The broad nature of coursework for an MPH in social and behavioral sciences means every student will follow a different curriculum. You might work towards a degree in research by focusing on methodology courses while your classmates pack their schedule with electives in sociology or health policy. Don’t be frightened by this freedom. Your school will pair you with an advisor to help you select the perfect plan for reaching your career goals.
Program Planning and Evaluation
Many social and behavioral public health specialists work in program planning or evaluation. No other public health concentration studies the macro-, micro- and mezzo-levels of health behavior at the same depth as social and behavioral scientists. A good public health school should offer hands-on experience, giving you the chance to design a public health program from beginning to end in conjunction with a local non-profit or government agency.
Research Methodology
With an MPH, you’ll be a practitioner and a researcher. Many of your public health jobs will combine these roles; so will your degree. You’ll take at least one course on research methodology and dive deep into p values, statistical power and sensitivity versus specificity. Depending on your program, you may take separate courses on qualitative and quantitative methods or a single combined course. Whatever your curriculum calls for, expect to be challenged, but also expect to hone your scientific literacy in ways that will benefit you throughout your career.
Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Even if you manage to skip out on quantitative research methods, you won’t escape your MPH in social and behavioral sciences without a few mathematics-based classes on your transcript. Because public health is an interdisciplinary field, you’ll be required to learn the basics of epidemiology and biostatistics. Most graduate schools in public health split their course offerings into two tracks: One for students earning an MPH in epidemiology or biostatistics and one for students in other concentrations, like SBS. You can talk your way into the more challenging courses or save your energy for upper-level social science coursework.
Electives
One of the joys of graduate education is the freedom you have to design your own course of study. A standard MPH program offers 6 to 12 credits of electives. Public health is a broad field; the American Public Health Association works on topics from racism to climate change to infectious disease. If your long-term career goals lie in one of these areas, use your electives to take courses on sociology or environmental science or microbiology. Your electives will give you a unique background and can lead to a great internship or original research for your thesis.
Internship or Thesis Courses
Your MPH degree will culminate in a thesis or internship experience. Some schools require you to dedicate an entire semester to these courses alone; others encourage you to work over the summer between your first and second year. You have great freedom to find a capstone project that fits into your career goals, but you should start planning early, especially if you want to intern at an international organization.
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You can even pursue a dual degree by combining your MPH with a master’s degree in social work or business or a law degree. The flexibility of required courses for a social and behavioral sciences MPH lets you carve your own path.