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Graduate School

Dear Prospective Students:

As the Coordinators for the MPH Programs in the Department of Public Health Sciences, we invite you to explore NMSU for your graduate degree, and we encourage you to apply to one of our graduate programs.

At NMSU, we offer graduate degree programs in public health that students can complete in a traditional on-campus classroom setting or on-line using distance education technology. The Council on Health Education (CEPH) fully accredits our MPH degree programs. These programs include MPH degree programs with a concentration in either Health Behavior and Health Promotion (HBHP) or Health Management, Administration, and Policy (HMAP). Both require 42 credit hours of instruction and a field placement experience. The HBHP concentration also offers a thesis option for students seeking research experience. We also offer a 15 credit-hour Graduate Certificate program in Public Health.

It is important to note that anyone with a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) can apply to our public health programs with no required prerequisites. Indeed, we welcome students with bachelor’s degrees in diverse fields including biology, psychology, anthropology, nursing, business, sociology, as well as public health.

Also, we tailor our programs to accommodate working professionals. For example, we schedule all on-campus classes during evening hours to accommodate traditional daytime work. Our online programs provide even more schedule accommodation as students can complete their degrees on their schedules

Finally, many of our on-campus students benefit or have benefited from Graduate Assistant positions, which help students to defray the cost of attending graduate school.

We thank you for visiting our website and hope you will consider NMSU for your graduate degree. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Joe Tomaka
Graduate Coordinator
tomaka@nmsu.edu		 Jagdish Khubchandani
MPH/MSW Joint Program Advisor
jagdish@nmsu.edu


Admissions Criteria 

Graduate Public Health Certificate

The PH Certificate is offered in two formats:

1. Online. This 15-hour program requires 4 courses, with the fifth being an elective (chosen between you and your advisor).

2. On-campus. This 15-hour program requires 4 courses, with the fifth being an elective (chosen between you and your advisor).   Students admitted to the On-Campus Graduate Certificate in Public Health MUST complete these courses on-campus (through M01 sections).

Upon completion of both the online and on-campus Graduate Certificate, students can apply for the full MPH program.  All certificate courses can then be transferred in (transfer of courses are dependent upon a number of factors including the grade received and when the course was completed).

Program of Study

The proposed certificate program will include 5 courses worth a total of 15-credit hours offered in both an online and on-campus format. The courses included in the certificate program and brief descriptions of the courses are listed below:

MPH 5110 – Community and Psychosocial Aspects of Public Health (3.0 Credit Hours):  Focuses on the social, behavioral, and educational aspects of diseases prevention and health promotion programs.

MPH 5130 – Epidemiological Approaches to Diseases Control and Prevention (3.0 Credit Hours):  Addresses the basic epidemiological principles applicable to infectious and non-infectious diseases and highlights descriptive techniques and analytic designs, and application of statistical and epidemiological investigational methods.

MPH 5140 – Health Services Systems:  Administration and Organization (3.0 Credit Hours):  Focuses on using a systems approach to identify and analyze factors and interrelationships that influence the operation of health services organizations.  Specific attention will be given to administrative structures and operations, finance and quality among public health departments, hospitals, multi-institutional systems, integrated health systems, and strategic alliances.

MPH 5150 – Environmental Public Health Issues (3.0 Credit Hours):  Examines environmental health issues from a public health perspective and additionally highlights the relevance of environmental health issues in rural and border communities.

An elective course– Students in the certificate program will be required to complete a three-credit elective.  If applicants do not have any previous statistics background, it is strongly encouraged that their elective consists of PHLS 5120 Biostatistical Applications in Public Health.  For those with a statistics background, the program strongly suggests that the elective consists of one of the 3.0 credit hour-cultural foundation courses (PHLS 5610-5660).  Each of these courses highlights specific public health issues.  Students may choose to select MPH 500 to serve as the elective course with the approval of their public health advisor.  With consultation of their public health advisor, another public health course could be substituted for the courses above.

Elective courses* (all are three-credit courses):

  • MPH 5120 Biostatistical Applications in Public Health
  • MPH 5670 American Indian Health
  • MPH 5610 Health Disparities:  Determinants and Interventions
  • MPH 5662 Hispanic Health Issues
  • MPH 5630 International Health Problems
  • MPH 5635 International Health Practicum
  • MPH 5640 Rural Health Issues
  • MPH 5650 Coping with Loss and Grief:  A Cross-Cultural Perspective
  • MPH 5660 US-Mexico Border Health Issues
  • MPH 5260 Research and Resources in Community Health

* Not all courses are offered on a regular basis.  Be sure to check with your assigned Public Health advisor.

* Important information about the educational debt, earnings, and the completion rates of students who attend this program can be found on the following Gainful Employment Disclosure.

Application Process and Requirements for Admissions

All MPH and PH Certificate applicants must use the NMSU online admissions portal.

Incoming students are required to meet the following admission requirements:

  • A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institute of higher education with at least a 3.0 minimum GPA.
  • Official transcripts for each university attended to Admissions and to the department.
  • Three references with at least one from a former faculty, the others from employers, and/or colleagues.
  • A personal statement covering academic background and career goals.

international students are required to first contact the International Student and Scholar Services office before proceeding with the application and admissions process.

TOEFL or IELTS score must be submitted and a minimum score must be met before an admission decision can be rendered. Requirements can be found here.

Deadlines

  • MPH On-campus – November 15 and February 15
  • MPH Online – January 15 and March 15
  • PH Certificate – March 15

For specific information on the details of the certificate, contact Leah Henderson via email (leahjh@nmsu.edu) or phone ((575) 646-4300).