Public Health

The Ph.D. degree in Public Health from Kent State University bridges public safety and health career pathways to address a nationwide shortage of public health workers.

The Public Health Public Health major from Kent State University Kent State University comprises the following concentrations:

• The Epidemiology concentration prepares students to examine the distribution and determinants of diseases in populations. Graduates are able to apply quantitative and qualitative methods to examine critical and/or emerging health issues, gain advanced ability to conduct large studies and analyze data sets in order to project health trends in populations of interest. 
• The Health Policy and Management concentration prepares students to design and implement studies and use advanced research methods to examine critical and emerging health issues. The heart of the concentration is a focus on interdisciplinary skills to meet the rapidly changing health needs of communities. 
• The Prevention Science concentration is an interdisciplinary program aimed at promoting healthy behaviors in populations across the life course. Graduates are prepared to design and evaluate public health interventions and have expertise in a variety of theoretical and substantive perspectives for conducting research within systems of the family, health and education, workplace and community.

Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Explain public health history, philosophy and values

• Identify the core functions of public health and the 10 Essential Services16

• Explain the role of quantitative and qualitative methods and sciences in describing and assessing a population’s health

• List major causes and trends of morbidity and mortality in the US or other community relevant to the school or program

• Discuss the science of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention in population health, including health promotion, screening, etc.

• Explain the critical importance of evidence in advancing public health knowledge

• Explain effects of environmental factors on a population’s health

• Explain biological and genetic factors that affect a population’s health

• Explain behavioral and psychological factors that affect a population’s health

Courses include:

• Biostatistics in Public Health

• Environmental Health Concepts in Public Health

• Public Health Epidemiology

• Public Health Administration

• Applied Regression Analysis of Public Health Data

• Methods of Evidence Based Public Health