Public Health (MSP)
with a Concentration in Occupational Safety (POS)

Program Director or Coordinator:
Kamala Dontamsetti
Phone: 813-974-6505
Email: cophinfo@health.usf.edu

Website: http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/index.htm

Faculty Search: Public Health Faculty List

Major Information

The base of knowledge for public health comes from a variety of disciplines, ranging from social sciences to biological sciences and business, brought together by a commitment to improve the public's health. Thus, the field of public health is broad and is open to students from diverse academic disciplines including Health Sciences, Education, Engineering, Business, Communications, Mathematics, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences. Graduates are prepared for interdisciplinary focused public health professional careers as administrators, managers, educators, researchers, and direct service providers.

The Colleges five departments are: Community and Family Health, Environmental and Occupational Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Global Health, and Health Policy and Management. Public Health Practice is a college-wide program. Core content is directly related to addressing and meeting public health issues.

The College accommodates the working professional as well as the full-time student by offering late afternoon and evening classes, online course delivery, partnerships with international schools to expand options, a variety of graduate certificate programs, and a professional M.P.H. for experienced Health Care professionals.

Accreditation Information:

The College is fully accredited by the Council on Education in Public Health and the Applied Science Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org.

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Admissions Information

Admission Deadlines

Major Priority Deadline

Fall: May 1
Spring: June 15
Summer: November 15

Admission Requirements

You must comply with general University policies and meet general University Admission requirements in addition to those listed below.

Must meet University requirements (see Graduate Admissions) as well as requirements listed below.

Program Admission Requirements
All applicants must take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or have taken an equivalent admissions examination within the five years preceding application and must meet the following criteria:

Equivalent exams include the GMAT, MCAT, DAT or PCAT.

• LSAT is not accepted in lieu of the GRE.
• Although there are no required minimum scores, the applicants GRE score will be compared to the applicant pool and the national GRE norms.
• Applicants who have a terminal degrees such as the PhD, ScD or EdD, and those with advanced professional degrees (MD, DDS, DO, DVM, JD, PharmD, DPT) from accredited institutions and who are individually licensed in the United States in their profession may request to waive the GRE (http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/pdf/GRE%20Waiver.pdf). The GRE waiver is not automatic and must be approved by the College of Public Health.
• Shall have earned an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution;
• Shall have earned a "B" average (3.00 on a 4 point scale) or better in all work attempted while registered as an upper division student working toward a baccalaureate degree.

Meeting of these criteria per se shall not be the only basis for admission.

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Major Requirements

Total Minimum Program Hours:42 credit hours

Core Requirements 9 hours

Concentration Course Requirements 27 hours (varies by concentration, includes research courses and electives)
Thesis 6 hours minimum

Program Core Course 9 hours
PHC 6588History and Systems of Public Health (1)
PHC 6756 Population Assessment: Part 1(5)
PHC 6757 Population Assessment: Part 2 (3)

Concentrations 27 credit hours minimum (including Research Hours and Electives)
Students select from one of the concentrations listed on the following pages. The Concentration section includes Concentration Course Requirements, any required Research courses, Electives, and any concentration specific requirements for the Comprehensive Exam.

Research Courses
Specific course requirements are listed with the Concentration. Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Medicine Residency are practice-based and do not have specific research hours required.

Electives
Elective options are listed with the Concentration.

Thesis 6 credit hours
PHC 6971Thesis

Comprehensive Exam
Must be registered for at least 2 credit hours of coursework. Thesis proposal defense may be used in lieu of the comprehensive exam.

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY (POS)

Pre-requisites and Admissions Information
In addition to meeting the Program admission requirements for the Master of Science in Public Health in Public Health, applicants should also meet these concentration prerequisites:

• Public health course prerequisites: None.
• Suggested/preferred undergraduate majors: science, engineering, technology and management, and psychology.
• Prerequisite undergraduate courses: None
• Work experience: None required; however occupational work experience is beneficial.
• Minimum undergrad GPA: Upper division GPA 3.0.
• Other criteria: Two Letters of recommendation.

Total Program Requirements with this concentration - 46 credit hours minimum

In addition to the 15 hours required for the Program Core Requirements and the thesis hours, this Concentration requires:

Concentration Course Requirements 20 credit hours
Research Courses 6 credit hours
Elective courses 5 credit hours

Concentration Course Requirements 20 credit hours
PHC 6360 Safety Management Principles and Practices
PHC 6354 Safety and Health Administration
EIN 6216 Occupational Safety Engineering
EIN 6215 Engineering System Safety
PHC 6423 Occupational Health Law
PHC 6361 Industrial Ergonomics
PHC 6356 Industrial Hygiene
PHC 6310 Environmental Occupational Toxicology
PHC 6930 Public Health Seminar

Research Courses 6 credit hours
PHC 6051 Biostatistics II
One research course (3 credits) as approved by the program

Elective Courses 5 credit hours
Electives: Two required from the following or other approved electives:
PHC 7934  Work and Environmental Physiology
INP 6935  Topics in Industrial-Organizational Psychology: Personnel or Organizational Psychology
INP 7937 Graduate Seminar in Industrial-Organizational Psychology: Occupational Health Psychology

Comprehensive Exam

Additional Culminating Experience
Safety Concentration Examination or ASP Exam (no credit)

College Degree Requirements

Refer to the College Section of theGraduate Catalog for College requirements and information.

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USF Degree Requirements

See USF Degree Requirements —
http://www.grad.usf.edu/policies.php

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Financial Assistance

Financial Aid

Fellowships & Scholarships

Graduate Assistantships

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Registration Process

First, contact your graduate advisor for guidance courses to register for. Obtain any electronic course permit if necessary. Register for the new student orientation online at http://www.grad.usf.edu/orientation.php. Then go to http://oasis.usf.edu/ the link to OASIS, USF's on-line registration system to register for your classes. Follow the directions given on-line.

To access online course materials, students must have a USF NetID (e-mail account). Please visit: https://netid.usf.edu/una/ to obtain your NetID.

New students, including those studying online, may obtain a USFCard. Please visit: http://www.usf.edu/it/class-prep/usf-card.aspx to obtain your USFCard.

Tuition and fees: Fees are determined by the level of the course. Please visit Cash Accounting, Controller's Office, for information on tuition and fees.

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Graduate Course Information

Lookup graduate courses in the USF Course Inventory at http://ugs.usf.edu/course-inventory/