Executive MPH Courses
Core Courses
AEPI 530D: Applied Epidemiology I (3 credit hours)
Prerequisite: PRS 500D or by special permission. This class will provide an introduction to the principles of epidemiology, including 1) the use of descriptive measures to describe the health of populations or groups of people, 2) approaches to assessing potential associations between personal characteristics, behaviors, or exposures and the occurrence of disease or other adverse health outcomes, 3) the basics of study design, including case-control studies and cohort studies and attendant approaches to defining case or exposure status. [Applied Public Health Informatics and Prevention Science students take EPI504D instead of AEPI530D.]
BIOS 503D: Introduction to Biostatistics (2 credit hours)
Prerequisite: PRS 500D or by special permission. Introduces the most basic statistical concepts and methods: descriptive statistics, graphical display of data, probability, z-tests, t-tests, chi-square tests, and a brief introduction to linear regression. The course does not concentrate on teaching statistical packages, but some computer work might be assigned.
BIOS 516D: Applied Biostatistics I (2 credit hours)
Prerequisite: PRS 500D or by special permission. This course covers fundamental concepts and methods used in data analysis. These include techniques in graphical and numerical descriptive statistics; elementary probability calculation using the normal distribution; point and confidence interval estimation and hypothesis testing for population means and proportions, differences between means and between proportions, and contingency table analyses (risk ratio and odds ratio). Students will use SAS to perform the statistical analysis. [Prevention Science students and Applied Public Health Informatics students take BIOS 503D instead of BIOS 516D.]
BSHE 504D: Social Behavior in Public Health (2 credit hours)
Prerequisite: 500D or by special permission. The purpose of this course is to describe how behavioral and social science theories, research methods, and practice models can be used to understand and intervene upon public health problems. The social ecological model provides the conceptual framework for the course with an emphasis on the importance of primary prevention. Students will gain an understanding of how factors at the individual, intrapersonal, community and public policy levels interact to influence health over the life course. The course introduces theories at each of these levels and how to use these theories to inform intervention design. It includes a review of risk factors for the leadings causes of morbidity and mortality and a detailed discussion of how social and economic inequalities and other factors influence health (e.g., social class, culture, race/ethnicity, and gender). The course concludes with a discussion of translating knowledge to action and bringing evidence-based interventions to scale.
EH 500D: Perspectives in Environmental Health (2 credit hours)
Prerequisite: PRS 500D or by special permission. Presents the ecological paradigm as applied to public health and introduces various aspects of environmental health, including air, surface water and ground water contamination, food safety, occupational health, radiation, chemical and physical hazards, vector control, and injuries
EPI 504D: Fundamentals of Epidemiology (2 credit hours)
Prerequisite: PRS 500D or by special permission. Emphasizes the underlying concepts of the epidemiological approach. Stresses the design of studies. Introduces quantitative measures to determine risk association and procedures for standardization of rates. [Applied Epidemiology students take AEPI 530D instead of EPI 504D.]
GH 500D: Addressing Key Issues in Global Health (2 credit hours)
Prerequisite: PRS 500D or by special permission. The goal of the course is to equip students with critical perspectives to address current and future global health challenges and opportunities as public health professionals and global citizens in this increasingly interdependent world. The course explores historical milestones, actors, assumptions, context, and theories driving selected global health priorities in policy, programs, and research. To do this, the course will enhance the skills of critical thinking, assessment of evidence from multiple perspectives, and application of evidence in formulation of policies, programs, and research priorities. A recurring theme throughout the course is that there are common global drivers influencing the health of populations in high, middle, and low-income countries and cross-cutting issues such as inequality that transcend settings.
HPM 500D: Introduction to the U.S. Health Care System (2 credit hours)
Prerequisite: PRS 500D or by special permission. Introduces students to the United States health care system, both public and private sector. Examines the structure of the health system, current topics in health care reform, the policy process, and advocacy for public health.
PUBH 500: Introduction to Public Health (0 credit hours)
This self-paced, self-administered online module provides students with foundational knowledge of public health history and identifies the core functions and services of public health. Students are also introduced to major causes of morbidity and mortality in the U.S. as well as the science of prevention in population health.
PUBH 501D: Inter-Professional Education and Training (0 credit hours)
Prerequisite: PRS 500D. This training prepares students with basic skills necessary to perform effectively on inter-professional teams. Students will receive foundational instruction via a self-paced module and will participate in a required, remote group case study session during which they will have the opportunity to demonstrate skills in the following areas: apply principles of team dynamics to advance teamwork; communicate effectively in inter-professional teams to solve a problem; use the various roles and responsibilities represented among team member to promote solutions; and engage in inter-professional practice with mutual respect and shared values.
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AEPI 515D: Introduction to Public Health Surveillance (2 credit hours)
Prerequisite: AEPI 530D or EPI 504D or by special permission. Teaches the basic principles of public health surveillance, including the establishment of a public health surveillance program, the collation and analysis of data, and the preparation and distribution of a report. Helps students recognize the importance of a direct association between a public health surveillance program and a public health action.
APHI 501D: Applied Public Health Informatics (2 credit hours)
Prerequisite: PRS 500D or by special permission. Enables participants to apply the technologies and methodologies available to improve the use and management of information for problem solving and decision making. Topics include types of data resources available, evaluating data in its context, and ways that the data may be used to affect outcomes. [Applied Public Health Informatics students take APHI 520D instead of APHI 501D.]
PRS 500D: Strategies and Resources for Online Learning (0 credit hours)
This course provides students with an introduction to the EMPH online course format, the Blackboard learning platform, and Emory University resources. Students will participate in simulated academic course activities to assist in preparing for the first semester in EMPH. This course is a prerequisite before taking any program courses in EMPH.
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Applied Epidemiology Courses
AEPI 530D: Applied Epidemiology I (3 credit hours)
Prerequisite: PRS 500D or by special permission. This class will provide an introduction to the principles of epidemiology, including 1) the use of descriptive measures to describe the health of populations or groups of people, 2) approaches to assessing potential associations between personal characteristics, behaviors, or exposures and the occurrence of disease or other adverse health outcomes, 3) the basics of study design, including case-control studies and cohort studies and attendant approaches to defining case or exposure status. [Applied Public Health Informatics and Prevention Science students take EPI504D instead of AEPI530D.]
AEPI 534D: Applied Epidemiology II (3 credit hours)
Prerequisites: BIOS 516D and AEPI 530D or by special permission. Continuing from Applied Epidemiology I, further insight into confounding is explored as well as effect modification. Methods of hypothesis formulation and analysis of 2x2 tables (point estimation and confidence levels) are described in detail as well as sample size calculations. Different approaches to control for extraneous variables in the design of studies are presented, such as randomization, matching, and restriction. The use of stratification for assessing effect modification and confounding is provided followed by an introduction to mathematical modeling. Different issues in the use of matching in case-control studies are presented. Statistical packages such as SAS and OpenEpi are used.
AEPI 536D: Epidemiological Modeling (3 credit hours)
Prerequisites: BIOS 516D, BIOS 517D, AEPI 530D and AEPI 534D or by special permission. Methods for analyzing multivariable data sets in order to evaluate epidemiological research relationships between exposure and disease variables. Will include logistic regression (conditional and unconditional) and survival analysis.
AEPI 537D: SAS Programming (2 credit hours)
Prerequisites: BIOS 516D, AEPI 530D or by special permission. Provides in-depth instruction on use of SAS programming for applied epidemiology.
AEPI 538D: Applied Data Analysis (2 credit hours)
Prerequisites: BIOS 516D, BIOS 517D, BIOS 518D, AEPI 530D, AEPI 534D and AEPI 536D or by special permission. The purpose of this course is to prepare the student for actual analysis of survey data. Students will design and implement a survey and then analyze data by applying the methods taught in the epidemiology methods sequence.
AEPI 550D: Topics in Applied Epidemiology (2 credit hours)
Prerequisites: BIOS 516D, BIOS 517D, AEPI 530D, and AEPI 534D or by special permission. Provides case-study-based training around a variety of topics in applied epidemiology.
AEPI 565D: Advanced Modeling (3 credit hours)
Prerequisites: AEPI 530D, AEPI 534D, AEPI 536D, AEPI 538D, BIOS 516D, BIOS 517D, and BIOS 518D or by special permission. Advanced Modeling will cover multivariate methods for analyzing epidemiologic data that involve examining associations between exposures and outcomes for which the outcome data are the time to an event, event rates, or a count of events. The course covers survival analysis and Poisson regression
AEPI 599R: Thesis (4 credit hours)
Prerequisites: AEPI 530D, AEPI 534D, AEPI 536D, AEPI 538D, BIOS 516D, BIOS 517D, BIOS 518D, PRS 502D or by special permission. Provides an opportunity to integrate the content and skills learned in the academic setting through the participation in scholarly research or other culminating integrative learning experience project.
BIOS 517D: Applied Biostatistics II (2 credit hours)
Prerequisite: BIOS 516D or by special permission. BIOS 517D is the follow-up course to BIOS 516D. BIOS 516D ended with procedures for two independent samples (two sample t-test and chi-square test). This course starts with procedures for paired samples (paired t-test and McNemar’s test), nonparametric tests and power and sample size calculations. Students then begin their study of linear regression, starting with one-predictor models and then moving on to multiple-predictor models. Interaction, confounding, multi-collinearity, dummy variables and log transformation are also discussed. Like the previous course, BIOS 517D is focused on application of the statistical methods, and students are expected to show competence in evaluating a regression solution to address a particular research question. Students continue to use SAS to perform the data analysis. Requirements include weekly homework, weekly quizzes, midterm and final exams, and a data analysis project.
BIOS 518D: Applied Biostatistics III (2 credit hours)
Prerequisites: BIOS 516D, BIOS 517D or by special permission. This course starts with ANOVA and ANACOVA and post-ANOVA multiple comparison procedures for cross-sectional data. Students are then introduced to longitudinal data analysis. As in previous courses, students first learn to create descriptive and graphical summaries appropriate to longitudinal data prior to conducting formal inference. Students study multilevel models and extend the statistical methods to more complex analytic situations that involve curvilinear and discontinuous growth trajectories and complex risk profiles, the inclusion of time-varying covariates, and the testing of complex interactions among time-invariant and time-varying predictors. Students use SAS to perform all statistical analyses. Requirements include weekly homework, weekly quizzes, midterm and final exams, and a data analysis project.
PRS 502D: EMPH Thesis Advising Seminar (0 credit hours)
Prerequisites vary by track. AEPI students will need to have completed AEPI 530D, AEPI 534D, AEPI 536D, AEPI 538D, BIOS 516D, BIOS 517D, and BIOS 518D. PRS students will need to have completed BIOS 503D, PRS 532D, PRS 535D, and PRS 542D. This self-paced seminar is intended to provide an overview and expectations of the thesis process for EMPH students at Emory. This course is required for all AEPI students and PRS students who select the thesis option for the integrative learning experience. The seminar will include an introduction to thesis concepts including identifying a topic, literature review, IRB, identifying and managing a committee (chair and field advisor), and developing a timeline. Upon completion of the 6-week self-paced version of the course, students will be expected to participate remotely in two 90-minute boot camp sessions focused on thesis topic development and completion of their draft Thesis Proposal Form.
PRS 595R: Applied Practice Experience (2 credit hours)
Prerequisite: Completion of 9 EMPH credit hours or by special permission. Enables students to apply skills and knowledge in an applied setting through a supervised field training experience in a public health setting that complements the student¿s interests and career goals.
PUBH 502D: EMPH PH Professional Development (0 credit hours)
Prerequisite: PRS 500D. The ever-evolving field of public health requires a new type of public health professional and leader – one who is not only skilled in a specific discipline, but also has the ability to work effectively in different leadership contexts. This course will use a self-paced educational module to introduce public health students to concepts of emotional intelligence and different leadership styles and types, including collaborative leadership and its application to negotiation and mediation. Additionally, the course will present basic principles of budget and resource management. Students will have the opportunity to apply these concepts during a required, remote session.
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Prevention Science Courses
PRS 502D: EMPH Thesis Advising Seminar (0 credit hours)
Prerequisites vary by track. AEPI students will need to have completed AEPI 530D, AEPI 534D, AEPI 536D, AEPI 538D, BIOS 516D, BIOS 517D, and BIOS 518D. PRS students will need to have completed BIOS 503D, PRS 532D, PRS 535D, and PRS 542D. This self-paced seminar is intended to provide an overview and expectations of the thesis process for EMPH students at Emory. This course is required for all AEPI students and PRS students who select the thesis option for the integrative learning experience. The seminar will include an introduction to thesis concepts including identifying a topic, literature review, IRB, identifying and managing a committee (chair and field advisor), and developing a timeline. Upon completion of the 6-week self-paced version of the course, students will be expected to participate remotely in two 90-minute boot camp sessions focused on thesis topic development and completion of their draft Thesis Proposal Form.
PRS 505D: Integrated Communication Strategies (2 credit hours)
Prerequisite: BSHE 504D or by special permission. Explores methods of applying behavioral and cognitive theories to communicating health and behavioral change information. Illustrates communication strategies using a variety of approaches including face-to-face instruction, technology-mediated strategies, and print-based products. Provides students with an overview of concepts and strategies used in data presentation, social marketing, and public health information campaigns. Emphasis is placed on developing skills that enable practitioners to create consumer-oriented public health intervention, advocacy, and professional development efforts. Skills include formative research, audience segmentation, and channel analysis, and multidimensional data presentation.
PRS 530D: Quantitative Analysis (2 credit hours)
Prerequisites: BIOS 503D, PRS 532D and PRS 535D or by special permission. Provides students with an introduction to measurement methods and basic knowledge of quantitative applications using SPSS software. Content will stress specific skills and knowledge of working with data sets using basic SPSS functions to analyze research questions and hypotheses, perform appropriate data analysis procedures, and interpret data outputs. [Prevention Science students may elect to complete either this course or PRS 533D]
PRS 532D: Qualitative Research Methods (2 credit hours)
Prerequisite: PRS 500D or by special permission. Introduces students to qualitative research methods used in public health and applied settings. Content covers relevant aspects of qualitative research including research design, sampling, construction of data collection instruments, data collection techniques including observation, interviewing, and focus groups, validity and reliability in qualitative research, analysis, and ethical issues.
PRS 533D: Qualitative Analysis and Mixed Methods (2 credit hours)
Prerequisites: PRS532D and PRS 535D or by special permission. This course focuses on the theory and application of qualitative data analysis from multiple sources, including focus group and interview data. Students will use MaxQDA software to analyze previously collected data samples. [Prevention Science students may elect to complete either this course or PRS 530D]
PRS 535D: Questionnaire Design and Analysis (2 credit hours)
Prerequisite: BIOS 503D or by special permission. Presents the basics of questionnaire development and data analysis, as well as the interpretation of reporting of findings. The course introduces students to both quantitative and qualitative data methods. Students develop proficiency in the windows version of Epi info, an analytic computer package commonly used in the analyses of public health data.
PRS 538D: Community Needs Assessment (3 credit hours)
Prerequisite: BSHE 504D, PRS 532D, PRS 535D, and PRS 575D or by special permission. Encompasses the development of systematic plans for collecting data about the health status, knowledge, perceptions, attitudes, motivation, and health practices of a population or community and its socioeconomic environment.
PRS 540D: Conduct of Evaluation Research (3 credit hours)
Prerequisites: BSHE 504D, PRS 500D, PRS 532D, PRS 535D or by special permission. Covers all aspects of evaluation research, including formative process, outcome evaluation, and issues related to collection and analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data.
PRS 542D: Curriculum Development for the Public Health Workforce (3 credit hours)
Prerequisites: PRS 500D, PRS 535D or by special permission. This course will present principles of curriculum development for the public health workforce. The course will focus on instruction that is presented through distance-based methodologies. Course will cover foundational concepts such as definitions, perspectives, and theories; curriculum and instructional design models; and e-learning standards. In addition, the course will delve into instructional technologies, and designing instruction. Students will develop an instructional module designed for distance-based delivery.
PRS 561D: Public Health Advocacy Capstone (2 credit hours)
Prerequisites: HPM 500D, PRS 505D, PRS 535D, PRS 542D, PRS 575D, one of PRS 538D or PRS 540D or by special permission. In this capstone course, students work with a local, state, or national organization to develop materials to promote and/or implement a public policy solution to a current, significant domestic or international public health problem. Students will create a digital portfolio of materials such as drafts of proposed policies, fact sheets, PowerPoint presentations, YouTube videos, and social media messages for the organization to further the adoption or implementation of a policy solution. The capstone experience is intended to provide the student with experience and skills, including working collaboratively with outside organizations, to ultimately lead the transformation of laws and policies to meet the health challenges of the 21st Century. Students will gain an understanding of the public policy-making process; learn to access tools for identification of evidence-based approaches to public health policy development; practice interaction with community-based and governmental organizations around policy matters; and, refine their skills to synthesize scientific and public health policy information into persuasive written and verbal communications with real-world application.
PRS 562D: Program Planning Capstone (2 credit hours)
Prerequisites: HPM 500D, PRS 505D, PRS 535D, PRS 542D, PRS 575D, one of PRS 538D or PRS 540D or by special permission. In this capstone course, students work with a local, state, or national organization to develop materials to promote and/or implement a public policy solution to a current, significant domestic or international public health problem. Students will create a digital portfolio of materials such as drafts of proposed policies, fact sheets, PowerPoint presentations, YouTube videos, and social media messages for the organization to further the adoption or implementation of a policy solution. The capstone experience is intended to provide the student with experience and skills, including working collaboratively with outside organizations, to ultimately lead the transformation of laws and policies to meet the health challenges of the 21st Century. Students will gain an understanding of the public policy-making process; learn to access tools for identification of evidence-based approaches to public health policy development; practice interaction with community-based and governmental organizations around policy matters; and, refine their skills to synthesize scientific and public health policy information into persuasive written and verbal communications with real-world application.
PRS 575D: Planning and Performance Measures for Nonprofits and Other Local Agencies (3 credit hours)
Prerequisites: HPM 500D, PRS 505D, PRS 535D, PRS 542D, PRS 575D, one of PRS 538D or PRS 540D or by special permission. In this capstone course, students work with a local, state, or national organization to develop materials to promote and/or implement a public policy solution to a current, significant domestic or international public health problem. Students will create a digital portfolio of materials such as drafts of proposed policies, fact sheets, PowerPoint presentations, YouTube videos, and social media messages for the organization to further the adoption or implementation of a policy solution. The capstone experience is intended to provide the student with experience and skills, including working collaboratively with outside organizations, to ultimately lead the transformation of laws and policies to meet the health challenges of the 21st Century. Students will gain an understanding of the public policy-making process; learn to access tools for identification of evidence-based approaches to public health policy development; practice interaction with community-based and governmental organizations around policy matters; and, refine their skills to synthesize scientific and public health policy information into persuasive written and verbal communications with real-world application.
PRS 580D: Research Design and Grant Preparation (3 credit hours)
Prerequisites: PRS 505D, PRS 532D, PRS 535D, BSHE 504D, and BIOS 503D or by special permission. Explores the basics of the scientific methods used in public health research. Covers how to state hypotheses, critique the scientific literature, develop a research design to test stated hypotheses, and write a research proposal. Compares and contrasts proposal writing and grant writing. This course will cover the basics of the scientific methods used in public health research. The course will describe different types of research designs and statements of hypotheses or research questions. Discussions and assignments will include critiquing scientific literature, developing a research design to test stated hypotheses, and writing a proposal for a research study or an intervention program. Assignments will allow students to evaluate research designs, describe elements of a study proposal, distinguish between research proposal writing and program grant writing, and write a competitive grant proposal in their field of work or study.
PRS 595R: Applied Practice Experience (2 credit hours)
Prerequisite: Completion of 9 EMPH credit hours. Enables students to apply skills and knowledge in an applied setting through a supervised field training experience in a public health setting that complements the student’s interests and career goals.
PRS 599R: Thesis (4 credit hours)
Prerequisite: Completion of 12 EMPH credit hours or by special permission. Provides an opportunity to integrate the content and skills learned in the academic setting through participation in scholarly research or another integrative learning experience project.
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*3 credit hour classes may have an additional lab meeting during on-campus sessions.
