We offer Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) accredited undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) as well as Master of Public Health (MPH) degrees. Our programs are aimed at introducing students to the history and core concepts of public health. We aim to bridge public health and health care delivery systems in order to build integrated, high functioning health and public health systems by engaging individuals, communities, and providers in the development and management of a more effective and sustainable health infrastructure.
The Bachelor and Master’s programs prepare students with the knowledge and skills to improve population health. We deliver a competency-based education that engages faculty and students with external partners. Both our Bachelor and Master’s programs foster experiential learning that conducts and translates research, and contributes to public service.
Statement of Vision, Mission, Values, and Guiding Principles
Our degree programs are aligned with the mission of the Muskie School of Public Service and the University of Southern Maine (USM). We promote the well-being of our state and region by supporting student success, community engagement, and sustainable partnerships for health.
Vision
We envision thriving communities, in Maine and beyond, where every member has the opportunity to be their healthiest self.
Mission
We educate students to become skilled public health professionals, sought after for their expertise and commitment to improve population health and promote health equity. We engage in applied research and service to support the well-being of the communities we serve.
Values
- We value the development and use of evidence to inform decision-making. We prepare our students to produce and interpret evidence that aids their decisions as organizational and community leaders.
- We value inclusion, diversity, and cultural humility. We seek to learn with individuals of varied identity groups and perspectives.
- We value lifelong learning and continuous professional growth. We seek to expand our knowledge and understanding by soliciting feedback from students, alumni, external partners, and each other.
Guiding Principles
- Student learning;
- Democratic decision making based on inclusivity and reasonable standards;
- An equitable distribution of teaching and departmental service responsibilities that accounts for differences in faculty appointments;
- Transparent, professional, and collegial relationships with students, faculty, staff, administrators, and the public; and,
- The spirit and intent of the stated mission of the Muskie School of Public Service and USM.
Undergraduate BSPH Program Goals
The BSPH introduces students to the history and core concepts of public health and its role in U.S. and international health systems. Students will gain knowledge of public health theory and approaches, as well as the skills necessary to apply this knowledge in entry-level professional public health roles across Maine. Students gain exposure to public health projects within their communities that integrate their learning and provide valuable experience in public health planning and program delivery.
The BS in public health will prepare you for early career, entry-level positions at local health departments, businesses, social service agencies, health systems, nonprofit community organizations, hospitals and more. The degree also provides a strong foundation for graduate programs in multiple fields, including USM’s Master of Public Health (MPH), other graduate health training programs, public policy, and law.
Graduate MPH Program Goals
As a public university program, located in the nationally recognized Muskie School of Public Service, The Graduate Program in Public Health is driven by the goals of improving access, population health outcomes, and health system cost-efficiencies to advance the health of our communities.
Goal #1: Prepare students to serve in a variety of roles addressing population health by delivering a competency-based generalist public health education.
Goal #2: Conduct and disseminate applied research that informs the field and has direct implications for practice or population health.
Goal #3: Engage in service activities at the local, state and national level that benefit population health.
Who We Serve: Employers & Students
Our program offers the only CEPH accredited MPH degree in the University of Maine System. The program addresses state and regional public health system workforce needs. We enroll students representing the array of professional and academic backgrounds, experience, and interests that comprise the field of public health. The program’s primary prospective student target market encompasses pre-career and mid-career health professionals living in Maine and New England. In keeping with the value we place on inclusion and diversity, our prospective student target groups includes new residents of Maine and international students from countries with rural or poorly resourced health systems and public health infrastructure. As a refugee resettlement area, southern Maine has an increasingly rich experience-base to inform population health and health systems that are responsive to the needs of diverse communities.
Our Graduates
We seek to ensure that our graduates are recognized as consistently demonstrating mastery and competence in professional communications, facility with acquiring and assessing data and information for informed decision-making, and the ethics, skills and tools to facilitate (pre-career grads) and lead (mid-career grads) based on demonstrated management and leadership competencies. Our graduates are working in health systems, public health agencies and academic institutions, and 90 percent of our MPH graduates were employed in the field within three months of graduation.
Our graduates work in diverse roles in public health and healthcare delivery systems as Community Liaison Consultants, Data Analysts, Access Program Directors, Network Contract Managers, Communications Managers, and Program Coordinators. They work in state and municipal health departments, children’s behavioral health programs, with public, non-profit and private medical centers, health systems and health plans, and with international programs of the USAID and for the United Nations.
Due to the paucity of professionally trained professionals in Northern New England, our graduates likely will have the opportunity to work in multiple settings over the course of their careers. This underlies our program’s emphasis on flexibility to respond to student interests, while preparing nimble graduates who are prepared to manage and advance population health as members and leaders of health systems teams, managers, and as leaders of our evolving public health infrastructure.
Our Faculty
As a research and practice-based faculty, we are teachers, scholars, and practitioners engaged in applied research, evaluation, and policy and program development at the local, state and national level. This involvement contributes to assuring course currency and relevance. Our faculty are affiliated and co-located with the Muskie School’s, Cutler Institute for Health and Social Policy and its programs in Population Health and Health Policy, Disability and Aging, and our nationally recognized Maine Rural Health Research Center, where we are engaged in a broad range of externally funded public health and health services projects. The work of our faculty and professional research staff on rural health, health care access and costs, Medicaid, state health policy, disability and aging, public health systems and other topics has gained statewide and national recognition, reputation and funding. Through these affiliations, faculty and professional staff engage students in research assistantships, provide mentoring, and facilitate access to local, state, and national professional networks.
For more information about the Public Health program, please contact Ben Greenfield