Mission Statement

The mission of the Consortium of Eastern Ohio Master of Public Health (CEOMPH) program is to serve and enhance the health and well-being of the community by providing an educational program that fosters collaboration among the participating academic institutions, students, public health practitioners, and the public health system, and that prepares graduates in the knowledge, skills, and analytic capabilities required to improve the health of diverse populations and the local, state, and national levels via community practice, research, and service.

Program Overview

The Consortium of Eastern Ohio Master of Public Health (CEOMPH) program is a partnership between the University of Akron (UA), Cleveland State University (CSU), Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM), Ohio University (OU), and Youngstown State University (YSU). This nontraditional program is geared toward the working professionals who would like to broaden their role in improving community health, enhance current job skills, or seek career advancement. Key features of the Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) program include the use of distance learning for the seven core courses, including interactive video conferencing and web-enhanced teaching. Elective courses may be taken at any of the partner universities. Core courses are taught on Saturday to accommodate working students.

Students are required to take seven core courses (two core courses on Saturday for three semesters and one in the summer):

• HLTH 671 Public Health Concepts (4)
• HLTH 672 Social and Behavioral Sciences in Public Health (4)
• HLTH 673 Epidemiology in Public Health (4)
• HLTH 674 Biostatistics in Public Health (4)
• HLTH 675 Health Services Administration in Public Health (4)
• HLTH 676 Environmental Health Sciences in Public Health (4)
• HLTH 678 Public Health Issues and Practice (4)

In addition, the student is required to complete a capstone project (HLTH 698) and electives. The capstone project teams a student with a faculty preceptor and community preceptor to produce a product useful to public health (e.g., paper, evaluative report, grant, etc.). HLTH 677, Grant Writing in Public Health Practice, is offered as a directed elective to students with little or no grant writing experience. At the end of the program, students are expected to present their capstone project, a summary of courses and how public health competencies were fulfilled, and “portfolio” (a collection of accomplished activities) to a panel of faculty. The student is required to take a total of 42 semester credits or 62 quarter credits.

Core Courses are generally taught by teaching teams—faculty members for one course may come from different campuses, depending on their area of expertise in public health. Public health practitioners help plan or teach portions of courses.

This MPH degree is a general degree; however, plans for concentration tracks and joint degrees are being made for the future. The first cohort of students started Fall 1999; with Ohio University having its first cohort Fall 2004. The program has been accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health since October 3, 2003.

Admission Criteria

All application materials will be collected and processed through the CEOMPH program office at the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. The information will be forwarded to the CEOMPH Admissions Committee for review and applicant selection. Students will be assigned to a “home” campus based on their preference. Course registration, financial aid and other university specific policies will be implemented from the home campus. Students will be able to attend classes at any of the available distance learning classrooms and take approved elective courses at any campus.

The admission criteria are:

• Complete application form
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution
• Transcript—minimum undergraduate GPA 2.75, minimum graduate GPA 3.0
• Three letters of recommendation
• College level mathematics or statistics course
• College level social or natural science course
• Cover letter
• GRE scores within the last five years— may be waived for certain students (NEOUCOM Institutional code- #1903)
• TOEFL scores within the last two years if English is not language of instruction— minimum score of 550 paper-based or 213 computer-based (NEOUCOM Institutional code-#1903)
• Application fee

For more specific information regarding admission criteria, please contact the CEOMPH office at 330.325.6179 or www.neoucom.edu/mph. You can also contact us at: School of Health Sciences, E317 Grover Center, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701 or 740.593.4675 or www.ohio.edu/healthsciences.

Unique Features

• Core courses held at multiple locations via distance learning on Saturdays
• Admission process allowing access to resources and faculty from five institutions
• Networking with other public health professionals
• A practitioner focus