North Dakota State University

Program Description

Public health is defined as the practice of helping members of society live healthier, longer lives. Public health is both an art and a science, and is practiced by multidisciplinary teams of professionals whose training spans a wide array of medical, social, and physical sciences. Public health focuses on the general health of communities through efforts to monitor the spread of diseases, initiatives, (both clinical and policy-oriented) to prevent disease and disability, and by promoting healthy lifestyles through education and community engagement.

The Master of Public Health program is a cooperative program between North Dakota State University and University of North Dakota that offers diverse tracks in public health that build upon the strengths of both campuses to meet the practical needs of the public and health care practitioners who serve it. The program focuses on rural health, health promotion and prevention, disease state management, and related activities of interest to North Dakota public health care practitioners and policy makers. Specializations at NDSU include American Indian public health, community health sciences, health promotion, and management of infectious diseases.

Admission Requirements

All admission decisions are based upon full review of all information in the application in order to ensure fairness and to balance the limitations of any single element of the application. Strong preference for admission will be given to applicants with at least one year of practical experience in their field, including practical field experience gained within an academic program.

Minimum Program Admission Requirements

In addition to the Graduate School admission requirements, applicants must have adequate preparation in a field related to public health and show potential to undertake advanced study, research and practical training as evidenced by previous academic accomplishment and experience.

The Admissions Committee will invite selected applicants for an interview on the basis of the Committee's review of all submitted application materials.

Final decisions will be made after all interviews are completed. Satisfactory completion of a background check is required prior to admission.

Policy on Transfer of Credit

A limited amount of graduate work completed at a regionally accredited North American institution prior to, or after matriculation in the program, may be applied toward the MPH. Graduate work is considered for transfer only on an individual basis and only after the student has completed satisfactory work in the program. Those transfer credits approved by the student’s advisor, course instructor, Program Director, and the Dean of the Graduate School will be included in the Program of Study for the MPH degree and only those transfer credits will be recorded on the transcript.

The basic purpose of the transfer policy is to ensure that transferred work is of comparable content, level, timeliness, and quality to that which would be taken at either UND or NDSU and included on a Program of Study for a masters degree. The following policies are generally applicable to the acceptance of the graduate work for transfer:

• The work must have been undertaken at an accredited North American institution.
• The student must have been enrolled at that institution as a graduate student.
• The work must have received graduate credit at the institution where it was earned.
• The student must have earned a grade of B or better.
• The work must be less than seven years old at the time the MPH degree is awarded.

The maximum amount of transfer credit that will be accepted toward the MPH degree is nine (9) semester credit hours.

The core area coursework will be evenly split between the two institutions; all students will take 9 credits from NDSU and 9 credits from UND (regardless of whether the student is registered as a “NDSU” or “UND” student).

Required Coursework-18 credits

Master’s Paper (MPH 793, 3 credits)

The MPH master’s paper is a requirement for graduation for students in the Master of Public Health (MPH) Program. This is an opportunity to work on public health projects under the direction of faculty and community public health practitioners or researchers. The goal is to synthesize, integrate and apply the skills and competencies acquired in the MPH Program to a public health problem. Completion of the MPH master’s paper requires both written and oral components.

Practicum/Internship (MPH 794, 3 credits total)

Concepts and competencies learned from MPH coursework are integrated through a minimum of 240 hours practicum that provides an opportunity to apply knowledge in a practice setting. A wide range of settings and opportunities are available and are individually tailored to assure competence in general MPH and specialization-specific skills. The practicum is designed to meet student goals, specialization criteria, and the needs of the agencies or institutions involved. The practicum is selected by the student in consultation with faculty and approved by the advisor. This experience is usually completed in the student's final term in the program and often results in the capstone project written report and presentation. However, students may register for 1 to 3 credits, repeated up to 3 times if appropriate.

All work must be approved in advance by the Director of the MPH program. Students cannot receive credit for past work experience.

Specialization: 18 credits

Total = 42 credits

NDSU Specializations

Health Promotion

The Health Promotions specialization is designed to prepare health professionals who have a career interest in physical activity and/or nutrition. The program provides students with unique opportunities to study issues and concepts germane to lifestyle behavior modification in the context of promoting health and preventing chronic disease. Students will acquire appropriate background knowledge and experience in an epidemiological approach to public health problems that relate to physical activity and nutrition; and develop skills integral to the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs intended to promote population-based increases in physical activity and healthy nutrition.

Community Health Sciences

The Community Health Sciences specialization is designed for health professionals who are interested in strengthening their biomedical knowledge and skills in applying public health principles for enhancing the health of communities. This track is excellent for pharmacists, nurses, physicians and other health professionals involved in all levels (primary, secondary and tertiary) of disease and health risk prevention efforts. It prepares practitioners for diverse roles in assessing, designing and evaluating public health interventions in conjunction with interprofessional health teams and health-care systems. Students will learn how to engage their community with sensitivity to the social context, and to plan, implement, and assess the outcomes of public health interventions at the individual, family, community, or systems level.

Infectious Disease Management

This specialization is designed to develop knowledge and expertise in the areas of infectious disease pathogenesis with an emphasis on microbial pathogens, and the application of modern technologies and epidemiologic skills to prevent and control problems arising from infectious diseases. An emphasis will be placed on the understanding of zoonotic disease (diagnosis, prevention and management), the investigation of emerging infectious diseases, and enhancing the public response to a bioterrorism event or biosecurity emergencies. Pathogen recognition, pathogen management and methods of disease prevention and mitigation will be areas of focus.

American Indian Public Health

The American Indian (AI) population suffers from among the worst public health disparities in the nation. In the northern plains, including North Dakota, the AI population has the highest rates of death due to diabetes, cancer, infant mortality, unintentional injuries, suicide, and other diseases. Risk factors and social determinants of these disparities include high rates of smoking, substance abuse, poverty, poor nutrition, historical trauma, and other unique circumstances that need to be addressed in the public health arena. In addition, the unique AI health policy considerations and the federal trust responsibility to provide health services to the AI population are poorly understood among most public health leaders.

NDSU is the only MPH Program in the nation offers a curriculum that is specifically designed to prepare graduates to work in AI populations and to improve AI population health. Students will take the required Core MPH coursework (Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Leading and Managing Public Health Systems, Environmental Health, Social and Behavioral Sciences in Public Health, and Healthcare Delivery in the U.S.). In addition, students will be required to complete the MPH Practicum and the Master’s paper—each will be focused on American Indian Public Health. The 18-credit Specialization Curriculum is described below.

Click here for course descriptions.

How to Apply
Online Application

American Indian Public Health

Donna Grandbois, RN, Ph.D.
Donald Warne, MD, MPH

Community Health Sciences

Daniel J. Klenow, Ph.D.
David Scott, Ph.D., MPH
Molly Secor-Turner, Ph.D.
Mark Strand, Ph.D.

Health Promotion

Ardith Brunt, Ph.D., RD
Mary Larson, Ph.D., MPH, LRD, CDE

Infectious Disease

Eugene Berry, Ph.D.
Nathan Fisher, Ph.D.
Margaret Khaitsa, Ph.D.
John McEvoy, Ph.D.
Birgit Pruess, Ph.D.
Sheela Ramamoorthy, Ph.D. 
Jane Schuh, Ph.D.