The governing body of the Council on Education for Public Health formally acted at its June 13-15, 2019 meeting to approve Michigan State University’s request to begin the accreditation process for the Master of Public Health program.
July 11, 2019
The accreditation review will address the Master of Public Health program, which includes the generalist MPH degree, DO/MPH, DVM/MPH, and MD/MPH joint degrees. Other degrees and areas of study offered by this institution will not be included in the unit of accreditation review.
As a formally recognized applicant for accreditation, MSU will spend the next two years engaged in a self-study followed by an on-site visit by a team of peer reviewers.
Wayne R. McCullough, director of MSU’s MPH program, is leading the accreditation application and self-study process. “The efforts of the staff, faculty, and stakeholders has enhanced our delivery of a practice-oriented, community-engaged curriculum,” stated McCullough.
As a pioneer land-grant institution, MSU works side-by-side with communities to identify relevant health issues; translating and disseminating public health knowledge into evidence-based practice, policymaking, and advocacy. From working on nationally-funded research teams to revitalizing local neighborhoods; from analyzing disease database to preparedness activities – Spartans in public health are leaders who protect vulnerable communities and dedicate their careers to mobilizing change.
“This has been more than ten years in the making and is the culmination of tremendous effort among many great leaders at Michigan State University,” said Debra Furr-Holden, associate dean for public health integration. “I couldn’t be happier for our alumni, students, and the many Spartans who have worked to get us to this important stage in the accreditation process.”
Established in 2008, more than 600 Spartans in public health are making an impact in local, national, and global communities. Michael Rip with the support of Denise Holmes, and Kathleen Oberst led a collaborative effort among six academic units at MSU to develop the College of Human Medicine’s MPH program.
The MPH degree was established to address the public health workforce shortage, increase interest in public health careers among high school and undergraduate students, and to offer a highly applied, accessible, affordable, competency-based MPH degree.
Students come from a variety of academic backgrounds, such as:
- Biological Science
- Cognitive Science
- Medical Science
- Communication Science
- Environmental Science
- Health Education/Health Science
- Kinesiology/Exercise Science
- Interdisciplinary Studies in Social Science
- Social Work/Social Science/Sociology
- Veterinary Medicine/Animal Science/Zoology
- Medicine (MD, DO)
- Nursing
- Nutrition/Dietetics
- Physiology
- Anthropology
- Chemistry
- Food Safety
“The online MPH program has undergone a series of changes to ensure that the program continues to be relevant, competitive, and best positioned to make an impact on the greatest health challenges of our time,” said McCullough. “In the spring semester of 2019, we launched a new curriculum.”
The enhanced curriculum includes foundational courses that provide students with information that encompass the root values of the program: leadership, health equity, and practical application. Courses cover practical methodology utilized by public health practitioners, including systematic review, program evaluation, and study design.
Students customize their public health education and pursue their passion with a diverse selection of elective courses that ignite their interest. Electives vary from policy/administration, global/cultural health, nutrition, infectious disease, and epidemiology/biostatistics/surveillance.
Students also participate in community-engaged practice experiences. A culmination of these experiences helps to create public health practitioners armed with the skills to address the social determinants of health and improve communities.
Additional information about accreditation and the Council on Education for Public Health can be found at https://ceph.org/.
