Today’s most pressing health issues encompass biomedical challenges, such as infectious diseases and chronic illnesses; environmental challenges, such as lead exposure and climate change; and psychosocial challenges, such as violence and addiction. In the globally-focused MPH program in Falk College, you will engage in the study of real-world public health issues and solutions that vary across communities and cultures by applying scientific principles to effectively address local and international public health needs. The combination of academic coursework and a globally focused practicum prepares you to investigate causes of illnesses and epidemics, develop effective prevention strategies, craft policies, and lead public health programs.
Unique features of the MPH include:
- Smaller class sizes to provide you with individualized attention and faculty support for your career path.
- A global perspective to understanding public health and implementing public health programs.
- Global opportunities to engage in public health practice with established Syracuse University and world partners.
- Opportunities to become involved with innovative faculty research.
- A variety of certificates of advanced studies (CAS) options across the university, including the addictions studies CAS that is wholly embedded within the MPH.
The diversity of faculty disciplines in our MPH program offers you in-depth knowledge from multiple perspectives. The program combination of theory and practice aims to develop a new group of public health professionals who are trained to meet the needs of local, national, and international communities. In addition to preparing you for work internationally, the global perspective of the program will be invaluable for those interested in meeting the needs of the increasingly diverse population of New York State and the United States.
Our Curriculum
The MPH is a 42-credit hour graduate program designed to provide students with core knowledge, research, and practice skills necessary for the advancement of evidence-based public health. The program’s global health concentration emphasizes an evidence-based understanding of complex determinants of population health combined with statistics training, public health practice, and evidence-based strategies for developing, implementing, and evaluating programs and policies in global settings. These applied competencies are acquired in relevant coursework and reinforced through a 6- to 8-week U.S. based or international placement. These placements are structured experiences designed to provide a real-world application of principles and skills learned in the classroom.
You can also choose to pursue numerous certificates of advanced studies (CAS) with your MPH, and graduate with both an MPH and CAS. The Addiction Studies CAS can be completed with no additional coursework.
Review potential CAS programs from across the university
Sample courses within our MPH in global health include:
- Development and Evaluation of Global Health Programs
- Infectious Disease: Epidemiology and Control
- Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health
- Analysis of Public Health Data
- Environmental Determinants of Global Health
- Global Health Governance
- Introduction to Prevention Science
- Substance Use and Mental Health in Global Contexts
Our Facilities
Faculty and students adopt an interdisciplinary collaborative research approach that frequently bridges multiple laboratories, centers, and institutions, including the Syracuse University campus, Upstate Medical University’s Research Institutes and Centers and Upstate Medical University faculty, and research centers and faculty at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
View public health faculty research projects.
Experiential Learning
Students complete a 150-200 hour applied practice experience (APE) in the summer after year 1 or year 2 of study. This experience provides students opportunity to demonstrate program competencies in an applied practice setting located in U.S. or international contexts.
International site partnerships exist in Kenya and India. Our faculty come from diverse backgrounds with extensive experience in the Caribbean, Canada, Europe, East Asia, Africa, and the Middle East that will offer students valuable exposure to issues and lifestyles of these cultures.
Practice-related activities may include design and implementation of behavior change strategies, improving health literacy, reducing harms and risks associated with substance use, and monitoring prevalence of communicable diseases. One example of a longstanding community-based program is The Genesis Health Project community-designed, culturally sensitive initiative to reduce health disparities, obesity, and its related health risks and to promote healthy lifestyles among African Americans.
These purposeful opportunities provide students valuable hands-on experience that translates into future professional roles in public health. Faculty and staff advisors have extensive connections in the fields of public health and global health, which translates into tremendous international networking opportunities for students.
Research
Faculty work closely with community organizations to understand the impact of community violence from public health perspectives, resulting in faculty-student publications in academic journals and funded research.
Syracuse University is a major partner in the New York State Wastewater Surveillance Network which uses wastewater to detect and track community-level transmission of viruses and pathogens and inform public health officials and the public of both existing and emerging public health threats.
Public Health faculty are collaborating with Syracuse University’s Engineering and Computer Science Department to develop novel treatment support for people with substance use disorders. The Psychophysiological Sensing to Enhance Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Self-Regulation of Opioid Cravings research uses passive sensing and adaptive artificial intelligence (AI) to help people with opioid use disorders (OUD) monitor stress reactivity, cravings, and withdrawal symptoms to reduce their risk of relapse.
The Syracuse Lead Study explores how low levels of lead in children’s blood can affect cardiovascular health throughout life. This is a multi-year, on-going research project with an international reputation that is supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Careers
MPH graduates find employment within government and non-government organizations. A variety of job titles exist in the field of public health, from opportunities in harm reduction, health promotion, and disease prevention in developing countries to health consequences of trauma, violence, war, and displacement.
Career paths for MPH graduates include the following sectors:
- Government bodies and public authorities where graduates are involved in policy-related activities such as County/State Health Departments, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Board of Health and Ministry of Refugee, Immigration, and Integration Affairs.
- Development agencies with national and international scope where graduates are involved in implementing, managing, and monitoring development activities such as WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNDP, The World Bank, European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, International Red Cross, Save the Children, and many others.
- Private companies, consultancies and industries dealing with health such as pharmaceutical and medical companies, the food industry, patent organizations and private consultancy firms.
- Non-governmental organizations where they may work as harm reduction specialists, health education specialists, disaster relief specialists, program evaluators, analysts or advisors, or prevention specialists.
- Universities and research institutions where graduates are involved in research.
Getting Admitted
The admissions requirements for this program include an undergraduate degree with a minimum cumulative 3.2 GPA, TOEFL scores (for international applications), undergraduate transcripts, three letters of recommendation, and a resume and personal statement.
Learn More:
For additional admissions information, contact the Office of Admissions at falk@syr.edu, or fill out our online form: