Newswise — The Rutgers School of Public Health has launched New Jersey’s first fully online Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in Global Public Health, which is enrolling students for the Fall 2022 semester.
The Rutgers degree program, offered by New Jersey’s only nationally accredited school of public health, will increase opportunities for students to access a high-quality and affordable education from one of the nation’s leading schools in the discipline. Students enrolled in the online degree program will have the opportunity to engage with widely recognized leaders in the field and interact with their peers through robust digital learning technology.
“Our new online MPH in Global Public Health comes at a critical time when we as a society are reshaping how we live, work, and study,” says Perry N. Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health. “The pandemic and ongoing health crises demonstrate how interconnected public health is across continents, countries, and populations. The convenience of this degree, coupled with the robust and modern e-learning educational platforms, will train future public health leaders who are equipped to handle global challenges with a variety of people and populations.”
The online MPH intentionally focuses on global public health, one of the school’s most popular academic concentrations. Professionals trained in global public health are integral to addressing the health of people and populations both domestically and internationally. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic illustrates the need for a highly trained public health workforce that can develop comprehensive solutions to global health challenges.
“We live in a globally connected world and public health professionals who undertake this MPH will be well prepared for working with the diversity of immigrants who reside in the U.S. as well as cross-nationally,” says Leslie M. Kantor, chair and professor of the Department of Urban-Global Public Health. “Students will develop key skills for having an impact on critical public health issues.”
Students enrolled in the online MPH in Global Public Health will gain an understanding of how to address the complex economic, educational, political, sociocultural, environmental, ecological, and biological conditions that represent obstacles to attaining global health and wellness. Through the five major public health perspectives – health systems and policies, epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental and occupational health, and social and behavioral health sciences – students will learn to address public health within a range of contexts.
“Taught through a lens of health equity and social justice, students will be able to apply their skills in a variety of global settings exhibiting the capacity for interprofessional teamwork, leadership, and cultural competency to strengthen public health programs and service delivery with compassion and integrity,” says Laura Liang, associate dean for academic affairs.
The need for a public health workforce is projected to grow, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicting that there will be a particularly high demand for individuals trained in public health to fill roles like health education specialists, public health nurses, and biostatisticians. Additionally, in 2021, the White House announced a $7.4 billion investment aimed at recruiting public health workers and supporting the expansion of state and local public health departments. The funding is projected to create thousands of public health jobs that will need qualified individuals trained in the foundational principles of the discipline and guided by social justice and health equity to meet the growing needs of local, state, and national populations.
The online degree program will be offered at a single tuition rate, without a distinction between in-state and out-of-state residents.
Students interested in the online program can chat with an admissions counselor by reaching out here.
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