Community is a key element to creating a healthier future. And now, keeping true to its land grant mission, Oregon State University is paving the way to the future of health by expanding the reach of its public health master’s program.
The new Master of Public Health – Public Health Practice degree program is offered by the College of Public Health and Human Sciences and delivered online through Oregon State Ecampus, creating a unique opportunity for world-class instructional faculty to work directly with adult learners across the world.
With a focus on building leadership skills to promote population and community health, the program’s multidisciplinary approach equips students with the skills, knowledge and credentials needed to become leaders in public health professions.
“This degree is designed for those who aren’t able to pick up and move to Corvallis,” says Sue Carozza, associate professor and MPH-PHP program lead. “It’s for people who are working full time, who are possibly already in a public health or allied health field, who want that advanced training and are interested in either slightly shifting gears or moving up in their jobs.”
Learn from the pros
The CPHHS has long history of community outreach promoting population health in all 36 Oregon counties and beyond the Oregon borders by working directly with the people they serve while tackling domestic and international public health challenges.
“The faculty have rich and extensive backgrounds in their fields from childhood all the way through geriatric,” says Sue. “And we’re able to pull on that expertise to develop courses, projects or guest online lectures for this program, providing a good foundation for a very holistic approach to population health.”
An engaging experience unlike any other
Highlights of the program include a required internship that is critical for applying classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios, as well as a variety of multimedia and videography elements that help students better comprehend course content while getting to know their instructors and fellow classmates on a more personal level.
For example, in a dynamic video format that differs from traditional course delivery methods, Assistant Professor Kari-Lyn Sakuma shares her story about self-discovery and utilizing health promotion and prevention to implement violence and substance abuse interventions among adolescents.
“The online format provides this whole other pedagogy to delivering course content in a much more creative, impactful way,” Sue says.
The program’s flexibility also allows students the opportunity to start together as a cohort, with the ability to advance and complete the program at their own pace.
“The goal is to create a community of students online so they’re not just learning the material in isolation, but developing connections that will benefit them professionally,” Sue says. “We’re very intentional in creating a cohort model that gives them opportunities for networking and developing their skills in a peer-to-peer way.”
Earn your MPH online. Then go anywhere.
With an emphasis on leadership policy and prevention intervention, graduates can look forward to jobs centered on program management and implementation in public health or allied health settings.
“This kind of training will be ideal to acquire a broad skill set to work with the range of issues students may find themselves managing,” Sue says.
Karina Ruiz Lopez is a public health undergraduate student and marketing communications intern for OSU Ecampus through the PROMISE Internship Program. This article first appeared on the Oregon State Ecampus’ news site.