Department of Public Health Sciences Hosts Open House for Prospective Students
The Miller School of Medicine's Department of Public Health Sciences held an open house at the Shalala Student Center, where over 40 prospective students learned more about the opportunities that are available in the department, as well as in the Miller School. Faculty, staff, current students, and alumni presented information on the department's five divisions, gave an overview of the graduate programs, as well as engaged in Q&A sessions with attendees.
Before introducing the directors of each division, Begoña Rovira, M.B.A., M.A., began the open house with welcoming and introductory remarks by providing an overview of the graduate programs, the unique features of being a graduate student in the department, and on the importance and meaning of public health and how it affects people's lives.
The department has three public health degrees, including a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.), Master of Science in Public Health (M.S.P.H.), as well as a 4+1 program, where undergraduate students can complete a Bachelor of Science in Public Health program and an M.P.H. or M.S.P.H. degree in five years.
She also introduced other Master of Science (M.S.) and doctoral degree programs. Among those are programs in biostatistics, climate and health, epidemiology, and prevention science and community health. The M.S. in climate and health – the first graduate program to merge both fields – will launch fall of 2020.
Ms. Rovira also briefly introduced five joint degree programs offered in the department, including M.P.H. programs combined with fields in medicine, international administration, Latin American studies, law, and public administration.
A few of the department’s unique features are its reputation, faculty, city life, inclusive culture, and endless opportunities. The department is within the Miller School of Medicine, a hemispheric institution and the first medical school in Florida.
“Its location is a living laboratory for public health work and research, as well as a gateway for the Americas,” Ms. Rovira said.
Faculty conduct local and global interdisciplinary, translational research and are known to be student-centered leaders with over $11 million in National Institutes of Health and other research funding.
Its inclusive culture consists of small class sizes where students benefit from the plurality of races, ethnicities, faiths, cultures, customs, and traditions in one of the most multicultural cities in the world. Students also benefit from a tailored and personalized educational and capstone experience.
The department is also offering 25 percent in tuition scholarships for students enrolled in M.P.H. and M.S.P.H. programs. Students can also receive travel and conference awards, as well as support to complete the Certified in Public Health (CPH) exam.
The department includes five divisions – biostatistics, environment and public health, epidemiology and population health sciences, health services research and policy, and prevention science and community health.
Guillermo “Willy” Prado, Ph.D., dean of the graduate school and professor of public health at the Miller School, Naresh Kumar, Ph.D., professor of public health sciences at the Miller School of Medicine’s Department of Public Health Sciences, and Taghrid Asfar, M.D., M.S.P.H., research assistant professor at the Miller School of Medicine’s Department of Public Health Sciences provided information on some of the divisions. They spoke about the research, academic, and mentorship opportunities available within each division.
Faculty also gave an overview of various graduate programs. Viviana Horigian, M.D., M.H.A, associate professor of public health and director of public health education at the Miller School, and Roderick King, M.D., M.P.H., senior associate dean for diversity, inclusion and community engagement and associate professor of public health, gave presentations on the M.P.H., M.S.P.H., and M.D./M.P.H. programs.
Dr. Horigian elaborated on the capstone field experience, which is a requirement for each student in a public health program. It is designed to enrich their education with real-world experience in the field of public health.
Every semester, the department hosts a capstone meet and greet, where public health organizations engage with graduate students who are looking for a field experience or who are interested in seeking job or volunteer opportunities.
Over 70 organizations participated in this semester's meet and greet, such as the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us research program, Health Foundation of South Florida, Florida Department of Health Miami-Dade, American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, and Peace Corps, to name a few.
Dr. King, who is also director of the M.D./M.P.H. program, spoke about the program and on the importance of combining medicine with public health. Medicine focuses on the individual, disease and treatment, while public health is centered on the population, prevention, and health promotion.
The program is also one of the few four-year M.D./M.P.H. programs that are offered at medical schools in the United States. It integrates significant public health components into the medical curriculum in its first year, is designed to provide graduates with both clinical and research skills and provides students with opportunities to work with public health professionals and to conduct community-based research to complete the capstone project.
Tulay Koru-Sengul, Ph.D., research associate professor of biostatistics, Seth Schwartz, Ph.D., professor of public health, Dr. Kumar, and Dr. Prado also spoke more in-depth about other master and doctoral programs.
Some unique components of the M.S. in biostatistics program, for example, is that it can be completed in three semesters and emphasizes applications and understandings of statistical concepts rather than theoretical and mathematical principles.
The M.S. in climate and health is a program in conjunction with the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. It will offer four tracks for accepted students to choose from, including tracks in public health sciences, marine and atmospheric sciences, toxicology, and an analytical track in climate and health. Among other opportunities, students can also receive research fellowships.
For students interested in prevention science and community health, the two-year M.S. program focuses on seven priority areas within the field, such as tobacco-free living, preventing drug abuse and excess drug use, healthy eating, active living, injury and violence-free living, reproductive and sexual health, and mental/emotional well-being. These are seven of the priority areas of the U.S. National Prevention Strategy, which is a guide that is released guide released by the National Prevention Council.
After faculty engaged with prospective students through a Q&A session, Andria Williams, M.B.A., director of admissions for the Department of Public Health Sciences, gave an admissions overview. Williams went over the steps on how to apply, the application process for the masters, doctoral, and joint degree programs.
She also spoke about the various jobs that exist within public health. To name a few, studying public health can help graduates obtain jobs as biostatisticians, health insurance policy analysts, toxicologists, health educators, advocacy associates, and epidemiologists.
Before introducing the student panelists, Williams shared public health career resources, information on financial assistance and scholarship within and outside of the Miller School.
David J. Lee, Ph.D., professor and director of graduate programs in the department and chair of graduate studies at the Miller School, gave closing remarks at the open house.
To watch a video of the open house, visit the Department of Public Health Sciences' YouTube page.
Written by Amanda Torres
Published on November 5, 2019
