Cronograma general de elaboración de la propuesta

When determining credit hours for course instruction, University guidelines exist regarding the number of classroom/contact hours required. An “hour” is typically a 50 minute lecture, 75 minute discussion, or 90 minute lab. Therefore, 1 credit may be awarded for about 15 hours of lecture during, or 15-30 hours of discussion, or 30-45 hours of laboratory. An additional 1-3 hours per week of outside class reading, completing research, or writing is anticipated for each “hour” spent in class.

Students in the MPH program must complete a minimum of 42 credit hours, including 29 credits of required core courses (six required, 3-credit courses, two required 1-credit seminars, one 3- credit public health methods course, and one 6-credit field experience course consisting of 400 contact hours. Students complete 13 credits of elective coursework from a menu of over 70 interdisciplinary electives offered across the University. Students complete a capstone project, which serves as a culmination of didactic and experiential learning, by writing a scholarly paper and delivering a presentation.

Students may petition the MPH Curriculum Committee through the MPH Student Services Coordinator to transfer credits, waive courses, or substitute courses. The MPH Curriculum Committee must approve the use of transfer credits, waivers and substitutions toward MPH degree requirements. Students complete a Course Transfer, Waiver & Substitution Form and submit it to the MPH Student Services Coordinator. The form is available in the Student Handbook and upon request from MPH personnel.

The MPH program strongly encourages all MPH students to take their core courses at UW- Madison. It is rare that the MPH Curriculum Committee allows the substitution of one or more core courses. However, students who wish to substitute a core course must complete a cover letter, a Request for Transfer Substitution or Waiver Course form, along with the syllabus or syllabi for the course that is to be substituted and send to the, MPH Student Services Coordinator via email or in hard copy form. The MPH Curriculum Committee reviews and considers the request where the student provides compelling evidence for wanting to substitute a course from another institution for one of UW-Madison’s core courses. Reasons such as scheduling conflicts are NOT considered to be compelling. The core course instructor reviews transfer courses being considered for core course credit. The MPH Curriculum Committee also reviews requests for transferring or substitution of courses. Students must submit a Course Transfer, Waiver & Substitution Form with the course syllabus to the MPH Program Office.

2.2.a. Definition of a credit with regard to classroom/contact hours.

2.2.b. Information about the minimum degree requirements for all professional public health master’s degree curricula shown in the instructional matrix. If the

program or university uses a unit of academic credit or an academic term different from the standard semester or quarter, this difference should be explained and an equivalency presented in a table or narrative.

The MPH program’s Curriculum Committee criteria for transfer credit, course substitution, and waiver are as follows:

 Courses must have been taken within the past 5 years to be considered for transfer, substitution, or waiver into the MPH program

 Student must have received a grade of “B” or higher in the course

 Total courses transferred into the MPH program may not exceed 12 credits  Courses must have been taken as a graduate student or special student Table 19. Twenty-six Credit Hours of Required Courses for the MPH Degree

Core Courses (26 cr.)

POP HLTH 780 Public Health: Principles and Practice (3 cr.) POP HLTH 781 Introduction to Public Health Seminar (1 cr.) POP HLTH 797 Introduction to Epidemiology (3 cr.)

BMI 511 Introduction to Biostatistical Methods for Public Health (3 cr.)* POP HLTH 785 Health Systems, Management & Policy (3 cr.)

POP HLTH 650 Principles of Environmental Health Practice (3 cr.)

POP HLTH 786 Social and Behavioral Sciences for Public Health Practice (3 cr.) POP HLTH 787 MPH Field Experience Seminar (1 cr.)

POP HLTH 788 Public Health Field Experience (6 cr.)

*Students may take POP HLTH 551 Introduction to Biostatistics for Population Health in lieu of BMI 511

Required Methods Course (3 cr.) Students in the MPH Program are required to complete one 3-

credit methods course. The courses are chosen from a list of 10 methods courses that have been approved by the program’s Curriculum Committee.

Elective Courses (13 cr.) Elective courses are intended to deepen a student’s knowledge in one

or more areas of public health: epidemiology, health policy and administration, methods, biostatistics, global health, communication, environmental health, cultural competence and community health. The MPH program has developed a list of recommended electives that can be used as a resource for students in determining their course selections. Students who wish to take an elective course which does not appear on the Approved Electives List may request approval from an MPH staff member. Approval must be documented on the student’s Program Plan. Only graduate level courses (courses numbered 500-level or above) will be considered for possible elective credit.

Field Experience: A required component of the MPH Program curriculum is the 400-hour, 6-

credit Field Experience. The Field Experience allows students to engage with public health professionals to explore real-world problems on the community level and apply their coursework in a practical setting. The field work must be completed after a majority of the MPH coursework has been completed.

Capstone Project: The capstone project represents the culmination of a major practice or

research activity, such as the field experience, and consists of a formal written manuscript that will become part of the Public Health archives, a formal public presentation, and an oral defense. The nature of the capstone project should be consistent with the career goals of the student, and it should be viewed as a culminating display of ability, demonstrating that the MPH graduate is prepared to become a professional in the field of public health. The excellence in writing and oral presentation requirements reflects competencies that are essential to success in the field of public health. The “manuscript format” for the capstone project is intended to familiarize students with the rigors of preparing manuscripts for professional journals.

N/A

The criterion is met.

Strengths: The MPH program is a blend of required and elective courses that combine to provide the student a broad-based public health education as well as enable a limited amount of

specialization or more in-depth study. The field experience is intensive and the capstone project not only permits the student to tailor work to personal interest, but also fosters presentation and dissemination in both oral and written formats.

Weaknesses: None noted.

Plans: No actions being undertaken.

2.2.c. Information about the number of professional public health master’s

degrees awarded for fewer than 42 semester credit units, or equivalent, over each of the last three years. A summary of the reasons should be included.

2.2.d. Assessment of the extent to which this criterion is met and an analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans relating to this criterion.

2.3 Public Health Core Knowledge. All graduate professional public health degree