The social, economic and cultural dimensions of health and population are a major focus of both governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Bangladesh and in other developing countries. It is now increasingly being recognized that there is a need for professionals who are well trained in the multi-faceted complex interactions of social, economic and cultural factors affecting health and population, such as plateauing fertility rates, inadequate health services coverage, the ongoing epidemiological transition from infectious to chronic diseases, and emerging public health issues such as HIV-AIDS and Arsenic contamination of water supplies. There is however a critical shortage of such professionals in these countries. This increased demand for such personnel comes at a time where funding for this kind of education abroad (United States, Europe, Australia/New Zealand, Asia) is extremely limited and will continue to be so in the future. Thus there exists a window of opportunity for in-country training of high quality at the master’s level in Public Health, which focuses on social-economic and cultural dimensions of health and population.
Varendra University Bangladesh is pleased to offer the following post-graduate program leading to the Master of Public Health (M.P.H.). This program will create facilities in higher study for Doctors, Nurses and Non medical health professionals.
Among the overall educational objectives for all graduates of the School is the development of individual competence and improved skills, particularly in (1) recognizing and defining public health problems, setting priorities, and using scientific approaches to problem solving; (2) accumulating appropriate data information, analyzing and interpreting findings, and assessing relevance and validity; and (3) communicating effectively with colleagues and a variety of groups involved in delivering health services. (4) To build up capacity and to prepare individual to become public health practitioner, thinker, researcher.
THE MAJOR COURSE OBJECTIVES ARE:
The master of public health (MPH) degree is the most widely recognized professional Credential for leadership in public health. The program emphasizes active, student-directed learning, problem solving, and the acquisition of skills essential to the practice of public health. For many candidates, the MPH will not be their first professional degree. Many students enter the MPH degree program with previous master’s or doctoral degrees or with varying years of practical experience in professional fields related to public health. Graduates of medical, nursing, dental, and other clinical programs, and applicants who have earned master’s or doctoral degrees in other health-related areas, or in other academic or professional areas, will find their academic backgrounds well suited to this program.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
The minimum qualifications for admission to Graduate programs are:
Academic Qualifications
Students other than medical graduate required to appear in a written one hour MCQ Examination to prove their understanding about human health and diseases. They may require taking additional preparatory courses at Varendra University even after qualifying the test. The non medical candidate must qualify both in written admission test and viva. Since English is the medium of instruction, all applicants (both medical and non medical) must also take an English placement test for their application to be considered. Applicants will be selected based upon an interview process including a review of both academic and professional experience. The entrance examination designed to measure basic knowledge on primary health care system and level of English so that they can build up their skills in public health.
MPH Course Curriculum
Sl No. | Type of courses | Number of courses | Total credits | Total credit hours |
---|---|---|---|---|
01 | Foundation Course | 4 | 11 | 154 |
02 | Core Courses | 6 | 18 | 252 |
03 | major Courses | 3 | 09 | 126 |
04 | Dissertation | 10 | 140 | |
05 | Practicum/internship | 1 | 03 | 42 |
Total | 51 | 714 |
CORE COURSES (Total 18 credits)
The Following courses are core courses and students have to enroll for all the courses below to complete the degree:
Course Code | Course Title | Credit | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|---|
MPH 502 | Public Health administration and management | 3 | 42 |
MPH 503 | Epidemilogy I | 3 | 42 |
MPH 504 | Biostatistics I | 3 | 42 |
MPH 505 | Environmental health | 3 | 42 |
MPH 506 | Research Methodology | 3 | 42 |
MPH 507 | Public Health information, education and communication | 3 | 42 |
Total | 18 | 252 |
Major areas of MPH program
Elective Courses of each Major Area
Elective Courses: (Total 9 credits: Total course work 1 semester)
Prerequisite: core courses
a. Major Area: epidemilogy
Course Code | Course Title | Credits | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|---|
MPH-508 | Epidemiology - II | 3 | 42 |
MPH-509 | Biostatistics II | 3 | 42 |
MPH-510 | Clinical Epidemiology | 3 | 42 |
b. Major Area: Reproductive & Child Health
Course Code | Course Title | Credits | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|---|
MPH-514 | Maternal and Child health | 3 | 42 |
MPH-515 | Reproductive Health | 3 | 42 |
MPH-516 | Maternal and Child Nutrition | 3 | 42 |
c. Major Area: Communicable Disease Control
Course Code | Course Title | Credits | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|---|
MPH-517 | Epidemiology of Communicable diaseas | 3 | 42 |
MPH-518 | Disease Control (Communicable & Non Communicable disease) | 3 | 42 |
MPH-519 | Tropical Medicine | 3 | 42 |
d. Major Area: Health Management & Development
Course Code | Course Title | Credits | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|---|
MPH-520 | Leadership development & performance appraisal | 3 | 42 |
MPH-521 | Health Information Technology | 3 | 42 |
MPH-522 | Disaster Management | 3 | 42 |
f. Major Area: Health Behavior & Change Communication
Course Code | Course Title | Credits | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|---|
MPH-526 | Health education & health promotion | 3 | 42 |
MPH-527 | Behavioral aspects of health & Illness | 3 | 42 |
MPH-528 | Behavior change communication | 3 | 42 |
g. Major Area: Public Health Nutrition
Course Code | Course Title | Credits | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|---|
MPH-529 | Public Health nutrition | 3 | 42 |
MPH-530 | Public Health aspects of nutritional deficiency | 3 | 42 |
MPH-531 | Clinical nutrition | 3 | 42 |
h. Major Area: Health Management Information System
Course Code | Course Title | Credits | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|---|
MPH-532 | Health management information system | 3 | 42 |
MPH-508 | Epidemiology II | 3 | 42 |
MPH-509 | Biostatistics II | 3 | 42 |
i. Major Area: Environmental Health
Course Code | Course Title | Credits | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|---|
MPH-533 | Occupational hazard & diseases | 3 | 42 |
MPH-534 | Environmental toxicology | 3 | 42 |
MPH-535 | Race, culture and ethnicity | 3 | 42 |
j. Major Area: Non-Communicable Disease Control
Course Code | Course Title | Credits | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|---|
MPH-536 | Epidemiology of non-communicable diseases | 3 | 42 |
MPH-537 | Epidemiology of accident an injury | 3 | 42 |
MPH-538 | Public health genetics | 3 | 42 |
Foundation Courses (11 Credits)
Students have to complete 11 credits from the following courses. They have to choose any 4 subject including introduction to public health (2 credits) and practicum (3 credits) and excluding subjects they will get in desire major area.
a. MPH 501 Introduction to Public Health (mandatory) - 2 Credits
b. MPH 539 Demography & Population dynamics - 3 Credits
c. MPH-523 Principles of Hospital management - 3 Credits
d. MPH-515 Reproductive Health - 3 Credits
e. MPH-517 Epidemiology of Communicable disease - 3 Credits
f. MPH-536 Epidemiology of Non Communicable disease - 3 Credits
g. MPH-537 Epidemiology of Accident & injuries - 3 Credits
h. MPH-526 Health Education & health promotion - 3 Credits
i. MPH-529 Public Health Nutrition - 3 Credits
j. MPH-540 Public Health aspect of STDS & HIV/AIDS - 3 Credits
k. MPH-541 Health Economics - 3 Credits
l. MPH-542 Public Health aspects of Microbiology - 3 Credits
m. MPH-522 Disaster Management - 3 Credits
n. MPH-532 Health management information system - 3 Credits
o. MPH-543 Practicum (Mandatory) - 3 Credits
Teaching Plan for MPH program
Classes will be hold in Friday whole day (9am – 12pm, 3pm-6pm) & Saturday evening (3pm- 9pm). So basically it is a weekend Program so that job holder may attend the program.
1st Semester | |||
Course Code | Course Title | Credits | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|---|
MPH 501 | Introduction to Public Health (mandatory) | 2 | 28 |
MPH 502 | Public Health administration and management | 3 | 42 |
MPH 503 | Epidemiology I | 3 | 42 |
MPH 504 | Biostatistics I | 3 | 42 |
Total | 11 | 154 |
2nd Semester | |||
Course Code | Course Title | Credits | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|---|
MPH 505 | Environmental health | 3 | 42 |
MPH 506 | Research Methodology | 3 | 42 |
MPH 507 | Public health Information, Education and Communication | 3 | 42 |
Any 1 course from fundamental elective | 3 | 42 | |
Total | 12 | 168 |
3rd Semester | |||
Course Code | Course Title | Credits | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|---|
Major Courses (3x3) | 9 | 126 | |
Any 1 course from fundamental elective | 3 | 42 | |
Total | 12 | 168 |
4th Semester | |||
Course Code | Course Title | Credits | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|---|
Any 1 course from fundamental elective | 3 | 42 | |
MPH 543 | Practicum | 3 | 42 |
MPH 544 | Dissertation/Seminars | 10 | 140 |
Total | 16 | 224 |
VU follows the following Letter Grade and Grade Point system introduced by the UGC as a uniform grading system for all public and private universities:
Numerical Grade |
Letter Grade |
Grade Point |
---|---|---|
80% and above |
A+ |
4.00 |
75% to less than 80% |
A |
3.75 |
70% to less than 75% |
A- |
3.50 |
65% to less than 70% |
B+ |
3.25 |
60% to less than 65% |
B |
3.00 |
55% to less than 60% |
B- |
2.75 |
50% to less than 55% |
C+ |
2.50 |
45% to less than 50% |
C |
2.25 |
40% to less than 45% |
D |
2.00 |
Less than 40% |
F |
0.00 |
a. The Letter Grade A+, A, A-, B+, B-, B, C+, C and D are considered as pass grades.
b. An f grade is considered as ‘FAIL’ and in such cases students must go for a retake.
c. After completion of the program, the final transcript will be issued mentioning Letter Grade, Corresponding Grade Points, Attempted Credit, Earned Credit and CGPA.
d. Numerical marks in the Grade Sheet/Transcript will not be shown.
Final Result Preparation:
The Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) will be computed according to the following formula:
CGPA = Sum of ( Earned Credit X Corresponding GradePoints) / Total Credits