Curriculum

With a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree from UT Southwestern's Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, you will have the skills to address public health problems impacting communities through analysis, research, and policy.

Students in our M.P.H. program will:

• Gain strong methodological skills through cross-cutting programs in quantitative and data sciences, health systems sciences, implementation science, and health promotion;

• Disseminate new methodologies and scientific knowledge to inform health care delivery and enhance community health;

• Learn to engage diverse stakeholders in health care systems and communities to identify and prioritize public health challenges and create and implement effective solutions; and

• Educate these stakeholders to improve health at multiple levels, from individuals, families, and neighborhoods to employers, agencies, and health systems.

Concentrations are the foundation of our M.P.H. program, equipping the future public health workforce with innovative degree pathways. At the O'Donnell School of Public Health, you will gain practical skills, preparing you to develop, use, interpret, and communicate scientific data. These skills are in high demand and careers in these domains will remain among the fastest-growing and most rewarding professional opportunities in public health.

Students will choose from one of three multidisciplinary concentrations:

Quantitative Data Sciences

The practice of public health is driven by scientific evidence obtained from a variety of sources. This evidence is generated by researchers working in interdisciplinary professional domains, including biostatisticians, epidemiologists, clinical and public health informaticians, computer scientists, health geographers, and health economists.

Students will learn about:

• Various types of data used in public health research and practice; and

• How these data are collected, managed, analyzed, and reported.

Health Promotion, Structure, and Agency

Students following this concentration will build the skills necessary to drive transformative change in health and health equity. They will design, implement, and evaluate evidence-based programs to empower individuals and communities with the agency needed to change health behaviors and transform the social and structural conditions shaping health and health equity.

Students in this concentration will be enabled to:

• Promote the health of individuals, communities, and populations and achieve health equity via program design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation; and

• Inform and advance theories and their application to public health practice using quantitative and qualitative data.

Health Systems Science

Students in the Health Systems Science concentration will acquire knowledge and skills about the economics of health decisions, how health care is delivered, how health professionals work together to address public health needs, and how the health system can improve patient care and health care delivery.

In addition, they will develop evidence-based platforms and frameworks to drive the necessary transformation for improved health care delivery and population health.

Students will learn how to:

• Conduct and understand health services and health policy research;

• Develop, implement, and evaluate health interventions and policies within the context of the health system; and

• Assess population health from an economic perspective that acknowledges the role of community, family, social, and policy factors in health care choices.