Requirements and Curriculum
Your program will consist of courses addressing foundational knowledge and competency areas basic to public health, required and elective concentration courses, a field training experience and an culminating project.
The MPH with a concentration in Community Health and Health Behavior is 47 credits.
Up to 6 credits may be waived and up to 9 credits may be transferred based on graduate coursework you have previously taken. Regardless of any waivers/substitutions, you must complete a minimum of 43 MPH credits.
You can complete the program in four semesters of full-time attendance or up to eight semesters of part-time attendance.
On this page:
Community Health and Health Behavior Policy on Good Academic Standing and Probation
In addition to following the Graduate School policies on Academic Standing (including the Graduate School’s definition for "Good Academic Standing") and Academic Probation, the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior will adhere to the following provisions:
All Graduate Students
Students who fail to earn a full “B” or better in a required course (note that a B- does not suffice) will be placed on academic probation and fail to be in good academic standing. They will be required to retake the course. Students who earn a full B or better upon retaking the course will have met this particular requirement for regaining good academic standing. Students who do not earn a full B or better upon repeating the course will be dismissed from the program.
Students who do not earn a full B or better in an elective course will be informed that they cannot count that course toward their degree program; repeated instances of this may result in dismissal from the program.
In addition, academic integrity is a fundamental university value and ethical behavior is a cornerstone of the public health profession. Therefore, during their time in the program, any student with a “severe” or “most severe” academic integrity infraction or two or more “less severe” academic integrity infractions may be dismissed from their program at the end of the academic semester in which the infraction occurred. Most severe, severe and less severe academic integrity infractions will be classified per the Academic Integrity’s Sanction Chart on the Graduate School Policy Library.
PhD Students Only
There are a variety of grounds upon which a PhD student may be put on academic probation, including but not limited to failing to make timely progress in their research and unprofessional conduct. Any member of the CHHB graduate faculty may request a meeting of these same faculty to propose putting a student on academic probation. CHHB graduate faculty will discuss the case and vote on whether to put the student on academic probation. If a full-time student fails to complete their comprehensive exam by the end of the first semester of the third year, this will automatically prompt a meeting of the CHHB graduate faculty who will review the student’s progress and vote on whether to put the student on academic probation. If the majority of the faculty votes for probationary status, the student will be placed on academic probation for the coming semester. If the majority of the faculty votes to retain good academic standing, the student will remain in good academic standing for the coming semester. The department procedures for determining and communicating the terms for regaining good academic standing are the same as those outlined in the Graduate School academic probation policy.
MPH Courses
Students should enroll in courses following the schedule below.
- Part-time students taking courses over multiple years should register for courses in order.
- For example, if you take 2 courses per semester, in your first Fall semester take the first 2 courses under Year 1 Fall, and in your next Fall semester take the next 2 courses.
- One-year accelerated students combine Fall Semester years 1 and 2 for your Fall schedule, and Spring Semester years 1 and 2 for your spring schedule.
Year 1 Fall Semester (12 credits)
| Course order | Course | Credits | Course Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | CHB 501 Study of Health Behavior | 3 | Foundational MPH course |
| 2. | EEH 530 Introduction to Health Care Organization | 3 | Foundational MPH course |
| 3. | STA 527 Statistical Analysis I LEC (lecture) | 3 | Foundational MPH course |
| 4. | STA 527 Statistical Analysis I REC (recitation) | 1 | Foundational MPH course |
| 5. | EEH 590 Leadership, Collaboration and Negotiation in Public Health | 2 | Foundational MPH course |
Year 1 Spring Semester (11 credits)
| Course order | Course | Credits | Course Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | EEH 500 Introduction to Epidemiology | 3 | Foundational MPH course |
| 2. | EEH 550 Environmental Health | 3 | Foundational MPH course |
| 3. | CHB 505 Applied Statistics for Public Health | 3 | Concentration course |
| 4. | CHB 507 Public Health Teams and Practice | 2 | Foundational MPH course |
Year 2 Fall Semester (12 credits)*
| Course order | Course | Credits | Course Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | CHB 523 Introduction to Program Planning and Evaluation | 3 | Concentration course |
| 2. | CHB 525 Health Equity | 3 | Foundational MPH course |
| 3. | Community health and health behavior elective | 3 | Elective course |
| 4. | To prepare for field training, complete all activities in the UB Learns MPH Portal > Field Training Central (it can take 1-2 semesters to complete preparation activities before beginning a field training experience so begin early) | 3 | Foundational MPH course |
| MPH Field Training (3 credits) can alternately be completed in Summer of Year 1, or in Fall of Year 2. |
Year 2 Spring Semester (12 credits)
| Course order | Course | Credits | Course Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | CHB 502 Health Behavior Change | 3 | Concentration course |
| 2. | Community health and health behavior elective | 3 | Elective course |
| 3. | Community health and health behavior elective | 3 | Elective course |
| 4. | CHB 630 Culminating Project* | 3 | Foundational MPH course |
* Students enroll in the culminating project during their last semester of the MPH. Students can only take the course after completing or enrolling in all other MPH courses and the field training experience. For dual degree students, this also includes all shared coursework.
Elective Courses
Your elective options examine specific areas of health behavior (e.g., eating behavior, tobacco use), practical tools for promoting health (e.g., community health assessments) and health behavior in public health practice (e.g., international public health). Select three courses from the elective course descriptions.
Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (IPCP)
Interprofessional collaborative practice, or the ability to work effectively on teams with professionals across many health or health-related disciplines, is an important competency for public health professionals.
MPH students, you can earn three interprofessional collaborative practice digital badges and an IPCP micro-credential through your required coursework:
IPCP Foundations Digital Badge by completing:
- One spring Interprofessional Forum and IPCP Foundational Online Module Series in CHB 507 Public Health Teams and Practice
- One fall Interprofessional Forum in EEH 590 Leadership, Collaboration and Negotiation in Public Health
IPCP Communication and Teamwork Digital Badge by completing IPCP Innovation Sprint with Pharmacy students in CHB 507 Public Health Teams and Practice.
IPCP Healthcare Practice Digital Badge by completing CHB/EEH/STA 544 MPH Field Training.
Earn the full IPCP micro-credential by completing all three digital badges.
All digital badges and the micro-credential are awarded to you upon completion of the activities. Current students can learn more about IPCP activities, digital badges, and the micro-credential in your courses, and by visiting the MPH Portal.
What is interprofessional education (IPE)?
Interprofessional education is learning with, from and about students in two or more health-related professions. Learn more about interprofessional education.
What is interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP)?
The process of collaborating with other health care professionals through shared communication, decision-making and teamwork to improve patient outcomes.
Why is IPE/IPCP important to me?
Collaborating with other health care professionals through effective communication and teamwork improves patient outcomes. Interprofessional teams enhance the quality of patient care, lower health care costs, decrease patients’ length of stay, and reduce medical errors. Patients receive safer, high quality care when health professionals work effectively in a team, communicate productively and understand each other's roles (Institute of Medicine – To Err is Human).
What kind of IPE/IPCP training do I receive in the MPH program?
MPH students receive three IPCP digital badges and an IPCP micro-credential to add to their resumes, CVs, social media profiles, or email signature lines.
- You obtain the IPCP Foundations digital badge as proof that you have foundational interprofessional collaborative practice knowledge, by activities completed in CHB 507 Public Health Interprofessional Teamwork and Practice, and EEH 590 Contemporary Issues in Public Health.
- You obtain the IPCP Communication and Teamwork digital badge as proof that you have interprofessional communication and teamwork skills, by activities completed in CHB 507 Public Health Teams and Practice.
- You obtain the IPCP Healthcare Practice digital badge as proof that you have practice-based interprofessional skills, by activities completed through your MPH field training experience.
- You receive all digital badges upon completion of activities described above.
Upon completion of all three digital badges, students also earn the IPCP micro-credential.
How many Interprofessional Education (IPE) Forums do I need to complete for my MPH degree?
MPH students must complete one spring forum and one fall forum. You complete the interprofessional education forums through CHB 507 Public Health Teams and Practice, and EEH 590 Leadership, Collaboration and Negotiation in Public Health.
If I already completed a fall or spring forum, do I need to complete it again?
You need to complete one spring and one fall forum. If you’ve already completed a spring forum, you do not need to complete another spring forum. If you’ve already completed a fall forum, you do not need to complete another fall forum. However, if you’ve completed one spring forum, you still need to complete a fall forum, and vice versa.
How do I complete the IPE forums?
You complete the spring IPE Forum through CHB 507 Public Health Teams and Practice. You complete the fall IPE Forum through EEH 590 Leadership, Collaboration and Negotiation in Public Health. More information about completing the forums is available in each course.
How many times do I need to complete the online Interprofessional Collaborative Practice modules?
You only need to complete the modules one time. You also need to complete the quiz for each of the modules and receive a grade of 40 or 50 (out of 50) on each module quiz to successfully complete an online module.
Where can I see the IPE activities I already completed?
- Log into UB Learns, go to the MPH Student Resources Portal, and click on Student Opportunities > IPCP Progress.
- The grade center tracks your progress toward each of the three IPCP digital badges, and the full micro-credential. Completed activities will show a check-mark.
- Note that you must earn digital badge #1, IPCP Foundations, before you can receive any additional badges.
Who do I contact with questions about IPE activities?
Contact Kim Krytus or your MPH faculty advisor.
Forms and Documentation
You will complete a series of field training forms before and during your field training experience. You will also complete and submit a field training set of slides about your experience to your advisor. Find more information about the forms in the MPH Portal in UB Learns.
All students must also apply for graduation:
- Students preparing to graduate must log into My Academics in their student HUB record, click on "Apply for Graduation" and select the MPH program and anticipated graduation semester before the appropriate deadline. (MPH students no longer complete an ATC or M-form.)
- See details about applying to graduate in HUB.
- Contact sphhp-chhb-mph@buffalo.edu for more information.
| Graduation Term | Apply to Graduate, in HUB by | Conferral Date |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | February 22 | June 1 |
| Summer | July 15 | September 1 |
| Fall | October 15 | February 1 |
Graduation Requirements
To ensure you complete all of the necessary forms, review the MPH program timeline and graduation requirements.
