The Graduate Public Health Program

Master of Public Health, (MPH)
The mission of the Master of Public Health (MPH) program is to prepare professionals who are able to investigate critical public health issues and who can develop and evaluate programs and policies aiming to promote and advocate for the health of populations in Lebanon and countries of the region. The central features of the MPH program are an interdisciplinary focus, academic excellence, and relevance to Lebanon and to the region.

The MPH program at FHS was established in 1971, providing general education in public health. Over the years the MPH program has developed into a leading graduate academic program in public health in Lebanon and the region. It maintains this leading role by continuously revising its curriculum in line with the most recent developments in the field of public health, while remaining sensitive to the needs of the Region.

Program Description
The MPH program is competency-based and focuses on a paradigm that emphasizes the determinants of health and disease, intervention and advocacy, as well as critical and analytic thinking. The importance of a community approach to health pervades the program.

Students gain competency through learning experiences in the disciplines of public health and in their chosen areas of concentration: epidemiology and biostatistics, health behavior and education, or health management and policy. These learning experiences include coursework, seminars, a practicum, applied research, and a culminating experience.

The MPH Program is tailored to meet the needs of applicants who are drawn from a broad array of disciplines such as medicine, other health specialties, business, biology, social sciences, economics, and many others.

Curriculum
The MPH curriculum includes three principal elements:
A. Core
Core courses emphasize critical public health competencies. The specific core competency areas include: biostatistics, epidemiology, social and behavioral sciences, environmental health, health management and policy, research design and communication.

B. Concentration
Concentration courses provide students with an opportunity to specialize in a chosen discipline of public health. 

Areas of concentration include:
• Epidemiology and biostatistics (EPBS)
Students concentrating in EPBS will gain an in-depth understanding of concepts and methods of epidemiology and biostatistics that are applied to community and facility based health issues. Students will be prepared to become proficient in the design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of epidemiologic research and in the management and analysis of routine health data sources. Graduates may assume positions in governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as in universities and health care institutions.

• Health Behavior and Education (HBE)
Students concentrating in HBE will acquire a broad understanding of the underlying determinants of health and health behavior. Students will be prepared to design, implement, and evaluate interventions for community health and development at individual, group, and community levels. Graduating students may assume positions in a variety of settings such as hospitals; community based organizations; local, regional, and international governmental and non-governmental organizations; schools, hospitals and universities.

• Health Management and Policy (HMP)
Students concentrating in HMP will gain an in-depth knowledge of the unique management and policy issues relevant to operations in healthcare organizations, finance and information systems. Students will also gain competence in the application of management tools in health care settings. Graduating students may assume positions responsible for the operations, planning, and fiscal management of hospitals, ambulatory centers, governmental and non-governmental organizations, consulting agencies, and insurance companies.

C. Public Health Experience
During their course of study, students will be given the opportunity to practice the knowledge and skills acquired from their coursework through a research project and a practicum. Students will synthesize these hands on experiences and link them to the core competencies in a final culminating experience.

Credit Requirements
The MPH program consists of a total credit load of 42 hours distributed according to the following: 19 credit hours of core courses, 12-13 credit hours of concentration courses, 3-6 credit hours of public health experience, and 4-8 credit hours of electives.

Students with relevant and sufficient previous experience in a health related field will be exempted from the practicum. 

Course Offerings Across Semesters
The majority of core courses are offered in the Fall Semester of each academic year. Each core course is a prerequisite to its corresponding concentration courses (i.e. the core course HMPD 300 is a prerequisite for all the HMPD concentration courses).

All concentration courses are offered in the Spring Semester of each academic year. Students cannot register for concentration courses unless their prerequisite core course (related to the concentration) has been successfully completed.

The Public Health Experience courses (including the Research Project, the Practicum, and the Culminating Experience) are offered in the Fall and Spring Semesters of each academic year. Students can register for those courses after completion of all but one core and /or concentration course(s). For regional students enrolled under the 12 months program and for students who are practicum exempt, Public Health Experience courses can be offered in the Summer.

Elective courses are offered in all semesters, including Summer.

Click here for the full curriculum

Time Frame
Full-time students generally need 18 months to complete their degree.  However, students who need to graduate within 12 months, can do so provided they fulfill the 42 credit requirements through an intensive program.  

Students enrolled on a part-time basis are allowed up to four years to complete their degree.

Requirements for Admission
An applicant is considered for admission to the MPH program if he/she meets the following minimum requirements, as defined in the AUB University Catalogue:

• Good academic record in undergraduate and graduate education.  For more information on FHS admission requirements, click here.
  
  
• Proficiency in English demonstrated by passing the University English Entrance Examination (EEE), or by achieving the minimum required score for TOEFL examination or IELTS.  For more information on AUB English Proficiency requirements, click  here.

• Regular admission: if his or her average is at least 80, or its equivalent in the major field of study. When only a cumulative average is available, the applicant will qualify for regular admission if that average is 80 or more.
  
• Admission on probation: if the major and cumulative average are between 75 and 80. When only a cumulative average is available, the applicant will qualify for this category if that average is between 75 and 80.

Office of Admissions
American University of Beirut
P.O.Box: 11-0326
Riad El Solh, Beirut 1107 2020
Lebanon
Email: admissions@aub.edu.lb
Tel: (961) 1 374374, ext. 2528/90/96
Fax: (961) 1 750755

Financial Aid

Program Coordinator:
Rima Afifi, PhD
Faculty of Health Sciences
Department of Health Behavior and Education
Email: ra15@aub.edu.lb
Tel: (961) 1 340460, ext. 4664

MPH Learning Outcomes

MPH Policies and Procedures

For further information about the MPH program, please send your inquiries to gphp@aub.edu.lb