Culminating Project
Sharyl Evans, an MPH student in community health and health behavior, presenting her poster at Perry Poster Day.
The Culminating Project is your final MPH requirement and takes place during your last semester. You will address a public health topic of interest by integrating knowledge and skills from courses and field training into a comprehensive paper or a set of written materials for a public health issue. Through your Project, you will synthesize foundational and concentration-specific knowledge and competencies, applying them to your topic. At the end of the semester, you will present your Project.
Register for the Culminating Project Course
Register for 630 Culminating Project (3 credits). In this course, you'll finalize your project topic, type and competencies.
Select a Project Topic
Determine a public health topic to explore that expands upon knowledge and skills gained from the MPH program. Discuss ideas with your faculty instructor, and, with faculty input, you'll finalize your topic.
Select Competencies to Demonstrate
Through the project, you'll demonstrate five MPH competencies: one that focuses on diversity, health equity or cultural competence, two others on foundational competencies, and two concentration-specific competencies. Your course instructor will approve the competencies you will address at the beginning of the semester.
Project Components
Through the 630 Culminating Project course:
- You will develop a paper or set of written materials that address your topic, synthesizing what you've learned throughout your MPH and integrating foundational and concentration-specific public health knowledge and competencies into your project
- Most students in CHB 630 produce a set of written materials for their project
- Most students in EEH 630 and STA 630 develop a comprehensive paper of their topic
- Your 630 course instructor will give you specific information about your project requirements at the beginning of the semester
- You will also create a presentation of your project and deliver the presentation to an audience which can include:
- Faculty and staff
- Fellow students
- Participants at a local, regional or national professional meeting or conference (with faculty approval)
Project Timeline
You will follow this general timeline in the 630 Culminating Project course:
- Week 1–Meet with your faculty instructor to discuss your Project topic, type, and competencies
- Week 4–Submit an overview document/outline of your project title, goals and objectives, and foundational and concentration-specific competencies you will demonstrate through your project for faculty review and feedback
- 3 competencies must be foundational, with at least 1 competency focused on diversity, equity or inclusion
- 2 competencies must be concentration-specific
- 3 competencies must be foundational, with at least 1 competency focused on diversity, equity or inclusion
- Weeks 4 to 12–Draft your paper or written materials and presentation, with guidance from your faculty instructor throughout the process
- Week 12–Submit a full draft of your paper or written materials to your faculty instructor for feedback
- Week 14–Submit your final paper or written materials to your faculty instructor
By the last Friday of classes, present your project through a slide set or poster to faculty, staff, fellow students or other identified audience approved by your faculty instructor.
Presentation Options
Your faculty instructor will approve your presentation format, which can be:
- An in-person presentation with slides or a conference-style poster
- An online presentation with slides or a conference-style poster
- An in-person or online presentation at a local, regional or national professional meeting or conference
If you complete your project in Spring, you can also choose to present at the UB School of Public Health and Health Professions Perry Poster Event held annually in April.
Resources Portal
Learn more about the Culminating Project in the MPH Portal in UB Learns (for current students), and from your MPH program director, faculty advisor or 630 Culminating Project course instructor.
Publish Your Work
Publish your MPH field training experience or Culminating Project through the Journal of Public Health Student Capstones (JPHSC).
The JPHSC is a quarterly journal seeking abstracts from MPH students highlighting experiential learning activities. It provides an opportunity to share your achievements with professionals, educators and your peers in public health.
Qualifying submissions can be data analyses, research proposals, program evaluations, historical or literature reviews on public health topics, or original research.
Learn more about the JPHSC abstract guidelines, and talk with faculty about submitting field training or culminating project work through this scholarly journal.