NYU Launches Online MPH Geared Toward Graduate Students in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

NEW YORK, May 24, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Achieving the health-related UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 promises to be a significant challenge for most nations, particularly in what has become a severely resource-constrained global environment.  As a consequence, public health professionals who possess deep knowledge and advanced analytic operational skills are likely to be highly valued within their respective health systems.

To help ready students to enter the public health workforce and meet these critical goals, the College of Global Public Health (GPH) at New York University (NYU) has announced a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree focused on health in the SDGs. The program will develop exceptional analytic and strategic decision-making skills in public health so that its graduates can help governments at all levels achieve health-related SDGs.  In a competitive selection process, twenty high-potential students from low-income nations, including many in Sub-Saharan Africa, will be identified to receive a 90% scholarship, making the program affordable to scholars where they can benefit from it most.

"Ideally, scholars who are currently unable to access this type of applied public health education in their country will now have access to a robust curriculum and dedicated expert faculty, with the goal of becoming the part of the next generation of health leaders in their respective countries," said Dr. Chris Dickey, director of Global Health Programs at NYU GPH.

"In cooperation with a select group of Health Ministries, we're planning a pilot program to recruit these new scholars," Dr. Dickey continued.  "Program faculty will include a combination of GPH faculty and others drawn from public health leadership in Africa."

Joining these students in the SDG MPH pilot, will be UN professional staff, national and sub-national government staff around the world, U.S. public health professionals, and development professionals from NGOs who aim to focus on the SDGs and its successor frameworks during their career. 

"We're delighted to launch this innovative, fully online MPH at a time in which its skills could not be more critical," said Dr. Cheryl G. Healton, Dean of NYU GPH.  "For the group of students who are selected, we've intentionally structured the program to be financially affordable for those who cannot travel so they can easily access the program and immediately apply the acquired skills to improving health outcomes on the ground."

Emphasizing a multi-disciplinary, systems approach to solving complex challenges in disease control and prevention, the curriculum includes individual and class projects that lead to innovative, equitable, cost-effective, and attainable solutions to diverse public health/health challenges.  Students will have access to world-class NYU faculty instruction, academic resources, networking, and support as they complete weekly lessons at times most convenient for them.

Graduates will be equipped to assume management roles in public health settings anywhere on the globe and stand out to employers with a skillset that has both breadth and depth, including:

• Interpreting and applying modeling and evaluation findings to allocate resources for interventions and strategies that address the global burden of disease
• Designing, managing, monitoring, and evaluating public health programs that strengthen health systems and health outcomes
• Investment planning for context specific interventions and strategies to address and reduce the global burden of disease
• Making use of systems thinking as a member of inter-disciplinary team, to plan, monitor and evaluate progress towards effectively and efficiently meeting the health-related SDGs.

Applications are now being accepted to begin in Fall 2017, with all of the courses available online in formats adapted to meet regulations on graduate education in key countries.

NYU College of Global Public Health:
At the College of Global Public Health (CGPH) at New York University (NYU), we are preparing the next generation of public health pioneers with the critical thinking skills, acumen and entrepreneurial approaches necessary to reinvent the public health paradigm.  Devoted to employing a nontraditional, inter-disciplinary model, CGPH aims to improve health worldwide through a unique blend of global public health studies, research and practice. CGPH is located in the heart of New York City and extends to NYU's global network on six continents. Innovation is at the core of our ambitious approach, thinking and teaching.  http://publichealth.nyu.edu/. 

Contact: Julia Cartwright
NYU College of Global Public Health
Julia.cartwright@nyu.edu
(202) 550-2501 / (212) 992-6117

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SOURCE NYU College of Global Public Health