You Study at Your Pace!

Students can take the MPH as a residential master’s degree program, or as a combination hybrid online and onsite master’s degree program. Students in the residential program must have valid immigration status to be in the country they choose to be the country of their studies (a program involving multiple countries is also possible). Our faculty work in many countries. You can chose when to attend lectures, and how rapidly you advance through the degree.

In the combination hybrid online and onsite program. In the combination program we ask all enrolled students to join at least three 3-day on-site intensive training programs during their studies, which are held around the world. We will provide specific details of the courses for online and onsite to students who apply and are accepted. The dates and places depend on student demand. AUSN has formal Collaboration Agreements with over 30 Institutions all around the world.

We welcome applications (form) and the MPH program is intended to provide academically qualified individuals who are dedicated to enhancing the status and quality of life of all global communities, the basic competent knowledge and creative and critical-thinking ability to improve the health of all the world, and to live holistically in our precious environment.The Director of the MPH Program is Professor Darryl Macer, Provost of AUSN.

Disciplines

The Masters in Public Health (MPH) curriculum at the AUSN School of Medicine is organized around six (6) core disciplines of public health: Public Health Ethics, Health Policy and Management, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Environmental Health Science, Biostatistics, and Epidemiology. Knowledge and skills in these disciplines equip the graduate to analyze and consider solutions to public health problems at the community, institutional, and societal levels.

The MPH program consists of various required core courses with some choices, and has a discipline-specific competency emphasis on Healthcare Management, and is thus consistent with the interdisciplinary/cross-cutting competencies Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) model.The MPH curriculum includes the listed courses.

Mission
The Mission of the American University of Sovereign Nations School of Medicine (AUSN) Master of Public Health (MPH) Program is to advance the public health of all peoples and populations, by providing essential competent graduate education, knowledge, skills, research, service, creative and analytical critical thinking ability, and leadership to those graduate students who are dedicated to enhancing the health status and quality of life all global communities.

Vision
The Vision of the AUSN MPH Program is to be the Master of Public Health degree program of choice for those individuals who are committed to community, global leadership, and are dedicated to preventing disease, promoting health, and protecting the well-being of the public of all nations and all peoples.

Program Description
The AUSN MPH Program is an academic master’s degree program intended to provide academically qualified individuals who are dedicated to enhancing the health status and quality of life all global communities, the basic competent knowledge and creative and critical-thinking ability to improve the public’s health.

Statement of Purpose
The purpose of the AUSH MPH program of study is two-fold. First, upon successful completion of the AUSN MPH Program and master of its required competencies, graduate students will be prepared to work in the field of public health and influence and improve community health outcomes by working for public health agencies, non-governmental organizations, hospitals, medical centers, clinics, nursing homes or rehabilitation centers.

Second, the AUSN MPH program is offered to existing professionals (e.g., RN, MD, JD, Hospital Administrators, Healthcare CEO’s, etc.) who will benefit from the added knowledge and expertise with respect to public health, the health management of populations, and the health management of hospitals, medical centers, surgery centers, clinics, nursing homes, etc.; in those circumstances the MPH will enhance their career goals and aspirations.

Study Requirements and Fees
The courses of the AUSN MPH program, as shown in the Curriculum above, can be completed by either full-time or part-time study, and accordingly can be completed within one to two years of study. The MPH program requires a minimum of thirty two  (32) semester credit hours; with 480 clock hours of instruction.  Students are free to take more classes as they like.

Students are required to own their own computer which contains Microsoft Word / Power Point / Excel (or an equivalent software program). There are no clinical training or externships offered. There are no state nor federal licensing requirements to work in public health with an MPH degree (the AUSH MPH degree is a non-clinical post-graduate academic degree which is not the subject of either state or federal professional licensure). The Total Tuition and Fees for a full-time (2-semester program) are USD 25,350 for the residential program and USD 15,350 for the combination program.   Students are responsible for their own living costs, including accommodation at the on-site training courses.  AUSN does offer significant Scholarships and students can include related information should they wish to apply for a Scholarship to accompany their application form.

AUSN MPH Required Core Competencies
Upon graduation, all AUSN MPH students will have the following core competencies as related to the various public health disciplines specified in the Associations of Schools of Public Health, Education Committee Report, Master’s Degree in Public Health Core Competency Development Project, and as included below.

A. Discipline: Public Health Ethics
AUSN MPH graduates shall have sufficiently mastered the public health core competencies such that they will be able to:

• Describe the legal and ethical bases for public health and health services.
• Apply basic principles of ethical analysis to issues of public health practice and policy.
• Describe the roles of history, power, privilege and structural inequality in producing health disparities.
• Identify the ethical, social and legal issues implied by public health biology/sciences.
• Distinguish between population and individual ethical considerations in relation to the benefits, costs, and burdens of public health programs.
• Comprehend basic ethical and legal principles pertaining to the collection, maintenance, use and dissemination of epidemiologic data.

B. Discipline: Health Policy and Management
AUSN MPH graduates shall have sufficiently mastered the public health core competencies such that they will be able to:

• Describe the legal and ethical bases for public health and health services.
• Discuss the policy process for improving the health status of populations.
• Apply principles of strategic planning and marketing to public health.
• Apply quality and performance improvement concepts to address organizational performance issues.
• Apply “systems thinking” for resolving organizational problems.
• Identify the main components and issues of the organization, financing and delivery of health services and public health systems in the US.
• Explain methods of ensuring community health safety and preparedness.

C. Discipline: Social and Behavioral Sciences
AUSN MPH graduates shall have sufficiently mastered the public health core competencies such that they will be able to:

• Identify the role of social and community factors in both the onset and solution of public health problems.
• Examine racial and ethnic disparities within the context of historic and contemporary social and economic climates.
• Recognize the causes of social and behavioral factors that affect health of individuals and populations.
• Discuss sentinel events in the history and development of the public health profession and their relevance for practice in the field.
• Understand the causes of disparities in disease risk, access and utilization of preventive and health care services and health outcomes.
• Identify basic theories, concepts and models from a range of social and behavioral disciplines that are used in public health research and practice.
• Describe steps and procedures for the planning of social and behavioral interventions and policies.
• Identify multiple targets and levels of intervention for social and behavioral science programs and/or policies.
• Identify individual, organizational and community concerns, assets, resources and deficits for social and behavioral science interventions.
• Apply evidence-based approaches in the development and evaluation of social and behavioral science assessments and interventions.
• Explain the role of biology in the ecological model of population-based health.
• Explain how genetics and genomics affect disease processes and public health policy and practice.

D. Discipline: Environmental Health Science
AUSN MPH graduates shall have sufficiently mastered the public health core competencies such that they will be able to:

• Describe the direct and indirect human, ecological and safety effects of major environmental and occupational agents.
• Specify approaches for assessing, preventing and controlling environmental hazards that pose risks to human health and safety.
• Describe genetic, physiologic and psychosocial factors that affect susceptibility to adverse health outcomes following exposure to environmental hazards.
• Specify current environmental risk assessment methods.
• Explain the general mechanisms of toxicity in eliciting a toxic response to various environmental exposures.
• Describe federal and state regulatory programs, guidelines and authorities that control environmental health issues.

E. Discipline: Epidemiology
AUSN MPH graduates shall have sufficiently mastered the public health core competencies such that they will be able to:

• Explain the importance of epidemiology for informing scientific, ethical, economic and political discussion of health issues.
• Identify key sources of epidemiologic data, and comprehend basic ethical and legal principles pertaining to the collection, maintenance, use and dissemination of epidemiologic data.
• Identify the principles and limitations of public health screening programs, including the evaluation of validity and reliability of screening tests.
• Describe epidemiologic study designs and assess their strengths and limitations.
• Describe a public health problem in terms of person, time and place.
• Apply the basic terminology and definitions of epidemiology.
• Calculate basic epidemiology measures, including risk, rate, incidence, and prevalence.
• Draw appropriate inferences from epidemiologic data.
• Communicate epidemiologic information to lay and professional audiences.

F. Discipline: Biostatistics
AUSN MPH graduates shall have sufficiently mastered the public health core competencies such that they will be able to:

• Describe the role biostatistics serves in the discipline of public health.
• Identify vital statistics and other key data sources, and apply descriptive techniques commonly used to summarize public health data.
• Describe basic concepts of probability, random variation and commonly used statistical probability distributions.
• Apply common statistical methods for inference, and specify methodological alternatives to commonly used statistical methods when assumptions are not met.
• Understand analysis of basic study designs and apply descriptive and inferential methodologies accordingly to answer a particular research question.
• Interpret results of statistical analyses found in public health studies.

MPH Program General Information
A. Admissions
Admission to Masters of Public Health (MPH) program at the American University of Sovereign Nations School of Medicine (AUSN) is a competitive process which gives students an opportunity to further advance their life, career, influence the progress of society, and advance the public’s health.

Generally, students are admitted to the AUSN MPH program upon proof of a Baccalaureate, Masters, or other professional degree (e.g., MD, JD, MBA, PhD, etc.). The AUSN Admissions Committee is responsible for the final decision as to the admission of any applicant to the MPH program. The Admission Committee is made up of the Dean of the Medical School, Members of the Faculty of Medicine, and various individuals from the community, and the AUSN Board of Trustees and Board of Governors.

Criteria for admission to the AUSN MPH program shall include the following:

• Prior successful completion of a Baccalaureate degree from an accredited and recognized college or university; or, prior successful completion of an Associate’s college degree with an Active professional license (e.g., RN, JD, MD, MBA, etc.); or a prior Master’s degree or other professional degree (e.g., MD, JD) from an accredited and recognized college or university.
• The applicant must have maintained an overall grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0; or equivalent, from all prior academic course work.
• Be of good moral character.
• Have submitted a completed Application for Admission.
• Have submitted a Personal Statement.
• Have completed a Personal Interview (either in person, or via Skype, or through a AUSN representative).
• Demonstrate the requisite maturity which would indicate the applicant would be successful in graduate study.
• Apparent ability to study public health at a graduate school level.
• Have provided the names of at least two Referees and contact information, with permission that the AUSN admission officials can contact Candidates can submit two Letters of Recommendation (Preferably from prior instructors or Professors; and not from family members).
  
• Have submitted official copies of School Transcripts from the applicants prior college or university studies.
• Have submitted copies of professional licenses, if any.

Consideration of Special Circumstances. The applicant may submit any additional information, documentation, comments, or explanations which he/she believes may be further explanatory and beneficial to the applicants successful candidacy for admission to the AUSN MPH Program.

B. Application Procedure
All applicants for admission to the AUSN MPH program must submit their Application for Admission to the Admissions Committee with the following information:

Completed Application Form (download here)
(a) Must contain active email address
(b) Must contain a Photo of the Applicant
(c) Must contain a completed Personal Statement
Copies of official transcripts from all colleges and universities previously attended
Letters of Recommendation
A $50.00 non-refundable application fee (Currently this fee is waived!).
Personal Interview.
Applications may be submitted either online or via regular mail; online submission or submission as a pdf email attachment is preferred (Application).


C. Catalog
The AUSN Catalog is available upon request from the Provost (Email: provost@ausn.info), and is provided to all students.

D. Attendance

Every student must attend a lecture on every required topic in the syllabus.  For students who for any reason do not achieve the minimum attendance for a course will need to attend future make-up classes to ensure that they have covered every topic in each course syllabus. Those taking the combination-hybrid delivery mode may view the topic on the video archive and report that to the course director to request assignment of lecture attendance clock hours.  

A minimum of eighty percent (80%) attendance is required for residential courses for full-time students, otherwise the student will be dropped from the course. 

Under emergency medical circumstances, where a student leaves class early due to an illness or emergency, or a student is absent from a class or period of educational instruction, the student must inform the instructor.


E. MPH Thesis and Public Defense
Candidates for the advanced graduate degree known as the MPH offered by the AUSN School of Medicine shall be required to complete, submit and defend, in public, in addition to the successful completion of their required course work, a publishable Thesis. The MPH Thesis is an extended piece of writing that reflects original thought or research conducted by the candidate. An MPH thesis length is expected to be between 20-50 pages which must be of publishable quality. The prospective MPH graduate of the AUSN School of Medicine MPH Program shall be required to defend their MPH Thesis in public, at an open public gathering or forum.

F. MPH Thesis Faculty Advisor
Each AUSN School of Medicine MPH candidate shall have an assigned Faculty Thesis Advisor. The Faculty Thesis Advisor shall be chosen by the candidate with the assent of the MPH Programme Director and/or the Dean. An early selection of the Faculty Thesis Advisor is strongly advised.

The Faculty Thesis Advisor shall be either a member of the Faculty of the AUSN; or a member of another Faculty from a recognized and accredited national or international college or university; or may be a professional licensed clinician; or other scholarly individual, researcher, or professional, as determined by and approved by the Dean. The candidate should submit the name of his Faculty Thesis Advisor as early as possible to assure smooth and regular progress in his/her Thesis and Defense.

The role of the Faculty Thesis Advisor shall be to provide aide, assistance and scholarly guidance to the candidate in preparation of the MPH Thesis and defense, and to make a final recommendation to the Dean that the candidate be admitted for public defense of his/her MPH Thesis.

G. MPH Thesis Committee
In addition to the assignment of a Faculty Thesis Advisor for each candidate of the MPH degree at AUSN, a MPH Thesis Committee shall be organized and assigned to the prospective MPH candidate. The MPH Thesis Committee shall be determined and assigned within thirty (30) days of the candidate’s submission of his particular MPH Thesis topic, or at any time sooner should the MPH Candidate so desire.

The MPH Thesis Committee shall consist of the Faculty Thesis Advisor assigned to the candidate, in addition to two (2) other Members who shall be selected by the Dean. The Dean shall accept names as suggestions for additional members from the candidate; thus a tribunal of three (3) judges shall be assembled through the cooperative efforts of the MPH Candidate and the Dean.

After the MPH Candidate has Defended his/her Thesis in public, the MPH Thesis Committee shall vote on the approval / disapproval of the Thesis. The Committee may vote instantaneously at the conclusion of the Defense or within forty-eight hours (48 hrs) following the conclusion of the Defense. In case of a tie vote, the Dean shall break the tie. In case the candidate does not successfully defend his/her Thesis, the candidate shall be required to repair or amend the MPH Thesis as may be appropriate and then be permitted to graduate with the MPH degree at the next (subsequent) graduation ceremony.

H. MPH Graduation Requirements
The AUSN School of Medicine requirements for graduation for the award of the MPH degree shall include the following:

• Completion of all required courses of the required MPH core course curriculum.
• Received a Grade Point Average of 3.0 or better (4.0 scale) for each core MPH curriculum.
• Completion of a MPH Thesis of publishable quality.
• Have no Honor Code violations.
• Have complied with all AUSN  rules and regulations, and be current in any fees or tuition of the AUSN.
• Successfully defend the MPH Thesis in a public forum.

“Ten Essential Services of Public Health”
In order to promote and provide a working definition of public health, and a guiding framework for the responsibilities of public health specialists and systems, the AUSN MPH Program supports and provides educational instruction in the “Ten Essential Services of Public Health,” (as originally created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Core Public Health Functions Steering Committee and the U.S. Public Health), which include the following responsibilities to:

• Monitor health status to identify and solve community health problems.
• Diagnose and investigate health problems and health hazards in the community.
• Inform, educate, and empower people about health issues.
• Mobilize community partnerships and action to identify and solve health problems.
• Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health goals and efforts.
• Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety.
• Link people to needed personal health services and assure the provision of health care when otherwise unavailable.
• Assure a skilled and competent public health care workforce.
• Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based health services.
• Research for new insights and apply innovative solutions to health problems.



 MPH Curriculum
Compulsory Courses (26 Credit Hours)

Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Public Health, 3

Essentials of Community Health, 3

Essentials of Environmental Health, 3

Essentials of Public Health, 3

Healthcare Management, 3

MPH Thesis and Public Defense, 6

Public Health Law, Ethics  and Policy Analysis, 3

Public Health Preparedness and Bio-terrorism, 2

Choose a minimum of 6 credit hours from these:

Applied Bioethics Research Seminar, 2

Applied Public Health Research Seminar, 2

Bioethics and Values Education, 3

Developmental and Educational Psychology, 3

Global Public Health and Peace, 3

Essentials of Health Behavior, 3

Healthcare Finance and Economics, 2

Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Public Health Care, 3

Indigenous Traditions and Bioethics, 3

Social Psychology, 3 

MPH Course Descriptions

Applied Public Health Research Seminar
The purpose of this course is to have the student engage with the community and to conduct research on a pertinent public health topic; students will work together as a Team. The Applied Seminar is intended to give students the opportunity to spend time practicing newly acquired skills and knowledge, as well as to explore new or different areas of interest in public health as it relates to healthcare industry and community health services. Where possible, students will organize into teams, and each team will select a healthcare setting problem or a healthcare policy issue for its project to explore into the community. Team members must work together jointly, and not divide the project into exclusive parts. Each team will submit a written report, and make a public presentation to the class, or in an appropriate setting. Team members will act as consultants, research the historical, current, and potential scenarios related to their topic. Students should properly identify the stakeholders as related to their topic or policy issue and the impact of potential scenarios on each major stakeholder. The final report and the presentation should include, de minimis: Financial issues (cost and benefit to stakeholders); Delivery issues (demographic considerations); Evaluation (frequency, methods, cost). The final written report should be approximately 10-15 pages, exclusive of a one page Executive Summary. The supporting documents should be included in the appendices part of the report. The report should contain sound organizational structure, such as the following major components: I. Introduction / Background; II. Blend of Literature Review and Industry Comparisons; III. Presentation of the current situation with supporting data; IV. Possible Alternative Solutions with Feasibility and Consequences; V. Conclusions.

Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Public Health
The objectives of this course include that the student gain a working understanding of the principles of the general and basic understanding of epidemiological methods relating to biostatistics and public health. This is a survey course in epidemiology and biostatistics as related to public health. Subject to be discussed include: data and descriptive measures; standardizing rates; describing data with graphs, life tables; probability; random variables and probability distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing; sample size; study design; statistical measures of association among variables; experimental studies; survival analysis; and cause and effect; the types of observations study designs (case report/case series; cross-sectional survey; cohort study; case-control study and the nested case-control study); the types of experimental study designs (RCT or clinical trial; the crossover trial); prevalence; incidence; risk difference, attributable risk; risk ratio; dichotomous variables; descriptive statistics; continuous variables; evaluating screening tests; confidence and interval estimates.

Essentials of Community Health
The objectives of this course include that the student gain a working understanding of the principles of community health and to understand its role in the general public health arena. The subject matter covered in this course includes: Community Health: Yesterday, Today; Organizations That Help Shape Community Health; Epidemiology: The Study of Disease, Injury, and Death in the Community; Epidemiology: Prevention and Control of Diseases and Health Conditions; Community Organizing/Building and Health Promotion Programming; The School Health Program: A Component of Community Health; Maternal, Infant, and Child Health; Adolescents, Young Adults, and Adults; Elders; Community Health and Minorities; Community Mental Health; Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs: A Community Concern; Health Care System; Community Health and the Environment; Injuries as a Community Health Problem; and Safety and Health in the Workplace.

Essentials of Environmental Health
The objectives of this course include that the student gain a working understanding of the principles of the environment and environmental public health. The purpose of this course is to provide the student with the essential principles and foundations of environmental health from a public health perspective and accordingly this course addresses important environmental public health subject such as: the significance of the environment for human health; population and the environment; environmental epidemiology; contributions of epidemiology to environmental health; strategies of environmental epidemiology; causality in epidemiologic studies; environmental toxicology; environmental policy and regulation; zoonotic and vector-borne diseases; arthropod-borne viral diseases (arboviral diseases); emerging zoonoses; toxic metals and elements; overview of sources and effects of exposure to metals; toxic heavy metals; essential metals with potential for toxicity; pesticides and other organic chemicals; ionizing and non-ionizing radiation; nuclear waste disposal; water quality and treatment of water for residential consumption; air quality; notorious air pollution episodes in history; sources and causes of air pollution; components of air pollution; health effects of air pollution; global climate change and global warming; controlling air pollution and global warming; food safety; the global burden of foodborne illness; categories of food hazards; common microbial agents of foodborne illness; solid and liquid wastes; solid waste management; disposal of hazardous materials and wastes; sewage processing and disposal; significance of the occupational environment for health; overview of agents of occupational disease; and specific occupationally associated diseases and conditions.

Essentials of Health Behavior
The purpose of this course is to provide the student the groundwork for understanding, assessing, and effectively applying theories of human behavior within the practice of public health and to help the student understand how health promotion, education, and prevention programs ultimately focus on changing health behavior. In this course the student will learn the kinds of social and behavioral theories that guide our understanding of health related behavior and form the background for health promotion and prevention efforts. Relevant course topics which will be addressed shall include: Bio-behavioral Factors in Health & Disease; Behavioral Risk Factors; Social Risk Factors; Individual and Families: Models and Interventions; Organizations, Communities and Society: Models and Intervention; The Links Between Health and Behavior; The Social-Ecological Web and Health Determinants; Social/Behavioral Theory and its Roots; Individual Health Behavior Theories; Social, Cultural and Environmental Theories; Application of Theory: Communications Campaigns; Application of Theory: Global Health; Communities and Populations as Focus for health Promotion Programs; Application of Theory: High Risk and Special Populations; How is Theory Connected to Resolving Health Disparities? Culture, Diversity and Health Disparities: Are Current Theories Relevant? Evaluation: What Is It and Why Is It Necessary? How Does it Relate to Theory? Community Intervention or Intervention in a Community; Discussion of Integrated Theory of Health Behavior Change: Background and Intervention Development; National Institute of Health (NIH) Public Access; 2009; Discussion of Promoting Behavior Change: Making Health Choices in Wellness and Healing Choices in Illness – Use of Self-Determination Theory in Nursing Practice; 2007; the relation of behavior to health issues (e.g., obesity/ cardiovascular disease; youth violence and HIV/AIDS, etc.); anthropology and cultural theory – behavior as adaptation; community intervention and the complexity of communities; communities as experts; communicating through the public media; communications campaigns; application of theory: global health; high risk and special populations; and types of evaluations and kinds of impact or outcome.

Essentials of Public Health
The purpose of this course is to provide the student with the essential principles and foundations of public health so that the student can understand the field of public health and how it works through its federal, state and local public health system. It provides the student with the concepts and tools for measuring health and disease in populations, characterizing the relationship of the public health system with medical care and other elements of the overall health system. Because the purpose of this course is to provide the student with the essential principles and foundations of public health so that the student can understand the field of public health and how it works through its federal, state and local public health system; and this course provides the student with the concepts and tools necessary for measuring health and disease in populations, characterizing the relationship of the public health system with medical care and other elements of the overall health system, the necessary subjects and topics which shall be considered include: A Brief History of Public Health in the United States; Understanding and Measuring Health in the United States; Measuring Health, Illness, and Disease and Influences on Health; Analyzing Health Problems for Causative Factors; Economic Dimensions of Health Outcomes; Prevention and Health Services; Understanding American Government and Public Health and Public Health Law, and the roles of Federal Health Agencies; State Health Agencies; Local Public Health Organizations; and Intergovernmental Relationships; Understanding the Public Health Work and Public Health Workers; Size and Distribution of the Public Health Workforce; Composition of the Public Health Workforce; Public Health Worker Ethics, Skills, and Competencies; Characteristics of Public Health Occupations; Public Health Roles in Emergency Preparedness and Response; National Public Health Preparedness and Response Coordination; State and Local Preparedness Coordination; State and Local Bioterrorism Preparedness; Understanding Epidemiology and Disease Control; Occupational Classification; Public Health Practice Profile; Important and Essential Duties; Understanding Public Health Education and Information; Occupational Classification; Public Health Practice Profile and their Important and Essential Duties; Understanding Public Health Program Occupations; Public Health Program Specialists and Coordinators; Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Coordinators; Public Health Policy Analysts; Public Health Information Specialists and Analysts; Community Outreach and Other Technical Occupations; Understanding the Public Health Workforce Growth and the Public Health Workforce Distribution and Composition, Public Health Workforce Skills and Competencies.

Global Public Health and Peace
The purpose of this course is to provide the student with the essential principles and foundations of global public health public and for the student to understand how those principles related to general public health and their relations to peace. This course addresses the foundations and principles of international public health and global health. Commonly addressed topics include: why study global health? health, public health, and global Health; critical global health concepts; the Millennium Development Goals; health determinants, measurements, and trends; the importance of measuring health status; the determinants of health; key health indicators; understanding and measuring the burden of disease; health, education, the economy, and poverty; health, productivity, and earnings; health, the costs of illness, and poverty; health expenditure and health outcomes; human rights and global health; an introduction to health systems; the concept of culture and the importance of culture to health; the importance of nutrition; the determinants of nutritional status; nutritional needs through the life cycle; the importance and determinants of women’s health; the burden of health conditions for females; the costs and consequences of women’s health problems; the importance of child health; the burden of disease of child health; infections diseases and their impact to the burden of disease; the importance and burden of non-communicable diseases and unintentional injuries; the characteristics of natural disasters the characteristics of complex emergencies; the health burden of natural disasters; the importance of natural disasters and complex emergencies to global health; the health effects of complex humanitarian emergencies; cooperating to improve global health; trends in global health efforts; science, technology, and the public’s health; constraints to applying science and technology to global health problems. Numerous United Nations and World Health Organization documents are reviewed and studied; as are databases from UNESCO.

Healthcare Finance & Economics
The purpose of this course is to provide the student with the understanding of the various finance mechanisms used in healthcare today and to understand the basic economic principles relative to the healthcare market and as it relates to public health. This course examines and explores basic finance theory and its practical application in health care across a full range of facilities, from hospitals and home health agencies to skilled nursing facilities, surgical centers and private physician practices. Subject topic areas to be covered include: Financial Information and the Decision-Making Process; Billing and Coding for Health Services; Financial Environment of Health Care Organizations; Legal and Regulatory Environment Community Benefit Assessment; Revenue Determination; Managed Care; General Principles of Accounting; Financial Statements; Accounting For Inflation Analyzing Financial Statements; Financial Analysis of Alternative Health Care Firms; Strategic Financial Planning; Cost Concepts and Decision Making; Product Costing; The Management Control Process; Cost Variance Analysis Financial Mathematics; Capital Project Analysis; Consolidations and Mergers; Capital Formation; Working Capital and Cash Management; Developing the Cash Budget. Health Care economic topics which will also be covered include: The Role of Economics; The Demand for Health; The Demand for Health Care; The Market for Health Insurance; Health Care Production, Costs, and Supply; The Health Care Workforce Market; Technology Transfer in Health Care; The Competitive Market; Market Failures and the Role of Government; Socioeconomic Factors; Hospital Industry; The Pharmaceutical Industry; Comparing Health Care Systems; Health Care Reform; and Public Policy and Health Economics.

Healthcare Management
The objective of this course is to present to the student a general framework and understanding of the pertinent issues related to healthcare management both in a profit and non-profit setting. This course considers the following subject topic areas in detail: An Overview of Healthcare Management; Leadership; Management and Motivation; Organizational Behavior and Management Thinking; Strategic Planning; Healthcare Marketing; Quality Improvement Basics; Information Technology; Financing Health Care and Health Insurance; Managing Costs and Revenues; Managing Healthcare Professionals; The Strategic Management of Human Resources; Teamwork; Addressing Health Disparities: Cultural Proficiency; Ethics and Law; Fraud and Abuse; Healthcare Management Case Studies and Guidelines. Additionally, because the non-profit sector of health delivery organizations comprise amongst the largest sectors in US health care, Non-profit healthcare organizations will be studied in detail with an emphasis on historical implications, differences in operations and marketing, application of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, special fiduciary duties of Board of Directors; the ethical challenges of non-profit healthcare organizations; and shareholder v. Board relationships. This course will consider the general operations of both for-profit and non-profit healthcare organizations, while considering the many outside forces influencing health care institutions. Relevant case studies are used.

Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Public Health Care 
The aims and objectives of this module include the following: (i) to consolidate and deepen/enrich students’ knowledge and skills in Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS)-based medical and health sciences; (ii)  to examine misconceptions created and propagated by Eurocentricism on traditional medical and health care practices by inculcating knowledge and awareness among students and researchers of medical and health sciences on the efficacy of indigenous health care systems as knowledge systems on their own merit, i.e. with their own ways of knowing, knowledge production and value systems; (iii) to prepare postgraduate students of medical and health sciences with a multi-inter-trans-disciplinary approach including involvement of indigenous knowledge holders and practitioners in research and curriculum delivery. 

MPH Thesis & Public Defense
The objective of this course is to have the student complete his / her preparation of the foundational sections of their MPH Thesis and to prepare for a Public Defense. This MPH Thesis course is intended to guide the student in the final preparation and completion of the final stages of their MPH Thesis. Great care and detail is taken to review and explain thoroughly, within the construct of the MPH Thesis, the design, organization, research, detailed literature bibliography, conclusions, recommendations, and final preparation of the MPH Thesis. Additionally the student will write out anticipated questions and answers which will likely appear in any public defense of such a Thesis. This is an intensive writing and research course.

Public Health Law, Ethics & Policy Analysis
The purpose of this course is to present the student the essential principles of public health law, public health ethics, and health policy, and for the student to understand their critical nature and application in general public health. This is survey type course which covers the essential subject areas of public health law, ethics and policy analysis. Accordingly, pertinent legal subject areas will include: Understanding the Role of and Conceptualizing Health Policy and Law Policy and the Policy making Process; Law and the Legal System; Overview of the Health Care System; Public Health Institutions and Systems; Individual Rights in Health Care and Public Health; Understanding Health Insurance; Health Economics in a Health Policy Context; National Health Reform; Government Health Insurance Programs: Medicaid, CHIP, and Medicare; Health Care Quality Policy and Law; Public Health Preparedness Policy; The Art of Structuring and Writing a Health Policy Analysis. Ethics subject areas in this course shall include: Contemporary Ethical Dilemmas; End-of-Life Dilemmas; Health Care Ethics Committee; Development of Law; Introduction to Law; Government, Ethics, and the Law; Organizational Ethics and the Law; Health Care Professionals’ Ethical and Legal Issues; Physicians’ Ethical and Legal Issues; Employee Rights and Responsibilities; Patient Consent; Patient Abuse; Patient Rights and Responsibilities.

Public Health Preparedness & Bio-terrorism
The objective of this course is to enable the student to appreciate and understand the important interrelating principles which must come into play during a modern day public health emergency as related to community preparedness, the public health system; and bio-terrorism. The subject matters covered in this course include: The Role of Public Health in Times of Population Crises and Emergencies; Government and Public Health Emergencies; Government Capacity: Federal, State, and Local Agencies and Responsibilities; Public Health Law; National Response Plan; Emerging Public Health Systems: Post-conflict and Post-Disaster Settings; Private Sector and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s); Public-Private Partnerships during Emergencies; Non-Governmental Organizations Response to Crises; Technology and Public Health Crises; Public Health Tools during Emergencies; Epidemiological Studies; Surveillance and Monitoring; Rapid Needs Assessment; Infectious Diseases Emergencies; Contagious Diseases Epidemics; Pandemic Influenza; Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases; Terrorism; Bombing Events; Biological Agents; Chemical Agents; Radiological Agents; Natural Disasters; Earthquakes; Hurricanes, Tsunamis, and Cyclones; Extreme Temperature Emergencies: Heat Waves and Cold Storms; Industrial Emergencies; Hazardous Substances; Nuclear Energy Reactors; Special Populations and Issues; Mental Health Emergencies and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; Children and Public Health Emergencies; Substance Abuse and Public Health Crises. Additional topics related to public health and bio-terrorism will be covered from materials of the American Medical Association and US Centers of Disease Control.

Goals and Objectives
The AUSN MPH Program Goals and Objectives, which are operationalized in case studies, assignments, and class-discussions presented in the MPH core curriculum, include Instructional, Research, Community Service, and Institutional Goals and Objectives, as follows:

A. Instructional Goal
The instructional goal of the AUSN MPH program is to offer excellent educational and academic training and develop students to become superior professionals, who are able to integrate and skillfully apply basic public health knowledge in performing the “ten essential public health services” (as originally created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Core Public Health Functions Steering Committee and the U.S. Public Health).

Instructional Objectives
We will recruit graduate students with high academic qualifications who are committed to the advancement of the public’s health.
We will recruit a culturally and ethically diverse student body and endorse and promote diversity of thought, culture, gender and ethnicity.
We will offer high-quality academic and educational programs which have appropriate learning objectives.
We will assure that students have appropriate field research experience in applied public health practice.
We will offer a high-quality educational program with a curriculum that supports the development of core, cross-cutting, creative and critical-thinking competencies for public health.
We will assure that students have appropriate training in public health practice or applied public health research through integration and practical application of the learned competencies through a field experience, and or other educational, research and service activities.

B. Research Goal
The research goal of the AUSN MPH program is to engage in research and evidence-based applications that advance public health knowledge and community practice.

Research Objectives
We will recruit Faculty interested in pursuing research activities and contributing to the advancement of public health critical-thinking and analysis.
We will recruit students interested in applied research activities with community involvement.
We will encourage AUSN MPH faculty to participate in research activities that advance public health knowledge and practice.
We will require AUSN MPH students to participate in research activities that advance public health knowledge and practice.
We will inform MPH students of research possibilities available through community involvement and with public health and medical organizations.
We will encourage and support AUSN MPH faculty and student collaboration with public health practitioners in clinical and research activities that advance public health knowledge and practice.

C. Community Service Goal
The community service goal of the AUSN MPH program is to improve local and global public health through collaborative community service.

Community Service Objectives
We will collaborate with community-based organizations and public health organizations to create healthy communities.
We will maintain leadership and service to the profession and to AUSN.
We will encourage MPH faculty to participate in collaborative community service activities.
We will encourage and require MPH students to participate in collaborative community service activities.
We will encourage and require MPH faculty and students to work together in collaborative community service activities.

D. Institutional Goal
AUSN shall create an environment that supports excellence in instruction, research and service.

Institutional Objectives
We will encourage open and honest communication at all levels of the AUSN community.
We will develop the leadership and management skills of both the faculty and staff.
We will develop an infrastructure to support state-of-the-art teaching, research, and service.
We will foster an environment that promotes creativity, collaboration, and interdisciplinary creative critical-thinking.