Masters of Public Health (MPH) Degree in Connecticut

In 2014, a study of public health funding trends in the United States revealed that Connecticut’s total public health budget during 2014 was $111.6 million. This represented an increase of 11.6% over the public health budget in 2013 and an increase of nearly 13% over 2012’s public health budget.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health received federal from both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) allocated specifically for public health efforts in the state. Trust for America’s Health, a health advocacy group, reported that funding from the CDC accounted for nearly $71 million, while funding from the HRSA accounted for approximately $93 million. A large portion of the funding received from the CDC, about $32 million, was spent on the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program.

The size of Connecticut’s public health system is immense. In fact, in 2014 alone, just over $8 million was spent on preventing chronic diseases and promoting health, and nearly $7.5 million was spent on preventing devastating diseases like HIV and AIDS, hepatitis, STIs, and TB.

Connecticut’s public health initiatives are developed by master’s-level public health professionals with the know-how necessary to design and implement programs and evaluate the results to ensure their effectiveness.

Earning a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Connecticut

The Master of Public Health offers an innovative, cutting-edge curriculum that positions professionals for career opportunities in a variety of public health roles, including policy development and program administration and evaluation. The MPH is appropriate for both bachelor’s-educated public health professionals looking to take on leadership roles and those with a background in areas like health administration, pubic administration, business, nursing and more looking to pursue a new career in public health policy development and program administration.

Online, part-time options are available in many cases. This gives working professionals the flexibility they need to earn a graduate degree while continuing in their current jobs.

A bachelor’s degree, regardless of the major, is generally considered acceptable for admission to most MPH programs when the issuing institution is regionally accredited.

Academic Overview

The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) is the accrediting agency for master’s degree programs in public health. Programs with the CEPH mark of accreditation follow the MPH Core Competency Model established by the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) in 2004, which encompasses five core competencies:

• Biostatistics
• Environmental health sciences
• Epidemiology
• Health policy management
• Social and behavioral sciences

The following cross-cutting domains were later added by the ASPH for the purpose of helping students to be more effective public health leaders:

• Communication and informatics
• Diversity and culture
• Leadership
• Professionalism
• Program planning
• Public health biology
• Systems thinking

Admission Requirements

Requirements for admission into the master’s in public health degree program differ between schools. Although the list below is not universal, it does include some of the core admission requirements for most MPH programs:

• Submission of current official GRE scores; applicants who have taken the LSAT, GMAT, or MCAT or who currently hold a graduate degree are exempt from the GRE requirement
• Submission of official transcripts from all academic institutions attended.
• Submission of statement of purpose essay (500-1,500 words)
• Submission of current resume
• Submission of two letters of recommendation

Focus Areas and Specialization

One unique factor of MPH programs is the inclusion of public health specialization areas. These focus areas are offered as a means by which to prepare students to be effective public health leaders in the face of the many complexities and challenges of working within an interconnected global health community.

Health Communication: This area of focus is designed for students who want to develop their communication and marketing skills into effective tools for bringing positive change through public health information campaigns. Connecticut’s Diabetes Prevention and Control Program (DPCP) is just one program the Connecticut Department of Public Health offers that is reliant on the leadership and communication skills of public health professionals.

Courses within this specialization include:

• Leadership Seminar
• Global Health Communication Interventions
• Preventing Health Disparities
• Social Marketing
• Marketing and Research for Public Health
• Total of 10-15 credits

Health Policy: This area of focus is designed for students who want to learn the skills necessary to effectively develop new, cutting-edge public health policies in the U.S. but also to improve existing, less effective public health policies. In 2011, the Connecticut Department of Public Health announced its version of the Healthy People 2020 national initiative, the Healthy Connecticut Program. The goal of this new program is to bring the healthy benefits offered by the national program to local communities in Connecticut.

Courses within this specialization include:

• Monitoring and Evaluation of Sexual and Reproductive Health Programs in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
• Qualitative Research Methods in Public Health
• Public Health and Law
• Global Health Diplomacy
• Leadership Seminar
• Law, Medicine and Ethics
• Total of 10-15 credits

Program Planning and Evaluation: This area of focus is designed for students who want to be leaders in health policy planning, implementation, and evaluation. Just some of the public health programs offered by the Connecticut Department of Public Health includes the Prevention Partnership for Children, the Connecticut Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, and Live Healthy Connecticut.

Courses within this specialization include:

• Monitoring and Evaluation of Sexual and Reproductive Health Programs in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
• Researching Violence Against Women and Girls
• Qualitative Research Methods in Public Health
• Social Marketing
• Marketing Research for Public Health
• Total of 10-15 credits

Global Health: Designed for public health professionals who want to work within the context of a global team developing programs and initiatives aimed at eradicating some of the most devastating diseases throughout the globe. Some of the global health programs the United States is currently involved with include the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and the Global Vaccine Safety Initiative (GVSI).

Courses within this specialization include:

• Monitoring and Evaluation of Sexual and Reproductive Health Programs in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
• Researching Violence Against Women and Girls
• Global Health Communication Interventions
• Preventing Health Disparities
• Global Health Diplomacy
• Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology
• Climate Change and Social Change
• Total of 10-15 credits

Accelerated One-Year and Part-Time Options

The accelerated one-year option is a 12-month program which puts students on the fast track to degree completion. This option follows the same core curriculum as traditional campus-based and online MPH programs. The sole difference between the two is that the one-year option follows an accelerated course schedule and cuts degree completion time in half.

The part-time option offers flexibility and is particularly helpful to working professionals. Most schools allow students following the part-time option up to four years to complete their MPH degree.

Job Growth Projections for Public Health Professionals in Connecticut

In December of 2015, a national survey conducted by the United Health Foundation identified Connecticut as the sixth overall healthiest state in the nation, and in fact, Connecticut has remained in the top seven since 2005. The survey cited Connecticut’s high immunization rates as one of the state’s strongest qualities, which invariably points to the effectiveness of public health initiatives like the Connecticut Vaccine Program (CVP). As the state of Connecticut strives to maintain the health of its citizens, public health occupations are experiencing a tremendous amount of growth. In fact, several public health professions were listed on the Connecticut Department of Labor’s list of fastest growing occupations, including statisticians, rehabilitation counselors, and social/community services managers.

In 2014, the Connecticut Department of Labor, Office of Research, published the findings of a study reviewing the employment forecast for various public health occupations throughout Connecticut. The percentages below represent the expected increase in demand for public health occupations in Connecticut from 2012 to 2022:

• Social and Community Services Managers: 17%
• Statisticians: 31.2%
• Microbiologists: 15%
• Epidemiologists: 18%
• Sociologists: 23%
• Social Scientists: 9%
• Rehabilitation Counselors: 24%

Salaries for Public Health Professionals in Connecticut

The salary figures below for public health occupations in Connecticut were published in 2014 by the Connecticut Department of Labor. The salary range given includes the tenth percentile (entry level) and the 90th percentile (experienced):

• Social and Community Services Managers: $40,498 to $102,776
  • Average in Bridgeport/Stamford: $70,745
  • Average in Hartford: $70,643
  • Average in New Haven: $70,491
• Statisticians: $61,901 to $128,128
  • Average in Hartford: $93,234
  • Average in New Haven: $96,570
• Microbiologists: $51,418 to $131,208
  • Average in Bridgeport/Stamford: $95,354
  • Average in Hartford: $65,949
  • Average in New Haven: $91,085
• Biological Scientists, All Other: $49,046 to $103,303
• Epidemiologists: $56,407 to $106,517
• Social Scientists: $59,398 to $145,667
  • Average in Bridgeport/Stamford: $113,990
  • Average in Hartford: $90,801
  • Average in New Haven: $90,233
• Rehabilitation Counselors: $26,110 to $75,226
  • Average in Bridgeport/Stamford: $41,451
  • Average in Hartford: $48,285
  • Average in New Haven: $49,786

Career Opportunities for Public Health Professionals in Connecticut

A list of job descriptions found in a survey of job vacancy announcements performed in January 2016 is given below to offer some insight into the types of opportunities available to professionals with master’s degrees in specialized areas of public health. (Shown for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the assurance of employment.):

Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor at Department of Rehabilitation Services, Bureau of Education and Services for the Blind, in Windsor

• Responsibilities:
  • Employs principles and techniques of vocational rehabilitation counseling
  • Interviews clients and performs psychological and occupational testing to determine client capabilities
  • Uses knowledge of community rehabilitation resources to direct visually handicapped clients to proper services
  • Maintains understanding of psychological aspects of disability and employs counseling techniques to help meet the mental and emotional needs of clients
• Requirements:
  • Master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling
  • One year of experience working in a rehabilitation counseling or vocational adjustment counseling role

Assistant Director – Community Health at Central Connecticut Health District in Wethersfield

• Responsibilities:
  • Develops and implements community health programs
  • Performs oversight of Environmental Health, Community Health, and Public Preparedness programs
  • Creates partnerships with community organizations and integrates both public and private organizations into the delivery of public health services
  • Establishes community health program goals, objectives, and performance standards
  • Performs periodic program evaluations and implements changes to help meet program objectives as well as the health needs of the community
• Requirements:
  • Master’s degree in public health
  • Three years of experience working in a public health agency

Clinical Research Associate II, Project Coordinator at UConn Health Center in Farmington

• Responsibilities:
  • Coordinates daily activities between UConn Health and University of Massachusetts Medical School in their collaboration to implement the Practice Transformation Network (PTN)
  • Identifies resources needed to support the PTN project
  • Monitors progress of the PTN project, analyzes project data and develops reports detailing the project’s progress
  • Provides organization and development to project teams
  • Participates in the coordination of tools and network support to analyze the quality of outcomes and determine if changes are needed to improve care
• Requirements:
  • Master’s degree in public health plus five years of experience in the administration of health policy initiatives