Degree Pathways

PhD Degree Program

A maternal and child health (MCH) emphasis is available through the PhD Degree Program. This program provides a curriculum that balances comprehensive instruction in the determinants and disparities of population health with knowledge of the health care system and health policy. The program also provides rigorous methodological training in several key disciplines, enabling students to conduct interdisciplinary research with practical applications for policy and practice.

Maternal and child public health takes a population-based perspective on research, education, advocacy, and administration. Typically, MCH practitioners are involved with infrastructure building (eg, needs assessment, information systems, standards development), population health monitoring (eg, percent of very-low-weight births, percent of children without health insurance, incidence of adolescent suicide), and applied prevention research (eg, program planning and evaluation).

MCH works at a systems level to complement direct services provided by clinical practice providers.