Program description

The Department of Health Science offers a Master’s of Public Health (MPH) degree program in Health Education & Promotion. The program is offered both on campus and through a distance education format (online). The 42 credit hour MPH program provides a high quality, student-oriented, and health equity focused curriculum developed to deliver core public health competencies that emphasize the application of health education & promotion. Designed for eventual Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) accreditation, the curriculum offers education in the foundational areas of public health (health behavior, environmental health, epidemiology, biostatistics, and health services administration) and is tailored to train health promotion professionals to plan, implement, and evaluate programs to promote individual and population-based health.

Students interested in the on campus Master’s of Public Health (MPH) degree program in Health Education & Promotion should contact Dr. Levi Ross at lross2@ches.ua.edu or (205) 348-0474. Students interested in the Distance MPH program should contact Dr. Brian Gordon at bgordon@ches.ua.edu or (205) 349-8366.

Program formats

Students may choose to complete the M.P.H. in health Education & Promotion program through one of two formats.
  • Campus (traditional face-to-face format)
  • Online (distance education format)

Required Courses (36 Credit hours)

  • HHE 506: Techniques of Research in Health
    HHE 512: Advanced Foundations of Public Health
    HHE 515: Advanced Foundations of Health Promotion
    HHE 520: Theories of Health Behavior
    HHE 521: Basic Epidemiology
    HHE 526: Biostatistics
    HHE 530: Health Promotion Techniques
    HHE 565: Planning Health Promotion Programs
    HHE 566: Program Evaluation in Health Promotion
    HHE 586: Environmental Health Promotion
    HHE 587: Health Disparities
    Applied Practice Experience (3 credit hours in one of the following courses)
  • HHE 596: Independent Study
  • HHE 596: Service Learning in Health Education/Promotion
  • HHE 596: Military Health Promotion Internship
  • HHE 598: Non-Thesis Research
  • HHE 603: Community-based Participatory Research

Elective Courses (6 Credit)

Acceptable support courses include but are not limited to:
  • HHE 500 Rural Environmental & Occupational Health
    HHE 504 Health Coaching
    HHE 588 Sex Ed: Theory & Practice
    HHE 589 Women and Health
    HHE 590 Certified Health Education Specialist Study
    HHE 599 Thesis Research (1-6 credit hours)
    HHE 603 Pedagogy in Health Promotion
     
    If not used to fulfill the “Applied Practice Experience” requirement, the following can be taken as electives.
  • HHE 596: Independent Study
  • HHE 596: Service Learning in Health Education/Promotion
  • HHE 596: Military Health Promotion Internship
  • HHE 598: Non-Thesis Research
  • HHE 603: Community-based Participatory Research

certifications

Upon program completion, students are eligible to take two national exams for professional certification: Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) exam and the Certified in Public Health (CPH) exam.

ADMISSION CRITERIA

An applicant to the program should have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0, or a GPA of 3.0 in the last 60 hours of coursework, or a GPA of 3.0 in a master's degree program. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required. Three letters of recommendation, a resume, and a statement of purpose should be submitted. Additional graduate school requirements may apply. Please review the criteria specified by the Graduate School (https://graduate.ua.edu/).

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

Students must earn a grade of “B” or higher in all required courses. Students are required to pass a comprehensive examination that addresses content from the required courses. The Graduate School specifies additional criteria for graduation (https://graduate.ua.edu/).