The Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) Program at DMU is designed for public health leaders who desire to promote and preserve health through development of sound public health science skills, policy and advocacy, leadership and systems thinking competencies. All students will develop professional competencies by enhancing their knowledge, skills and understanding of the foundational areas of public health. In addition, concentrations in public health practice, health education & promotion, or public health administration & policy allow students to tailor their education to their career goals. 

Mission

To provide an excellent, competency-based, interdisciplinary education that prepares public health leaders who preserve and promote health in our global community.

Vision

To improve health for all through our commitment to innovative education, scholarship, service, and advancement of public health.

Values

• Excellence: Demonstrate outstanding performance in all teaching and learning, research, and service activities.
• Integrity:  Demonstrate the highest degree of moral and ethical behavior.
• Diversity: Value the unique and various backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs of our faculty, staff, students, and communities we serve.
• Social justice: A commitment to improving health and reducing health disparities.
• Community: A commitment to community partnerships that promote student learning, professional growth, and enhanced public health practice.

Goals

• Educational goal: Use innovative and rigorous teaching and learning strategies to prepare a diverse student body with the competencies necessary to be leaders in public health.
• Service goal: Serve communities locally and globally through workforce development activities, community engagement, service, and leadership.
• Research goal: Advance public health knowledge through innovative, interdisciplinary research.
• Administrative goal: Operate and enhance a CEPH-accredited MPH program that supports faculty, staff, and student excellence and upholds the mission of Des Moines University.

Objectives

Educational Objectives

• Each of the eight public health competency domains will be addressed in the required core curriculum.
• 100% of graduates will attain 70% or higher in all eight MPH competency domains.
• 90% of students who take the CPH exam will pass.
• 90% of all MPH courses will receive a student course evaluation with a mean value of 4.0 or higher (1=poor, 5 = excellent).
• 80% of all MPH graduates will report “yes” the program helped them develop entry-level competency in public health.
• 80% of all alumni will rate themselves as “exemplary” or “proficient” on the public health competency self-assessment.
• 80% of employers surveyed will report MPH graduates as “exemplary” or “proficient” in public health practice.
• 50% of MPH courses will include content and assessment linked to the cultural competency domain.
• Each year, at least two MPH program faculty will participate in at least one interdisciplinary education offering of Des Moines University students.
• Instructor peer-reviews to support continuous quality improvement will occur every other year for all faculty (core and secondary).
• Each year, the MPH program will offer at least two global health electives to support the global health initiatives of Des Moines University.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

The 22 competencies listed below are mandated by CEPH. Every student in all concentrations must be assessed, at least once, on each of these competencies. The DMU MPH program has designed our Public Health Core curriculum to ensure coverage of all 22 core competencies.
Evidence-based Approaches to Public Health

1. Apply epidemiological methods to the breadth of settings and situations in public health practice
2. Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context
3. Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software, as appropriate
4. Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice

Public Health & Health Care Systems

5. Compare the organization, structure and function of health care, public health and regulatory systems across national and international settings

6. Discuss the means by which structural bias, social inequities and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community and societal levels

Planning & Management to Promote Health
7. Assess population needs, assets and capacities that affect communities’ health
8. Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design or implementation of public health policies or programs
9. Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention
10. Explain basic principles and tools of budget and resource management
11. Select methods to evaluate public health programs

Policy in Public Health
12. Discuss multiple dimensions of the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence
13. Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes
14. Advocate for political, social or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations
15. Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity

Leadership
16. Apply principles of leadership, governance and management, which include creating a vision, empowering others, fostering collaboration and guiding decision making
17. Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges

Communication
18. Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors
19. Communicate audience-appropriate public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation
20. Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content

Interprofessional Practice
21. Perform effectively on interprofessional teams
22. Apply systems thinking tools to a public health issue

Program Requirements

To be eligible to apply for admission to the Master of Public Health program at DMU, applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution from within the United States or equivalent evaluation from a DMU approved International evaluation service.  

Additional information regarding admission to the program can be found on the MPH Program Admissions Requirements website.

Program Application Process

Application to the Master of Public Health program is accepted through the Schools of Public Health Application Service (SOPHAS).

Detailed information regarding the process can be found on the MPH program admissions website.

Applicants' admissions accounts will reflect updates throughout the process.

A student may request up to 12.0 hours of graduate credit from a previously-attended, accredited institution. The request should be submitted by completing the MPH Transfer Credit Request form.  Approved transfer credits will be entered on the student’s permanent record by the Registrar’s Office. Additional information is outlined in the MHA/MPH Transfer Credit policy.

Curriculum Overview and Outline

The MPH program offers concentrations in three areas, Public Health Practice, Health Education & Promotion, or Public Health Administration & Policy. Students must complete 42 total credit hours that include 24 credit hours in the Public Health Core, 13 credit hours of concentration core, and 5 credit hours of culminating experiences.

Program Outcomes

To review the program’s outcome statistics (e.g., graduation rates, employer surveys, assessment outcomes, etc.), please visit the program’s outcomes webpage.

Technical Standards for Admission, Academic Promotion and Graduation

The purpose of this document is to specify the technical standards the University deems necessary for a student to matriculate, remain in good standing and ultimately achieve all the competencies necessary for graduation within their program. The University, therefore, requires candidates to confirm their ability to comply with these standards, with or without accommodation, as a condition of admission and on an annual basis thereafter.

Fulfilment of the technical standards for graduation does not guarantee that a graduate will be able to fulfill the technical requirements of any specific residency program or employment setting.

A candidate who is seeking a MPH or MHA degree at Des Moines University must be capable of completing core educational requirements and achieving all Foundational Knowledge items (MPH only), all core competencies (MHA and MPH), and all concentration competencies (MPH) to qualify for graduation. DMU seeks to develop candidates who will acquire a deep and robust knowledge base with the ability to apply it, effectively interpret information, and contribute to decisions across a broad spectrum of public health and/or health care management settings. The critical skills required to be successful are outlined below, and include the ability to observe, communicate, understand, integrate core knowledge and skills, and to behave appropriately in varied educational and professional situations. 

Reasonable accommodations may be required by otherwise qualified individual candidates to meet the technical standards specified below. Requests for University-provided accommodations will be granted if the requests are reasonable, do not cause a fundamental alteration of the education program, do not cause an undue hardship, are consistent with the standards of the public health and/or health care management profession, and are recommended by the Accommodations and Educational Support Specialist.

1. Observation: Candidates and students must be able to acquire required information from readings, lectures, educational materials, and demonstrations. 
2. Communication: Candidates and students must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language such that they can communicate effectively in oral and written form with all members of the public health and/or health care team. Candidates and students must be able to communicate with others in order to elicit and share information. They must have the capacity for comfortable verbal and non-verbal communication and interpersonal skills that enable effective collaboration within a multidisciplinary team. In any case where a candidate’s ability to communicate is compromised, the candidate must demonstrate alternative means and/or abilities to communicate.
3. Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative, and Quantitative Abilities: Candidates and students must have the ability to accurately measure, calculate, reason, analyze, synthesize, problem solve, and think critically. They must also have the ability to participate and learn through a variety of modalities including, but not limited to, digital learning and communication environments, classroom instruction, small groups, teams, and collaborative activities. Candidates and students must be able to concentrate, timely analyze and interpret data, and make decisions within areas in which there is a reasonable amount of visual and auditory distraction.
4. Behavioral Attributes, Social Skills, and Professional Expectation: Candidates and students must be able to effectively utilize their intellectual abilities, exercise good judgment, timely complete all responsibilities, and develop mature, sensitive, and effective relationships with others. Candidates and students must be able to professionally manage heavy workloads, prioritize conflicting demands, and function effectively under stress. They must be able to adapt to changing environments; to display flexibility, to learn to function in the face their own possible biases and of uncertainties inherent in public health and health care management settings, and to not engage in substance abuse. Candidates and students must be able to understand and determine the impact of the social determinants of health and other systemic issues which impact the care of all individuals in a respectful and effective manner regardless of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, creed, religion, age, disability, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other protected status. Professionalism, compassion, integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest, and motivation are all qualities that are required throughout the educational process.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS

Des Moines University welcomes qualified candidates and students with disabilities who meet the technical standards of the program, with or without reasonable accommodations. Students with a disability who may need accommodations during their educational career at DMU will be asked to reaffirm their need for accommodations when acknowledging the ability to meet technical standards annually.  The student is responsible for requesting accommodations through the Accommodations and Educational Support Specialist in the Center for Educational Enhancement in person, by phone (515-271-4452) or by email (accommodations@dmu.edu). The Accommodations and Educational Support Specialist reviews all requests for accommodations through an individualized, interactive process.

The use of an intermediary may be a reasonable accommodation while performing some non-essential physical maneuvers or non-technical data gathering. However, an intermediary cannot substitute for the candidates’ or student’s interpretation and judgement. Intermediaries may not perform essential skills on behalf of the candidate or student, nor can they replace technical skills related to selection and observation.

PROCESS FOR ASSESSING COMPLIANCE WITH THE TECHNICAL STANDARDS

Candidates are required to attest at the time they accept an offer to matriculate that they meet the applicable technical standards, with or without reasonable accommodation, and annually confirm they continue to meet these standards. These standards are not intended to deter any candidate or student who might be able to complete the requirements of the curriculum with reasonable accommodations.

The University will, if requested, provide reasonable accommodations to otherwise qualified students and candidates with disabilities unless: (1) such accommodations impose an undue hardship to the University; or (2) such accommodations result in a direct threat of substantial harm to the health or safety of the student or candidate, or others; or (3) such accommodations fundamentally alter the educational program or academic standards.

A student whose behavior or performance raises questions concerning his or her ability to fulfill these essential functions may be required to obtain evaluation or testing by a health care provider designated by the University, and to provide the results to the Center for Educational Enhancement to be considered as part of the interactive process to determine possible reasonable accommodations.

Technological compensation can be made with respect to certain technical standards, but candidates and students should be able to perform these standards in a reasonably independent manner.

PHYSICAL HEALTH

In addition to the technical standards set forth below, candidates and students must possess the general physical health necessary for performing the duties of a student in the health sciences and a health professional in training without endangering the lives of patients and/or colleagues with whom they might have contact.  A candidate or student who abuses alcohol or other substances is not qualified for admission, continuation, promotion or graduation.

Required Courses

Public Health Practice Concentration

Health Education & Promotion Concentration

Public Health Administration & Policy Concentration

Required Courses under Previous Catalogs

Required courses for students matriculating prior to 2018-2019:

Elective Courses

6.0 credit hours of electives are required for students matriculating prior to 2018-2019.

Any course offered in the M.H.A. curriculum may be taken to fulfill M.P.H. elective credit requirements.

Graduation Requirements

A student is scheduled for graduation after successful completion of all degree requirements and upon recommendation of the program faculty for graduation. To be eligible for graduation, students must have demonstrated competence on all MPH core and concentration competencies by obtaining a minimum of 70% one or more times for each competency. All students graduating from the MPH  program are required to submit a graduation petition form prior to their intended graduation date.  Students must submit this form and pay all fees in order to receive their diploma.