PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND OVERVIEW

The objectives of the Extended MPH Degree Program are:

• to provide graduate education opportunities for employed mid-career professionals practicing in the field of public, community, or environmental health without the need for major interruption of employment of relocation to Seattle; and
• to improve the delivery of public, community, and environmental health services.

The Extended MPH Degree Program was initiated in 1980 with support from a Bureau of Health Professions Special Project Grant. A graduate program located in the Department of Health Services in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, it is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).

Special pathways in the areas of Maternal and Child Health and in Health Education are available through the Extended Degree Program. Additional course work and on-campus attendance are required.

Physicians interested in board eligibility in preventive medicine may partially fulfill residency requirements through participation in the Extended Degree Program.

FORMAT AND CONTENT

The Extended MPH Degree Program is designed to be completed in three calendar years and requires:

• Four weeks of intensive in-residence study on the UW campus for three summers (curriculum)
• Two academic years of course work through directed independent study
• Attendance at four on-campus weekend (Fri./Sat.) seminars at two-month intervals during the first two academic years
• Completion of a thesis or an agency-related project

The program provides course work in four major areas:

• Principles and practices of public and community health
• Advanced study in community health services delivery or in environmental health
• The basics of health services management, health planning, and program evaluation
• Applied community health or environmental health research
• TUITION AND FEES
• FINANCIAL AID
• ADMISSION
• RECOMMENDED PREPARATION
• DATES AND DEADLINES

The Extended MPH Degree Program encourages applications from persons with disabilities and those belonging to under-represented ethnic groups.

The University of Washington provides equal opportunity in education without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, or status as a disabled veteran or Vietnam era veteran in accordance with University of Washington Policy and applicable federal and state statutes and regulations.

STUDENT PROFILE

Extended MPH Degree Program students are experienced health care professionals - administrators, physicians, nurses, dentists, health educators - from a variety of settings, including city, county, state and federal agencies, community clinics, hospitals, and health maintentance organizations, voluntary health agencies, private practice and industry. All have at least three years experience, with the average student having nine.

Of the 380 students who have matriculated in the program, 63% are women. The current active student population, whose average age at entry is 37, currently extends to 10 states and two Canadian provinces.

Alumni Comments on the Program and Information

"The Extended Degree Program is an excellent program for the public health practitioner. With just the right balance of real-world' practice and public health theory, I highly recommend this program to anyone interested in pursuing an MPH while continuing to work full-time."

Jack Jourden
Public Health Administrator-
STD/HIV Programs
Seattle-King County Health Department

"Being a single mother and working full-time in a demanding position, I appreciated the flexibility of the Extended Degree Program. The Program enabled me to expand my skills and gain new perspectives on health care and public health in general, and the contacts and friendships I made will be valued for a lifetime."

Pamela A. Weinberg
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Planned Parenthood of Seattle and King County