Master of Public Health - Curriculum
Waterloo's Master of Public Health (MPH) program comprises mainly a course-based curriculum, which includes an MPH degree requirement of two required 2-week block courses, seven required core lecture/seminar courses (12 weeks each), plus three elective courses. In addition, students must complete a supervised 12-16 week applied practicum in a community setting. There is no research/thesis option.
The initial and final courses in the program are held on UW campus as 2-week summer block courses. The initial course is held in late August while the final course will occur in the spring of a student's graduating year. The remaining MPH courses for both full-time and part-time students are supported by self-directed learning packages offered through distance education. Reliable high-speed internet access is highly recommended.
The MPH degree will be completed within 2 years for full-time students (3 terms per year). Part-time students must complete their degree within four years of initial program entry. All graduate students must maintain continuous registration for each term of the program.
While in the program students should expect to spend 12-15 hr/week on each course. For a full-time student that means they will spend up to 45 hours/week on coursework. Additional program information is available on the University's Graduate Studies Office webpages.
Still not sure if public health is for you? Learn more about it with our public health primer (.pdf).
Course offerings
For course descriptions please visit the course calendar.
Term |
Course offerings |
|---|---|
Core courses |
|
| Fall term | PHS 601 Foundations of Public Health (August) |
| PHS 604 Public Health and the Environment | |
| PHS 605 Biostatistics in Public Health | |
| PHS 607 Public Health & Society I | |
| Winter term | PHS 606 Principles of Epidemiology |
| PHS 608 Health and Risk Communication | |
| PHS 609 Management and Administration | |
| PHS 641 Public Health Practicum | |
| Spring term | PHS 603 Health Policy in Public Health |
| PHS 602 Capstone | |
Stream courses |
Sociobehavioural Focus* |
| Spring term | PHS 614 Program Evaluation |
| PHS 617 Population Intervention for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion | |
Elective courses |
|
| Fall term | PHS 623 Risk and Exposure Assessment |
| PHS 632 Health Economics & Public Health | |
| PHS 635 Public Health, Environment and Planning | |
| PHS 661 GIS and Public Health | |
| Winter term | PHS 624 Environment Toxicology |
| PHS 638 Selected Topics in Public Health - Community Health Strategies (.doc) [Language of instruction is Spanish] | |
| Spring term | PHS 636 Applied Epidemiology |
| PHS 638 Selected Topics in Public Health - Social Justice | |
| PHS 638 Selected Topics in Public Health - Environmental Approaches to Physical Activity Promotion | |
| PHS 663 Human Development and Health |
*Courses in the sociobehavioural focus area can be taken by any student as an elective but are required for students in the sociobehavioural stream
Course sequences available below for viewing. These sequences are subject to change but can be used as reference for planning your future terms.
Sociobehavioural stream:
full-time course sequence (.doc), part-time course sequence (.doc)
General program:
full-time course sequence (.doc), part-time course sequence (.doc)
