Public Health
M.S. Joe C. Wen School of Population and Public Health · UC Irvine · 2026-2027 Catalog
The distinctive mission of the Master of Science in Public Health is to prepare the next generation of public health researchers to reduce the burden of disease, especially in the world’s most vulnerable and risk-associated populations. Graduates of the M.S. program will be prepared to contribute to the improvement of public health.
Only students in our existing Public Health Ph.D. program who determine that the Ph.D. track is not fit for them, or due to extenuating circumstances are not able to continue toward the Ph.D. will be able to earn the M.S. Public Health. Students cannot apply to the M.S. program.
Requirements
Thesis
M.S. students will engage in thesis research with their faculty advisor. The students’ final thesis will be submitted to a M.S. thesis committee. Students must submit thesis committee members and thesis topic to their faculty mentor for approval, before advancement to candidacy will be approved. The thesis should reflect an original research investigation and must be approved by a thesis committee of at least three full-time faculty members, all of which must be public health faculty. The final examination is an oral presentation of the thesis to the committee.
Program Requirements
All M.S. students are required to complete 56 quarter-units according to the following modules:
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| A. Complete the Preparatory Module: | ||
| PUBHLTH 206B | Intermediate Epidemiology | |
| PUBHLTH 204A | Biostatistics I: Introduction to Statistical Methods | |
| PUBHLTH 204B | Biostatistics II: Intermediate Statistical Methods | |
| PUBHLTH 294 | Research Communication in Public Health | |
| PUBHLTH 298 | Directed Studies in Public Health | |
| PUBHLTH 246 | Social Research Methods | |
| B. Students must complete one of the following Concentration modules: | ||
| Concentration Module: Disease Prevention | ||
| Select four courses from the following: | ||
| PUBHLTH 208 | Advances in Social Epidemiology | |
| PUBHLTH 244 | Health Behavior Theory | |
| PUBHLTH 245 | Health Promotion Planning | |
| PUBHLTH 242 | Theories of Health Communication | |
| PUBHLTH 223 | Risk Communication | |
| EPIDEM 232 | Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention | |
| PUBHLTH 290 | Special Topics in Public Health 2 | |
| or | ||
| Concentration Module: Global Health | ||
| Select four courses from the following: | ||
| PUBHLTH 213 | Epidemiology in Global Health | |
| PUBHLTH 280 | Global Burden of Disease | |
| PUBHLTH 286 | Advanced Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Epidemiology | |
| PUBHLTH 289 | Special Topics in Global Health and Disease Prevention 2 | |
| PUBHLTH 282 | Climate Change and Global Health | |
| PUBHLTH 290 | Special Topics in Public Health 2 | |
| EARTHSS 200 | Global Physical Climatology | |
| or | ||
| Concentration Module: Biobehavioral Mechanisms of Health | ||
| Select four courses from the following: | ||
| PUBHLTH 272 | Health Psychology | |
| PUBHLTH 244 | Health Behavior Theory | |
| PUBHLTH 248 | Fundamentals of Maternal and Child Health - Programs, Problems, and Policy | |
| PUBHLTH 290 | Special Topics in Public Health 2 | |
| EPIDEM 202 | Genetic Epidemiology | |
| EPIDEM 201 | Cancer Epidemiology | |
| PSY P283H | Psychoneuroimmunology | |
| C. Complete the Methods Module | ||
| Select four courses from the following: | ||
| PUBHLTH 283 | Geographic Information Systems for Public Health 3 | |
| PUBHLTH 286 | Advanced Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Epidemiology | |
| PUBHLTH 287 | Qualitative Research Methods in Public Health | |
| PUBHLTH 247 | Program Evaluation | |
| PUBHLTH 209 | Methods of Demographic Analysis | |
| PUBHLTH 210 | Theory-Driven Secondary Data Analysis | |
| PUBHLTH 204C | Biostatistics III: Advanced Statistical Methods | |
| PUBHLTH 251 | Models of Practice and Intervention at the Community Level | |
| PUBHLTH 293 | Foundations of Clinical and Translational Science | |
| EDUC 234 | Measurement and Psychometrics | |
| EDUC 265 | Applied Regression Analysis for Education and Social Scientific Research | |
| EDUC 266T | Design-Based Implementation Research | |
| EDUC 280 | Research Methods: Hierarchical Linear Modeling | |
| EPIDEM 275 | Special Topics in Epidemiology | |
| PUBHLTH 290 | Special Topics in Public Health | |
- Students who entered the program without a Master's level degree from a Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)-accredited program must complete PUBHLTH 200 as part of their preparatory module.
- Special topics courses must be approved by the program director(s) as satisfying concentration requirements.
- Required for students in the Global Health Concentration.
Career Opportunities
The M.S. in Public Health prepares graduates to pursue careers in policy analysis, monitoring and evaluation of public health programs, and academic and programmatic research. They will engage and develop global health research at national and international government agencies, NGOs, the private sector and academic institutions.