The Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine (DPHPM) delivers the MPH program with the vision of ensuring a competent public health workforce, regionally and internationally, building healthy communities. The DPHPM is invested in delivering education that prepares students to become proficient in the practice of public health and research that produces outcomes that are responsive to public health challenges. The program offers the freestanding MPH, giving students the option to specialize in two tracks: Epidemiology or Global Health. A Preventive Medicine track is also offered for MD/MPH dual degree students who are concurrently taking both programs or SGU MD graduates who wish to pursue the MPH as a standalone program. Additionally, a Veterinary Public Health track is specific to DVM-MPH dual degree students who are concurrently taking both programs or SGU DVM graduates who wish to pursue the MPH program as a standalone program. The MPH program requires 42 credits of graduate public health coursework. Of the total credits, 24 in program-required courses, 12 in track-required courses, 3 in the field-based practicum; and 3 in the culminating Capstone Integrated Learning Experience.
MPH students and alumni are qualified to sit the US National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE) Certified in Public Health (CPH) examination. The DPHPM also hosts the Gamma Kappa Chapter of the Delta Omega Honors Society in Public Health and serves as a World Health Organization Collaborating Center (WHOCC) in Environmental and Occupational Health, and a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Regional Collaborating Center (UNFCCC RCC). Faculty and students have participated in research in collaboration with public health institutions, such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute of Health (NIH), Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), reginal and international health authorities, such as Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization, Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), international universities, and governmental and community based organizations.