MPH in Public Health Nutrition

About the Program

IN-PERSON, FULLY ONLINE  FULL-TIME, PART-TIME  
SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE

The MPH in Public Health Nutrition prepares students to promote the nutritional well-being of population groups by learning to assess the nutritional needs of various populations, planning and implementing nutrition and food programs and managing nutritional programs in community and institutional settings. The degree offers one curriculum for those who are Registered Dietitians (RDs) and another for those without this credential.

Applicants who have completed an undergraduate Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) from an ACEND-accredited institution with a GPA of 3.0 or higher could be considered for the Dietetic Internship within the MPH in Public Health Nutrition at CUNY School of Public Health. To be considered, please contact Prof. Ann Gaba at ann.gaba@sph.cuny.edu.

The MPH in Public Health Nutrition is not a Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) as required by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. For information about available DPD programs, please click here.

For students who began matriculating in Spring 2019 or earlier, please review the previous curriculum for the MPH in Public Health Nutrition here.

Connect with our Admissions Team!

Is this degree right for you?

The program is designed for students who are passionate about public health nutrition science and the nutritional well-being of population groups. The degree offers one curriculum for those who are Registered Dietitians (RDs) and another for those without this credential.

What will you learn?

Learn to scientifically assess dietary and nutritional needs and guidelines, examine how social and environmental factors impact access to nutrition on individual and population levels and design evidence-based nutrition policies and interventions with government agencies in mind.

Where to after graduation?

Graduates work in hospitals, clinics, community programs, local, state, or federal government health departments and in international nutrition programs. They coordinate and analyze nutrition research and policies, direct nutrition programs and manage school food programs among other positions.

Admissions Information

Admissions Requirements

  • Completed SOPHAS application
  • Undergraduate degree from an accredited university with GPA (overall and major) of at least 3.0 preferred.
  • Personal statement/statement of purpose (recommended length is 500 words)
  • Background in the field: paid or volunteer experience in public health or related field
  • Resume
  • 2 Letters of recommendation
  • TOEFL scores are required if language of instruction for prior degrees was not English
  • Transcript evaluation from WES or ECE for foreign transcripts.
  • At least four undergraduate courses (12 credits) of college-level biology, chemistry, nutrition, and statistics or calculus; a background in nutrition, medical, or health sciences is recommended.

Application Deadline

  • Fall 2024: April 1, 2024 (April 1, 2024 for international students seeking an F-1 student visa)
Curriculum icon

Curriculum (without Dietetic Internship)

For students who began matriculating in Spring 2019 or earlier, please review the previous curriculum for the MPH in Public Health Nutrition here.

Foundational Knowledge (0 credits) PUBH 601 Foundations of Public Health Knowledge*
Core Coursework (15 credits) PUBH 610 Public Health Leadership & Management
PUBH 611 Health Equity, Communication, and Advocacy
PUBH 612 Designing and Evaluating Public Health Interventions
PUBH 613 Designs, Concepts, and Methods in Public Health Research
PUBH 614 Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis Methods in Public Health Research
Required Coursework (15 credits) FNPH 620 Community Nutrition Education
FNPH 622 Food and Nutrition through the Lifecycle
FNPH 820 Food Policy
FNPH 623 Nutrient Metabolism and Applications in Public Health
FNPH 624 Nutritional Epidemiology
Elective Coursework (6 credits) Two (2) electives chosen in consultation with faculty advisor
Practice Experience (3 credits) PUBH 696 Supervised Fieldwork
Culminating Experience (3 credits) PUBH 698 Capstone Project
Total Credits Required 42

*Students who have a CEPH-accredited undergraduate or graduate degree in public health can be waived from PUBH 601 by submitting a Course Waiver Request.

Course sequence icon

Recommended Course Sequence (without Dietetic Internship)

These sequences are recommended for full-time students. Part-time students are encouraged to meet with a staff advisor to map out an appropriate plan of study.

For students who began matriculating in Spring 2019 or earlier, please review the previous course sequence for the MPH in Public Health Nutrition here.

For students beginning their program during the fall semester:
Semester Course Credits
Year 1 Fall PUBH 601: Foundations of Public Health Knowledge* 0
FNPH 620: Community Nutrition Education 3
PUBH 611: Health Equity, Communication, and Advocacy 3
PUBH 612: Designing and Evaluating Public Health Interventions 3
PUBH 613: Designs, Concepts, and Methods in Public Health Research 3
Year 1 Spring PUBH 614: Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis Methods in Public Health Research 3
PUBH 610: Public Health Leadership and Management 3
FNPH 622: Food and Nutrition Through the Lifecycle 3
Elective I 3
Year 2 Fall PUBH 696: Supervised Fieldwork 3
FNPH 624: Nutritional Epidemiology 3
FNPH 820: Food Policy 3
Year 2 Spring PUBH 698: Capstone Project 3
FNPH 623: Nutrient Metabolism and Applications in Public Health 3
Elective II 3
For students beginning their program during the spring semester:
Semester Course Credits
Year 1 Spring PUBH 601: Foundations of Public Health Knowledge* 0
FNPH 622: Food and Nutrition Through the Lifecycle 3
PUBH 611: Health Equity, Communication, and Advocacy 3
PUBH 612: Designing and Evaluating Public Health Interventions 3
PUBH 613: Designs, Concepts, and Methods in Public Health Research 3
Year 1 Fall PUBH 614: Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis Methods in Public Health Research 3
FNPH 620: Community Nutrition Education 3
FNPH 624: Nutritional Epidemiology 3
PUBH 610: Public Health Leadership and Management 3
Year 2 Spring PUBH 696: Supervised Fieldwork 3
Elective I 3
FNPH 623: Nutrient Metabolism and Applications in Public Health 3
Year 2 Fall PUBH 698: Capstone Project 3
Elective II 3
FNPH 820: Food Policy 3

*PUBH 601 should be completed during a student’s first semester. Students who have a CEPH-accredited undergraduate or graduate degree in public health can be waived from this requirement by submitting a Course Waiver Request.

Competencies

For students who began matriculating in Spring 2019 or earlier, please review the previous competencies for the MPH in Public Health Nutrition here.

Core Competencies:

Evidence-based Approaches to Public Health
  • Apply epidemiological methods to settings and situations in public health practice
  • Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context
  • Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming, and software, as appropriate
  • Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy, or practice
Public Health & Health Care Systems
  • Compare the organization, structure and function of health care, public health and regulatory systems across national and international settings
  • Discuss the means by which structural bias, social inequities and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community and systemic levels
Planning & Management to Promote Health
  • Assess population needs, assets and capacities that affect communities’ health
  • Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design, implementation or critique of public health policies or programs
  • Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention
  • Explain basic principles and tools of budget and resource management (“Resource management” refers to stewardship (planning, monitoring, etc.) of resources throughout a project, not simply preparing a budget statement that projects what resources will be required.)
  • Select methods to evaluate public health programs
Policy in Public Health
  • Discuss the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence (This competency refers to technical aspects of how public policies are created and adopted, including legislative and/or regulatory roles and processes, ethics in public policy making and the role of evidence in creating policy.)
  • Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes
  • Advocate for political, social or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations (This competency refers to the ability to influence policy and/or decision making, such as through stakeholder mobilization, educating policy makers, etc. Ability to argue in support of (or in opposition to) a position, as in a standard debate, is not sufficient. Students must produce a product that would be part of an advocacy campaign or effort (e.g., legislative testimony, fact sheets, advocacy strategy outline, etc.).)
  • Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity
Leadership
  • Apply leadership and/or management principles to address a relevant issue (Such principles may include creating a vision, empowering others, fostering collaboration and guiding decision making.)
  • Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges (“Negotiation and mediation,” in this competency, refers to the set of skills needed when a common solution is required among parties with conflicting interests and/or different desired outcomes. Such skills extend beyond the level of negotiation required in a successful intra-group process; effective communication within a work group or team is more closely related to competency)
Communication
  • Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors
  • Communicate audience-appropriate (i.e., non-academic, non-peer audience) public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation
  • Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content
Interprofessional and/or Intersectoral Practice
  • Integrate perspectives from other sectors and/or professions to promote and advance population health (This competency requires direct engagement (in-person or online) between the student and an individual or individuals in a profession or sector other than public health; students must combine the external sector/profession’s perspective and/or knowledge with their own public health training to complete a task, solve a problem, etc.. Role-playing, in which public health students assume the identity of an individual from another profession or sector to which they do not already belong, is not an acceptable substitute for actual engagement with an individual or individuals from a profession or sector outside of public health.)
  • Apply a systems thinking tool to visually represent a public health issue in a format other than standard narrative (Systems thinking tools depict or map complex relationships, demonstrating, for example, how component parts of a system interact with and influence one another. Examples include causal loop diagrams, systems archetypes, network analyses, and concept maps. Logic models and evidence tables are not sufficient to address this competency.)
Systems Thinking
  • Apply a systems thinking tool to visually represent a public health issue in a format other than standard narrative (Systems thinking tools depict or map complex relationships, demonstrating, for example, how component parts of a system interact with and influence one another. Examples include causal loop diagrams, systems archetypes, network analyses and concept maps. Logic models and evidence tables are not sufficient to address this competency.)
Environmental Sciences
  • Apply concepts from relevant scientific disciplines, such as toxicology and physiology, to anticipate effects of environmental, occupational and nutritional exposures on both human health and overall planetary health

Concentration Competencies:

  1. Assess dietary and nutrition status of people and populations
  2. Interpret how social, behavioral, environmental, political, and cultural factors can impact food intake and nutrition in individuals and communities
  3. Evaluate the scientific evidence for nutritional guidelines and recommendations
  4. Design equitable, effective community or population nutrition policies and interventions as informed by scientific evidence, biological and nutritional sciences, and appropriate theoretical models
  5. Analyze the role of government and legislative agencies in the development of food and public health nutrition policies
  6. Communicate literacy-appropriate evidence-based nutrition information using a variety of communication platforms

Alumni Outcomes

Alumni outcomes data was collected via surveys of CUNY SPH alumni one year after graduation from 2016 to 2022. See more program outcomes here.

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