SPH Launches Online Executive MPH Program.
Public health professionals and clinicians seeking to propel their career to a leadership level now have the opportunity to do so in a convenient, fully online format at the School of Public Health.
The Online Executive Master of Public Health program offers the same comprehensive, skills-based curriculum, renowned faculty, and innovative approach that distinguished SPH’s in-person Executive MPH program from other schools, along with the benefits of a virtual format: a more flexible working environment, no commute to class, and extra time to devote to professional and personal commitments (or yes, even coursework). GRE scores are no longer considered for admission to any of the degree programs at SPH.
Geared toward mid-career professionals working in health care, finance, government, medicine, and more, the new Online Executive MPH consists of 10 seven-week courses that supply students with a solid public health foundation, as well as the more refined skills critical for senior leaders in the field. Foundational courses provide leaders with a strong base on which to build important skills including communication and collaboration strategies, financial management, statistical analysis, strategic management, and monitoring and evaluation.
“Online education is becoming an increasingly attractive option for higher education,” says Lisa Sullivan, associate dean for education. “Our new program format for the Executive MPH will allow us to attract and support experienced professionals looking to earn a public health degree from a top school.”
To suit working professionals’ hectic schedules, the Online Executive MPH program can be completed in one year as a full-time student, or up to two years as a part-time student. Weekly live video sessions mimic the experience of a traditional classroom, as students are able to view and interact with each other and with the professor during the scheduled sessions and for group projects outside of live sessions. After completing the program, students will be able to tackle public health problems from a leadership perspective and develop evidence-based, sustainable solutions.
Kate Garrison, a community health nurse from Rhode Island who is currently enrolled in the on-campus Executive MPH program, worked as a nurse for 15 years in hospitals, home hospice care, and complex case management for high-risk populations before deciding to pursue her MPH. While she enjoys her classes on campus, Garrison says that being able to avoid the commute to attend them would be a pleasant adjustment to her schedule.
“Just like so many front line clinicians, the life of a nurse is bananas,” says Garrison, who has focused her career on patients in marginalized populations, as well as people experiencing substance misuse and poverty. “Acute care nurses often work three 12-hour consecutive shifts, are often parents, or increasingly care for their own parents.”
She says that nurses who work in the community, from home health to hospice and case management, are “our front-line public health workers. We need their insight and experience to help design effective public health programs, and this online executive MPH program makes it logistically practical.”
Online or not, Garrison says she absolutely made the right decision to enroll in the Executive MPH program, with a goal to advance to a public health role where she can advocate for the vital role of nurses, influence health policies, and strengthen healthcare delivery systems.
“BUSPH prioritizes the social determinants of health,” says Garrison. “I’ve never experienced a student population that genuinely possesses such an overwhelming amount of empathy and purpose, and the value of the faculty simply cannot be underestimated because they are all so active in the most relevant research, from vaping to the opioid epidemic.”
Garrison also says she is surprised at the number of practical skills she acquired in her first semester at SPH.
“At a recent conference at the United Nations General Assembly, I realized that I’m now able to look at data and determine what makes a study effective,” she says. “That was a huge moment for me.”
For more information or to apply to SPH’s Online Executive MPH program, click here.