MPH students complete a program of study that provides a mixture of public health, systems management, and policy instruction with real world experience.  MPH curriculum includes:

• PHPM 605 Introduction to Health Policy & Management (typically offered online and live in fall; live in spring)
• PHPM 601 Rural Public Health Systems (typically offered online fall/spring)
• PHPM 600 Fundamentals of Epidemiology (typically offered online and live fall/spring)
• PHSB 603 Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health (typically offered online fall/spring/summer)
• PHEO 600 Principles of Environmental and Occupational Health (typically offered online and live fall/spring/summer)
• PHEB 602 Biostatistics(typically offered online and live fall/spring
• PHPM 614 Strategic Planning and Marketing I (typically offered live in spring)
• PHPM 623 Healthcare Financial Management I (typically offered live in fall)
• PHPM 640 Health Policy and Politics (typically offered live in fall)
• PHPM 633 Health Law and Ethics (typically offered live in spring)
• SRPH 640 Public Health Capstone
• Electives (6 Credit Hours)
• PHPM 684 Practicum

The complete MPH course catalog can be found here.

Some elective options for MPH students include:

• PHPM 615 Strategic Planning and Marketing II (typically offered live in spring)
• PHPM 616 Management of Human Resources (typically offered online in odd year summers/live in fall)
• PHPM 617 Health Care Quality Evaluation and Utilization Management (typically offered live in spring)
• PHPM 620 Operations Management (typically offered live in fall)
• PHPM 624 Healthcare Financial Management II (typically offered live in spring)
• PHPM 631 Health Information Management Systems (typically offered live in spring)
• PHPM 639 Global Health (typically offered live in fall)
• PHPM 642 Public Health Emergency Preparedness Policy Issues (typically offered live in spring)
• PHPM 644 Texas Training Initiative for Emergency Response (T‐TIER) (typically offered online in fall)
• PHPM 645 Critical Issues in Health Policy (varies)
• PHPM 654 Health Insurance and Managed Care (varies)

Practicum Requirement

MPH students participate in a practicum experience as part of their curriculum.  Most students who are not working full-time health care positions complete their practicum during the summer between their first and second year in the program.  The Preceptor (practicum supervisor), Faculty Advisor, and the Practicum Coordinator work together to make sure that the student gain a rewarding, real world exposure to a public health organization.  Students who are also full-time professionals are typically able to take on an extra project at their current job to complete the practicum requirement.  

The following link will provide you with all the necessary documents to complete the practicum requirement.

Practicum Experiences       

Tom Hunt, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX:  “My practicum experience at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center really helped me define my career and interests in public health.  When I came into the program, I had little experience in the healthcare industry, but at M.D. Anderson I was exposed to everything from biostatistics to behavioral health theory in the context of a real work environment.  I know that the skills I developed at M.D. Anderson have helped me advance in my public health career.”

Brock Oxford, Scottsdale HealthCare System, Scottsdale, AZ: “The time I spent at Scottsdale HealthCare System allowed me to understand how someone with an MPH degree would want to work for health system focused on serving the community. My practicum experience allowed me to have clinical exposure as well as assigned tasks that focused on aiding urban and underserved communities in the greater Phoenix area.”   

Divya Talwar, Central Veteran Texas Health Care System, Temple, TX: I had an enriching experience with my practicum at VA, as it provided me the opportunity to use theoretical knowledge, skills and training learned through courses and apply them in practical situations to gain professional experience in a public health setting. I worked on Lung Cancer Care project to improve the quality of care, in sync with the mission of the organization, 'Veterans first.'

Loida Tamayo, Health Resources and Services Administration, Rockville, Maryland: Working with such dedicated people at the Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Rural Health Policy reinforced my passion for our rural communities.  I was able to truly bring learning to life by utilizing my education to be part of policy development at the national level.  My main task was to produce evidence-based research on creating successful health networks for rural communities.  Through my practicum experience, I was exposed to strategic planning for increasing access to healthcare for rural communities and have been able to extend my new knowledge to our campus students and my community at large.

Vanessa Espinoza, Harry Williams Hospital, Cochabamba, Bolivia:  “I assisted with the goal of the Outreach Program to reinforce prevention work in areas of corporal health, general medicine, ecology, dentistry, and security food in the rural areas of the city.  We developed a manual for the inventory department and implemented new policies and procedures.  Also, reorganized the hospital organizational chart, presented quality improvement methods to the administrator assistant, and completed projects which were to be used for the hospitals accreditation process at the end of the year.”

Jared Walker, OIG Office of Investigations, Dallas, TX: "Working with the OIG’s Office of Investigations for my practicum was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. I was able to work with a wide variety of federal and state agencies in criminal and civil investigations of Medicare and Medicaid fraud. I witnessed the policy process come to life and how policy impacted individual’s lives. Working with the OIG Special Agents is not something that I will soon forget."