MPH Curriculum

The UNC Charlotte MPH Program is a 45-credit, in-person program, including a 3-credit internship typically taken during the summer and a culminating 3-credit Capstone course. The Graduate School defines full-time enrollment as 9 credits per semester, with 12 credits being the maximum load. Thus, the MPH program is nominally a 5-semester program. However, the program can be – and often is – completed in as little as two academic years (including summer), by taking the maximum load several semesters in a row.

Two-year plans of study by concentration can be found in the MPH Student Handbook for both the Fall and Spring semester start. Students individualize these plans with their academic advisor. Students may combine the MPH program with a graduate certificate or a second (dual) master’s degree. Adding on these programs extends the expected time to completion by 1-3 semesters. In all cases, 7 years is the maximum time to completion of all degrees and certificates that The Graduate School affords master’s candidates.

Descriptions of individual courses and when they are offered can be viewed in the Graduate Catalog.

CORE COURSES

  • HLTH 6200: Case Studies in Public Health
  • HLTH 6211: Evidence-based Methods in Public Health
  • HLTH 6212: Public Health Promotion Management
  • HLTH 6213: Policy and Leadership
  • HADM: 6100: Intro to the US Healthcare System

Concentrations

The MPH program at Charlotte offers four concentrations for students to choose from in their first year of study. These concentrations allow for more focused and content-specific classes to build knowledge and professional skills. While the concentrations are limited to one designation per student, there is an option to use elective courses to explore other areas of interest while completing the degree program.

Community Health Practice
Epidemiology
Physical Activity and Nutrition
Population Health Analytics

Internship

The 3 credit internship is an intensive, supervised experience required for all students. Students work as professionals in a variety of public health settings (community-based agencies, state and local health departments, hospitals, community-based clinics, research institutes, etc.) for a minimum of 160 hours.

Using the internship site as the “organizational laboratory”, the MPH internship provides a structured opportunity for students to apply theories, ideas, principles, and skills learned in the classroom to public health practice. The internship is intended to develop direct understanding through hands-on experience in public health or health promotion organizations thereby exposing the student to organizational cultures, management systems, operations and resources, programs and services, and priority populations.

Internship experiences are designed and approved in concert with the Program Director and the student’s agency preceptor. The HLTH 6471 course accompanies the required internship hours during the internship period. Internship sites may require criminal background checks, drug screens, etc. at the expense of the student. See the Common Internship Requirements for more information.

MPH Internship Manual 2022-23

Capstone

In the last semester of the MPH program, all students engage in the Capstone which is a culminating experience. During the course, students engage in significant professional development activities and develop a Capstone project. The concentration-specific Capstone is designed to showcase the knowledge and skills students have gained during the program.