local and global community.
Public health practitioners are rare, unsung heroes making a difference every day. Without them, we would not have access to clean water, vaccinations, or other practices that keep society living harmoniously.
A master’s in Public Health will set you on the right path to pursue a career in emergency management, healthcare administration, public health education, or at health insurance companies.
UB’s 100% online master’s in Public Health program can be completed in as few as 15 months by taking courses in our accelerated seven-week format. There are six start dates, no GRE/GMAT requirements, and we accept financial aid applications on a rolling basis.
We are here to get you into a career you love, and are proud of, with our master’s in Public Health program. Reach out today to learn more!