The vision of the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine (DPHPM) at St. George’s University is to be a dynamic local, regional and global center of excellence in public health. The vision is supported by the mission to cultivate and disseminate public health knowledge and practice through an innovative integration of education, service, and research for students in collaboration with communities and partners. This mission is accomplished through community empowerment, collaboration, and team concept, offering continued professional educational opportunities, translating research and knowledge through high-quality research-to-practice applications, producing graduates of high quality, and aligning the program with the needs of the community. The department offers its graduate program within the School of Medicine administers the Basic Principles of Medicine III component of the Doctor of Medicine program and contributes to public health content in the Schools of Veterinary Medicine and Arts and Sciences.
The Master of Public Health (MPH) program offers the freestanding MPH, giving students the option to specialize in one of four tracks: Epidemiology, Environmental and Occupational Health, Health Policy and Administration or Global Health. A Preventative Medicine track is also offered for MD/MPH dual degree students and a Veterinary Public Health track is specific to DVM-MPH dual degree students. 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.
The department is the academic home of public health practitioners who serve as our core faculty. With years of international public health experience and continue to engage in teaching, research, service, and workforce development activities. MPH students and alumni are qualified to sit the US National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE) Certified in Public Health (CPH) examination. . The MPH program allows its faculty and students to pursue interdisciplinary opportunities in scholarly activities, service and workforce development. 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 (WHO CC) in Environmental and Occupational Health and a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Regional Collaborating Center (UNFCCC, RCC). The faculty participates in research collaboration with other public health institutions and have existing links with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute of Health (NIH), international universities, and governmental and community based organizations.. Service links exist with the Grenada’s Ministries of Health and Agriculture, as well as regional and international agencies, such as the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the World Health Organization. All of these dimensions contribute to the academic experiences that students receive within the program.
The US accreditation authority for public health programs, The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), has granted SGU’s Master of Public Health program accreditation for an additional seven years, affirming the University’s leadership position in the region through the year 2022. The MPH program was initially accredited by the CEPH for a five-year term beginning in 2010.