The Dartmouth Institute’s Master of Public Health program is a unique program which exposes students to the evidence behind current public health research and practices and trains students to use that evidence to conduct research, implement public health programs, and evaluate such programs. MPH students also gain skills using the methods and models of quality improvement to initiate change, translate research outcomes into action, improve care and access to care, and ultimately improve public health. Students gain knowledge and skills through the classroom experience and through multiple opportunities in the field. The MPH can be completed full-time in one year or part-time over two-three years.
Accreditation: Dartmouth's MPH program is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), the national accrediting body for schools and programs of public health. Dartmouth's MPH program is one of 71 accredited programs across the country.
TDI's MPH program is also a member of the Council of Graduate Programs in Public Health, which is associated with the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR).
Required Courses: All MPH students must complete a minimum of 56 credits and meet degree requirements as follows.
- ECS 140: Epidemiology and Biostatistics 1
- ECS 151: Environmental and Occupational Health
- ECS 111: Critical Issues in Health and Health Care
- ECS 151: Strategic and Financial Management of Health Care Institutions
- ECS 153: Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health: Part 1
- ECS 154: Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health: Part 2
In addition to the above courses, the following are required to provide MPH students with a one-of-a-kind opportunity to master content and apply skills in the classroom and the field:
- ECS 100: Inferential Methods and Systematic Review: Part 1
- ECS 102: Inferential Methods and Systematic Review: Part 2
- ECS 117: Continual Improvement of Health Care
- ECS 156-159: MPH Seminar Series 1-4
- ECS 160-161: Public Health Internship 1-2
- ECS 162: Public Health Culminating Project
For a full list of required and elective graduate courses offered at TDI, please see the 2008-2009 Course Descriptions.
Public Health Internship: MPH students are required to complete an internship in the field. Recent placements have included local, state, national, and a few international agencies and organizations. Students may choose from an extensive list of available projects proposed by a variety of agencies in the New England region. Students may also choose to develop their own projects based on their specific interests, skills, and career aspirations. In many cases, students are offered full-time employment based on their internship work.
Public Health Culminating Project (Thesis): For students in the MPH program, the final experience is the Public Health Culminating Project (ECS 162). The Public Health Culminating Project provides students with an opportunity to apply principles and skills learned in the classroom and in the field – through the measurement, organization, and improvement of public health care. Culminating projects require one of the following options for all students: a) research grant proposal, b) public health program plan, c) analysis of a public health problem, or d) research report.
Elective Courses: MPH students have a number of elective courses to choose from in the areas of survey research methods, statistical measurement and analysis in quality improvement, advanced epidemiology and biostatistics, health care financing, shared decision-making, geography of health, decision and cost-effectiveness analysis, advanced methods in health services research, pharmaceuticals and health economics, and design and improvement of clinical microsystems.
Career Services: Through our Core Skills Development Series, Alumni Networking, Medical and Graduate School Application and Admissions Preparation, and Employer Visits, TDI's Center for Education offers several ways for students to prepare for and plan their careers in the delivery and practice of health care. We will help you find a challenging and fulfilling career. Our graduates find careers in a variety of settings – health care systems, health care think tanks, health care consulting firms, non-profit organizations, government, health advocacy groups, and so on.
Other Career Services Resources at Dartmouth:
Director, TDI Center for Health
Policy Research
Professor of Medicine and of
Community and Family Medicine
Co-Director, VA Outcomes Group
