Program Overview

The Graduate Certificate in Public Health Ethics is aimed at working public health professionals interested in gaining a greater understanding of ethical inquiry in public health. Public health programs, policies, and laws should be critically analyzed and the Graduate Certificate in Public Health Ethics opens up lines of exploration and prepares the student to assess the limits of what we, as a society do to protect and promote the public’s health. Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop famously proclaimed that anything we do to get people to stop smoking is good; public health ethics questions the extent of that “anything” and asks about the meaning of “the good.” The Graduate Certificate in Public Health Ethics at UMass Amherst encourages public health professionals to ask about what is right and what is good in public health practice and enables students to skillfully engage the contemporary debates of public health ethics. 

Admissions and Application

All prospective students must apply for the certificate, regardless of student status.  Applications for current students are considered twice a year: October 1st deadline for spring admissions and March 1st for fall admissions.

Requirements: Applicants must submit a certificate application (found on the Public Health website), official transcripts, resume/CV, and 2 letters of recommendation directly to the School of Public Health and Health Policy in Arnold House. 

Minimum Admissions Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s Degree with a 3.0 GPA

Eligibility:

The Graduate Certificate in Public Health Ethics is open to:

  • Current graduate students in the school, including MPH-PHP and MPH-Nutrition students. 
  • Non-Matriculated working public health, nutrition, or health care professionals who have an interest in the field of ethics. 
  • Students interested in eventually pursuing the MPH or PhD in Public Health.

Curriculum

The graduate certificate in public health ethics requires 18 credits.  3 required courses, 2 electives, and a final project. 

Required courses:

  • HPP 525-Ethic Issues in Public Health
  • HPP 638-Health Disparities
  • HPP 780-Public Health Law

Elective Choices: must choose 2 courses

  • HPP 524-Introduction to Health Policy and Politics
  • HPP 602-Community Development and Health Education
  • HPP 632-Social Justice and Public Health
  • HPP 753-Current Topics in Public Health Ethics

Final Culminating Project:

  • HPP 696-Independent study: Public Health Ethics