CUNY School of Public Health & Health Policy
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How a public health degree from CUNY can change the world

Advancing improved health and social justice for all starts with exceptional public health graduates. Their insights are crucial to the well-being of communities and their ideas often translate into research, health programmes, policies, and education — most of which are designed to address or prevent medical issues affecting significant portions of populations.

Think of how climate change will cause more global warming, floods, droughts, windstorms, sea level rise and how these will stress our bodies; a whopping 37 million Americans falling victim to substance abuse; young people between the ages of 15 to 24 representing half of 20 million new STD reports each year; food policies that make us sicker; a devastating pandemic that has yet to end after two years of disruption. Each of these challenges tells us the world needs more public health heroes — most of which owe their skills, knowledge and experience to a Master of Public Health (MPH).

The qualification is offered at the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH) in a variety of ways. Located in bustling New York City, the school’s history dates back to 1972, when it first made its commitment to teaching, research and service for a healthier city.

Today, its work in promoting equitable efficient and evidence-based solutions transcends borders. Little wonder why CUNY SPH is ranked among the top 15% of schools of public health in the US and rated the best public school of public health in New York.

Tomorrow’s world-changers join CUNY SPH’s fight by choosing from its expansive lineup of academic offerings. One stands out for its comprehensiveness, flexibility and ability to open international doors: the online MPH. This degree programme is offered in collaboration with Universidad de Alcalá (UAH) — one of the oldest universities in the world and one of Spain’s best schools of medicine and health sciences.

This programme instils a global mindset by allowing students to pick the brains of esteemed faculty members from both New York City and Madrid. Bilingual advisors and faculty directors offer guidance throughout as well. The best part? Students can enjoy this support from the comfort of their own homes. Online courses are asynchronous, meaning that students — or busy professionals in need of flexibility — can attend classes whenever their schedules allow.

Curricula are just as flexible. Online students can choose between two concentrations: The MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the MPH in Community Health. The first prepares students to design and conduct public health research before applying findings to improve the health of populations. Meanwhile, the latter focuses on the social and behavioural sciences in public health.

For all its great features, this is an affordable programme. Both CUNY SPH and UAH are public universities, meaning tuition rates are much lower than those of private institutions. In fact, CUNY SPH offers its online students the same rate enjoyed by New York residents.

: CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy

Source: CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy

Excellent programmes that prepare students for success

At CUNY SPH, all MPH degrees are offered in both hybrid and online formats. In fact, our hybrid programs are well suited for international students who want to come to the United States for in-person education. While students wait for student visas to process, they can take courses online and then finish in-person in New York City!

With an MPH in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, students learn to recognise, evaluate, and control environmental and occupational threats to health. The MPH in Health Policy and Management teaches the arts of planning and managing public health programmes in a range of urban settings, analysing the impact of health and non-health policies on population health, and advocating for policies that will promote healthier populations.

The MPH in Public Health Nutrition suits students more interested in promoting the nutritional wellbeing of population groups. They are taught to do so by learning to assess the nutritional needs of various populations before planning and implementing programmes and managing them in community and institutional settings. These programmes are offered in both hybrid and online formats.

However, all MS degrees at CUNY SPH are strictly delivered virtually, with the exception of the MS in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, where students begin the process of gearing up for a career in the growing field of Industrial Hygiene. The MS in Global and Migrant Health Policy equips seasoned professionals with the content expertise and research methods needed to formulate and evaluate global and migrant health policies and programmes.

The School’s MS in Health Communication for Social Change was designed for students with more meaningful public health outcomes in mind, teaching them to leverage communication, social marketing and other behaviour-change strategies to achieve the world they wish to see.

Then, there’s the MS in Population Health Informatics, which caters to more future-focused learners looking to use technology to build a healthier world. This programme is the first of its kind to showcase how operationalised informatics solutions can address important public health challenges impacting individuals, families, communities and the environment in which they live.

All routes nurture the scientific framework and technical skills needed to turn your concerns for mankind into a career. To truly uncover the path for you, click here to deep dive into everything CUNY SPH has to offer.

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