MA/MPH in Latin American Studies and Public Health
The School of Public Health and the Center for Latin American Studies offer a concurrent graduate program leading to a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Epidemiology, Environmental Health, or Health Promotion and a Master of Arts (MA) in Latin American Studies. This concurrent program offers preparation in the fields of Public Health and Latin American studies for the purpose of promoting health, preventing disease, and enhancing the delivery of social and health services for Latinx communities.
DLO 1: Demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to promote health and prevent disease within a Latin American historical, cultural, and linguistic milieu,, whether that milieu is in Latin America itself, the U.S./Mexico border, or in the interior of the U.S.
DLO 2: Integrate public health methods and practices with the changing demographic profile of the U.S., focusing on the health and well being in Latino communities both in the U.S. and in Central and South America.
DLO 3: Achieve linguistic skills and cultural competency in public health capable of addressing the changing health issues among the Spanish speaking populations in Latin America and the U.S.
DLO 4: Apply and integrate program knowledge and skills through practical field experience, and fulfill other specific MPH field practice learning objectives. 5. Conduct original research by identifying a problem, preparing a research proposal, carrying out the research, presenting the research findings, and orally defending a written thesis.
"This program offers the cultural humility training that will make me a holistic public health professional. Understanding the complexities of LATAM from an economic, political, social and health lens, will allow me to be a more equipped professional when working with Latinx communities. As such, these two degrees will work in unison when I am developing sustainable and culturally humble health interventions---a guide for Latinx communities to be their own agents of change."
- Sophia Rodriguez, MA/MPH
Requirements
Students must complete the thesis or publishable article option, in addition to their program’s curriculum. The program consists of 63 units of joint programming as follows:
- 4 core seminars in Public Health (12 units) and two from LAS (6 units);
- 15 units of prescribed electives from LAS taken from at least two different Departments;
- 6 units of culminating experience (3 units of 797 Research and 3 units of 799 Thesis);
- 24 units from PH concentration (Epidemiology, Environmental Health or Health Promotion).
Graduate Students are expected to fulfill their language proficiency requirements for advancement to candidacy. Students can fulfill this requirement by completing one of the following:
- Spanish 302 (or its equivalency) or Portuguese 401 (or its equivalency) with a grade of B (3.0) or better
- Three units of 500-level or graduate work in Spanish
- Pass the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) oral proficiency examination in either Spanish or Portuguese with a score of 2.0 or above
Important Documents
Important Links
- Latin American Studies Student Organization (LASSO)
- SDSU Class Schedule
- SDSU Catalog
- Graduate and Research Affairs
Advising
Dr. Ramona Pérez
Director of CLAS
Office: AL-377H
Phone: (619) 594 1155
Email: [email protected]