Master’s Programs

Program website: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/education/graduate/masters-degrees/epidemiology.aspx
Program Director: David Rich, ScD MS-CI
Program Format: On-Campus
STEM approved: Yes
Total credits required: 31

MS-EPI Program Guiding Statements

Our Master of Science in degree is a 31-credit course of study designed to provide students with the methodologies and skills needed to 1) carry out research and manage public health programs to identify correlates of disease that may be targets of primary prevention; 2) evaluate the consequences of changes in health care delivery on populations; and 3) to accommodate the growing need to integrate and analyze large-scale information. We meet this goal by providing students with a firm foundation in the fundamental elements of epidemiologic research and biostatistics. The 31 credits of required coursework, include 6 epidemiology (or biostatistics) core methods courses, 1 Ethics (1 credit) course, two or three elective courses, and a culminating experience.

Students will have two options to complete the culminating experience:

• Option 1: the six-credit MS thesis research option (PM460). Students will propose their thesis research to their thesis committee in a closed session. They will defend their thesis at completion in a public forum followed by a closed Q & A session with thesis committee members.
• Option 2: a three-credit Integrated Learning Experience option (PM500). There are two components of the PM500 ILE course. The first component requires that students produce a single, high-quality written product that is appropriate for their educational and professional objectives. Ideally, the written product is developed in a manner that is useful to external stakeholders. The student also develops two deliverables associated with the written product that are specifically designed for a non-academic, non-peer audience: a visual presentation associated with the written product and a brief, recorded oral presentation of the visual presentation. The second component of this course is a didactic, online leadership training course. The syllabus for PM500 is also available directly via this link: https://rochester.box.com/s/seejydgvsn4hxpvohb3to3t4teyb4an3.

If students choose to complete the ILE option, they will need to select one more 3-credit elective course. Students should consult with their advisor on which option is the best fit for their needs.

MS-EPI Program of Study Sheet

Current MS-EPI students can use the below curriculum table to create a program of study worksheet.

MS-EPI Thesis Project

Purpose/Background

The thesis project is an opportunity for students to synthesize knowledge and skills gained during their course work. Students design, conduct, and write this project under the supervision of a chair and committee.

Requirements

Students can start working on their Thesis Project when they are ready in the judgment of their advisor and committee chair. Students will generally be expected to have taken courses covering the methods the student proposes to use in their project.

Topic

Consult with your advisor on identification of a topic. Note that your MS-EPI thesis topic must have a public health relevance, focusing on the determinants of disease in a population (e.g., descriptive or qualitative studies will not be considered). Thesis projects in epidemiologic methods will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Use of course assignments to satisfy the thesis requirement, with no additional work, is prohibited.

Committee Chair and Committee Members

Consult with your advisor on identification of a thesis committee chairperson. The chair must hold a full-time faculty appointment in the Division of Epidemiology in the Department of Public Health Sciences. The committee chair has primary responsibility for helping the student plan, propose, complete, and report the results of their thesis project. The committee chair also has primary responsibility for coordinating the efforts of all committee members. The committee chair is also charged with mentoring the student through publication of the thesis as it is our expectation that all thesis projects will be submitted for peer review in an academic journal. To model best practices and avoid future misunderstanding, students and their chair should expect to talk about authorship order on any potential publication derived from the thesis project as part of the proposal development process. Plans for deciding manuscript authorship should be made following the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines:

Consult with your advisor and/or your committee chair on identification of committee members. Committees shall consist of at least three members:

• Two members who are epidemiology faculty (Drs. Rich, van Wijngaarden, Seplaki, Jusko, Liu, Block, Fernandez, Williams, and Jones), and one member who is not epidemiology faculty.
• A committee may also include one or more consultants who are asked to help with specific issues identified by the committee, but who would not formally serve on the committee.

Committee members are responsible for helping the student plan, complete, and report the results of their thesis project, particularly in areas of their individual expertise. Committee members who supply thesis project data must agree to allow the student to use the data to complete their proposed project. The student and all committee members must be included on any manuscripts reporting the project that are subsequently published whenever established authorship criteria are met.

Thesis Topic and Committee Approval

Submit a description of your proposed research topic and proposed committee members for approval by the Program Director. Students may then proceed with the proposed work upon approval of the thesis proposal by the committee. The Program Director should be notified by the committee chair of the proposal approval. At this point the committee members will complete the Thesis Committee Member Agreement Form.

Thesis Proposal

After you and your committee agree on the thesis topic, please prepare a thesis proposal that provides the information on which you based the research question, design, and analysis of the thesis. This proposal is to be submitted to each committee member. Once all committee members have reviewed it and agree that the document sufficiently describes the planned work and sign off on the thesis proposal form for master’s programs, the student can begin working on the thesis. The thesis proposal should have the following sections:

1. Title Page
   1. Project title is typed in Title Case following standard rules of English
   2. Student name with prior degrees
   3. List the Chair and Committee Members
   4. Department of Public Health Sciences
   5. University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
2. Abstract: Describe the research topic of your thesis, including primary dependent and independent variable(s), your aim(s) and hypothesis/es, and why the proposed thesis/analysis is important to do.
3. Background: Describe your dependent and independent variable(s)other topics deemed necessary by your committee, and the theoretical framework and previous research on which you based your thesis design, analysis, and research question
4. Specific Aim(s)
5. Methods
   1. Data Source
   2. Aim 1 (if you have more than one aim, include the same information for each additional aim)
      1. Study Population and Study design
      2. Primary dependent variable(s) (outcome(s))
      3. Primary independent variable(s) (exposure(s))
      4. Covariates
      5. Statistical Analysis
   3. Power
6. Strengths and limitations of the proposed research
7. Public Health Significance
8. References

Investigations Involving Human Subjects

Projects involving the use of human subjects (through direct subject contact or through use of subject records) must be approved by the University of Rochester Research Subjects Review Board. All students must have successfully completed human subjects training through an on-line program called the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) prior to conducting any human subject research (https://www.rochester.edu/ohsp/education/certification/initialCertification.html ). Your committee chair will typically be the primary investigator for the RSRB application; however, in cases where the data used for the thesis come from a project led by another member of the committee, that committee member should be the primary investigator for the RSRB application. Students should register as the study coordinator. Because review may take several weeks before a decision is rendered, advance planning is necessary. After submission, there is a departmental review prior to delivery of the proposal to the RSRB. You can track the status of your application on the RSRB website. If it remains in “Departmental Review” for more than one week, ask the PI (your committee chair) to follow up with the Department Chair. Please consult the on-line RSRB application instructions for protocol development, templates for consent letters, and definition of terms (http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/rsrb).

Thesis Project Presentations (“thesis defense”):

The final thesis document, including the background, study objectives, methods, results and discussion is presented publicly. The goal of the presentation is to defend the completed work to the public including the dissertation committee, additional faculty and students, and anyone from the public. The presentation should last no more than 60 minutes to leave ample time for public discussion. The public forum will be followed by a closed Q & A session with thesis committee members.

To set a date, first verify availability of committee members. Then send an electronic version of the thesis abstract to the Education Secretary and schedule a presentation date with them (see contact information below). The abstract should provide the background, objectives, methods, results, and conclusions, and be approximately 250-300 words. An electronic announcement for the presentation with the abstract will be disseminated to all PHS faculty, staff and students as well as invited guests at least one week prior to the scheduled presentation.

Printed announcements will also be posted. A reminder announcement will be forwarded a day before the scheduled presentation. Students are strongly encouraged to rehearse the proposal presentation several days in advance of the proposal date, and to review information and guidelines regarding how to prepare effective PowerPoint presentations.

For a printable copy, see Forms section below:

Thesis Requirements

1. Title page (see formatting below)
   1. The cover page is not numbered
   2. Project title is typed in Title Case following standard rules of English
   3. Only the Chair is listed on the cover page. Others may be included in the acknowledgements
   4. Department of Public Health Sciences
   5. University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
   6. Year of Final Defense (not month or day)
2. Table of contents
3. Abstract
   1. The final abstract of the project should appear immediately after the table of contents
   2. The final abstract must include the following headings bolded with a brief description of each: Background, Objective, Methods, Results and Conclusion.
4. Introduction – Give a brief summary of the past research on which the thesis was designed, and a summary of the study objectives
5. Background
6. Clinical or Public Health Significance
7. Methods
   1. Study design and study population
   2. Outcome(s)
   3. Exposure(s)
   4. Statistical Analyses
8. Results
9. Discussion
   1. Summary of main findings
   2. Relationship of study findings with previous published studies
   3. Potential biologic mechanisms
   4. Strengths and weaknesses
   5. Conclusion and implications for further research
10. References
11. Tables
12. Figures
13. Appendix
    1. Study materials (surveys etc)

Students should use the following margins: 1 1/2" from the left side and 1 1/4" from the right side, top and bottom, including the page number (you may put the page number on the bottom of the page). Font size should be 11 – 12; Font type should be Times New Roman; The report should be double-spaced. All students are required to submit a final copy of their Master’s Thesis Project to the Graduate Programs Administrator in an electronic version. In addition, they are required to present the final abstract with findings to the Education Secretary. In addition to the final thesis document, we encourage students to prepare a shorter version of the project in the form of a manuscript suitable for publication as they complete the main thesis document.

MS-EPI Contact Information

Quratulain A. Majoka, MBA, PHS Graduate Programs Administrator (for registration, graduation processes, financial questions, and other administrative matters) Phone (585) 275-7882 Email: Annie_majoka@urmc.rochester.edu

David Rich, ScD, Program Director for MS-EPI (for curricular questions and graduation requirements) Phone: (585) 276-4119 Email: david_rich@urmc.rochester.edu

MS-EPI Thesis Project Planning Guidance

Program Website: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/education/graduate/masters-degrees/clinicalinvestigation.aspx
Program Director: Edwin van Wijngaarden, PhD MS-CI
Program Format: On-Campus
STEM approved: Yes
Total credits required: 31

MS-CI Program Guiding Statements

The Master of Science in Clinical Investigation is a 31-credit course of study designed to provide students with the skills and methodologies needed to 1) conduct rigorous clinical studies; 2) improve evidence-based clinical decision-making; and 3) evaluate health care services. Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Evaluate the strengths and limitations of patient-oriented clinical research study designs and methodologies.
• Develop and execute plans for the quantitative and qualitative analysis and interpretation of clinical research data.
• Identify and articulate meaningful patient-oriented clinical research questions based on existing evidence and knowledge gaps.
• Design a clinical research study that aligns with well-defined study objectives and addresses ethical considerations.
• Apply clinical research evidence to advance translation of findings and improve evidence-based decision-making in clinical practice and policies.

In addition to required core courses and electives, students will have two options to complete the culminating experience:

• Option 1: the six-credit MS thesis research option (PM460), and
• Option 2: a three-credit Integrated Learning Experience option (PM500). There are two components of the PM500 ILE course. The first component requires that students produce a single, high-quality written product that is appropriate for their educational and professional objectives. Ideally, the written product is developed in a manner that is useful to external stakeholders. The student also develops two deliverables associated with the written product that are specifically designed for a non-academic, non-peer audience: a visual presentation associated with the written product and a brief, recorded oral presentation of the visual presentation. The second component of this course is a didactic, online leadership training course. The syllabus for PM500 is also available directly here or via this link: https://rochester.box.com/s/seejydgvsn4hxpvohb3to3t4teyb4an3.

If students choose to complete the ILE option, they will need to select one more 3-credit elective course. Students should consult with their advisor on which option is the best fit for their needs.

MS-CI Program of Study Sheet

Current MS-CI students can use the below curriculum table to create a program of study worksheet.

MS-CI Thesis Project

Purpose/Background

The thesis project is an opportunity for students to synthesize knowledge and skills gained during their course work. Students design, conduct, and write this project under the supervision of a chair and committee.

Requirements

Students can start working on their Capstone Project when they are ready in the judgment of their advisor and committee chair. Students will generally be expected to have taken courses covering the methods the student proposes to use in their project. Use of course assignments to satisfy the capstone requirement, with no additional work, is prohibited.

Topic

Consult with your advisor on identification of a topic. Note that research topics must have a public health and/or population relevance.

Committee Chair and Committee Members

Consult with your advisor on identification of a Project Chair. The Project Chair must hold a full-time faculty appointment in PHS. The committee chair has primary responsibility for helping the student plan, propose, complete, and report the results of their capstone project. The committee chair also has primary responsibility for coordinating the efforts of all committee members. The committee chair is also charged with encouraging the student to publish a manuscript based on their capstone project.

To model best practices and avoid future misunderstanding, students and their chair should expect to talk about authorship order on any potential publication derived from the capstone project as part of the proposal development process. Plans for deciding manuscript authorship should be made following the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines:

Consult with your advisor and/or your committee chair on identification of committee members. Committees shall consist of at least three members:

• Two members whose primary faculty appointment is in the Department of Public Health Sciences (PHS) and one whose primary faculty appointment is not in the Department of Public Health Sciences.
• A committee may also include one or more consultants who are asked to help with specific issues identified by the committee.

Committee members are responsible for helping the student plan, complete, and report the results of their capstone project, particularly in areas of their individual expertise. All committee members should also be listed as authors on manuscripts reporting the results of the capstone project if they meet the ICMJE criteria for authorship. Committee members who supply Capstone project data agree to allow the student to use the data to complete their proposed project and include the student and all committee members on any manuscripts reporting the project that are subsequently published whenever ICMJE authorship criteria are met.

Investigations Involving Human Subjects

Projects involving the use of human subjects (through direct subject contact or through use of subject records) must be approved by the University of Rochester Research Subjects Review Board. All students must have successfully completed human subjects training through an on-line program called the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) prior to conducting any human subject research (https://www.rochester.edu/ohsp/education/certification/initialCertification.html ). Your committee chair will typically be the primary investigator for the RSRB application; however, in cases where the data used for the thesis come from a project led by another member of the committee, that committee member should be the primary investigator for the RSRB application. Students should register as the study coordinator. Because review may take several weeks before a decision is rendered, advance planning is necessary. After submission, there is a departmental review prior to delivery of the proposal to the RSRB. You can track the status of your application on the RSRB website. If it remains in “Departmental Review” for more than one week, ask the PI (your committee chair) to follow up with the Department Chair. Please consult the on-line RSRB application instructions for protocol development, templates for consent letters, and definition of terms.

For a printable copy, see Forms section below:

Research Proposal Presentations

Before the actual research project starts, the final research proposal, including the background, study objectives, and methods, is presented publicly. The goal of the presentation is to obtain feedback about the study objectives and proposed methodology from additional faculty and students. The presentation should last no more than 20 minutes to leave ample time for discussion. To set a date, first verify availability of committee members, then secure a presentation date with the Graduate Program Administrator.

Send an electronic version of the proposal abstract to the Administrator at least 7 days in advance of scheduled presentation. The abstract should describe the project and be approximately 250-300 words. An electronic announcement for the presentation with the abstract will be disseminated to all PHS faculty, staff and students as well as invited guests one week prior to the scheduled presentation. Printed announcements will also be posted. A reminder announcement will be forwarded the morning of the scheduled presentation.

Students are strongly encouraged to arrange a time with committee members to rehearse the proposal presentation several days in advance of the proposal date. Students are strongly encouraged to review information and guidelines regarding how to prepare effective Power Point presentations.

Thesis Requirements

1. Title page (see formatting below)
   1. The cover page is not numbered
   2. Project title is typed in Title Case following standard rules of English
   3. Only the Chair is listed on the cover page. Others may be included in the acknowledgements
   4. Student’s Departmental Name
   5. College/School
   6. Year of Final Defense (not month or day)
2. Table of contents
3. Abstract
   1. The final abstract of the project should appear immediately after the table of contents
   2. The final abstract must include the following headings bolded with a brief description of each: Background, Objective, Methods, Results and Conclusion.
4. Introduction
5. Background
6. Significance
7. Methods
8. Results
9. Discussion
   1. Summary of findings
   2. Relationship of study findings with previous results
   3. Strengths and weaknesses
   4. Conclusion and implications for further research
10. References
11. Tables
12. Figures
13. Appendix
    1. Study materials (surveys etc)

Students should use the following margins: 1 l/2" from the left side and 1 l/4" from the right side, top and bottom, including the page number (you may put the page number on the bottom of the page). Font size should be 11 – 12; Font type should be Times New Roman; The report should be double-spaced.

All students are required to submit a final copy of their Master’s Thesis Project to the Graduate Programs Administrator in an electronic version. In addition, they are required to present the final abstract with findings to the Education Secretary. In addition to the final thesis document, we encourage students to prepare a shorter version of the project in the form of a manuscript suitable for publication as they complete the main thesis document.

MS-CI Contact Information

Quratulain A. Majoka, MBA, PHS Graduate Programs Administrator (for registration, graduation processes, financial questions, and other administrative matters) Phone (585) 275-7882 Email: Annie_majoka@urmc.rochester.edu

Edwin van Wijngaarden, PhD, Program Director for MS-CI (for curricular questions and graduation requirements) Phone: (585) 275-1985 Email: edwin_van_wijngaarden@urmc.rochester.edu

MS-CI Thesis Project Planning Guidance

Program website: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/education/graduate/masters-degrees/healthservices-research-policy.aspx
Program Director: Yue Li, PhD
MS-HSRP Program Format: On-Campus
STEM approved: No
Total credits required: 31

MS-HSRP Program Guiding Statements

Health services research is a multidisciplinary field of scientific investigation that studies how social factors, financing systems, organizational structures and processes, health technologies, and personal behaviors affect access to health care, the quality and cost of health care, and ultimately our health and well-being. Health services research aims to provide timely, reliable, and continuously-improved evidence base to guide health care decisions made by clinicians, patients and families, executives and agencies, policymakers, and payers or purchasers. Our MS program in Health Services Research and Policy in the Department of Public Health Sciences is a 31-credit course of study designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to conduct high quality health services and policy analysis.

At the conclusion of the Master of Science in Health Services Research and Policy program, a graduate will be able to:

• Appreciate the multi-disciplinary nature of health services research
• Understand the structure, financing, and performance of the US health care system
• Be familiar with quantitative and qualitative analyses of health care services and policy
• Understand the basic principles of statistical (or econometric) analysis, economic theories, quality assessment and comparative effectiveness analysis
• Understand current methods used to formulate health care policy
• Know how to conduct basic statistical tests and regression analysis
• Know how to interpret health services research studies
• Be able to perform decision analysis and comparative-effectiveness analysis
• Learn how to risk-adjust health care data
• Be able to perform a health care policy analysis

In addition to required core courses and electives, students will have three options to complete the culminating experience:

• Option 1: the six-credit MS thesis research option (PM460), and
• Option 2: a three-credit Integrated Learning Experience option (PM500). There are two components of the PM500 ILE course. The first component requires that students produce a single, high-quality written product that is appropriate for their educational and professional objectives. Ideally, the written product is developed in a manner that is useful to external stakeholders. The student also develops two deliverables associated with the written product that are specifically designed for a non-academic, non-peer audience: a visual presentation associated with the written product and a brief, recorded oral presentation of the visual presentation. The second component of this course is a didactic, online leadership training course. The syllabus for PM500 is also available directly via this link: https://rochester.box.com/s/seejydgvsn4hxpvohb3to3t4teyb4an3. If students choose to complete the ILE option, they will need to select one more 3-credit elective course. Students should consult with their advisor on which option is the best fit for their needs
• Option 3: students must pass a Comprehensive Exam covering content that addresses program learning objectives.
  If students choose to complete the comprehensive exam option, they will need to select two more 3-credit elective courses.

MS-HSRP Program of Study Sheet

Current MS-HSRP students can use the below curriculum table to create a program of study worksheet.

MS-HSRP Thesis Project

Purpose/Background

The thesis project is an opportunity for students to synthesize knowledge and skills gained during their course work. Students design, conduct, and write this project under the supervision of a chair and committee.

Requirements

Students can start working on their Capstone Project when they are ready in the judgment of their advisor and committee chair. Students will generally be expected to have taken courses covering the methods the student proposes to use in their project. Use of course assignments to satisfy the capstone requirement, with no additional work, is prohibited.

Topic

Consult with your advisor on identification of a topic. Note that research topics must have a public health and/or population relevance.

Committee Chair and Committee Members 

Consult with your advisor on identification of a Project Chair. The Project Chair must hold a full-time faculty appointment in PHS. The committee chair has primary responsibility for helping the student plan, propose, complete, and report the results of their capstone project. The committee chair also has primary responsibility for coordinating the efforts of all committee members. The committee chair is also charged with encouraging the student to publish a manuscript based on their capstone project.

To model best practices and avoid future misunderstanding, students and their chair should expect to talk about authorship order on any potential publication derived from the capstone project as part of the proposal development process. Plans for deciding manuscript authorship should be made following the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines:

Consult with your advisor and/or your committee chair on identification of committee members. Committees shall consist of at least three members:

• Two members whose primary faculty appointment is in the Department of Public Health Sciences (PHS) and one whose primary faculty appointment is not in the Department of Public Health Sciences.
• A committee may also include one or more consultants who are asked to help with specific issues identified by the committee.

Committee members are responsible for helping the student plan, complete, and report the results of their capstone project, particularly in areas of their individual expertise. All committee members should also be listed as authors on manuscripts reporting the results of the capstone project if they meet the ICMJE criteria for authorship. Committee members who supply Capstone project data agree to allow the student to use the data to complete their proposed project and include the student and all committee members on any manuscripts reporting the project that are subsequently published whenever ICMJE authorship criteria are met.

Investigations Involving Human Subjects

Projects involving the use of human subjects (through direct subject contact or through use of subject records) must be approved by the University of Rochester Research Subjects Review Board. All students must have successfully completed human subjects training through an on-line program called the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) prior to conducting any human subject research (https://www.rochester.edu/ohsp/education/certification/initialCertification.html ). Your committee chair will typically be the primary investigator for the RSRB application; however, in cases where the data used for the thesis come from a project led by another member of the committee, that committee member should be the primary investigator for the RSRB application. Students should register as the study coordinator. Because review may take several weeks before a decision is rendered, advance planning is necessary. After submission, there is a departmental review prior to delivery of the proposal to the RSRB. You can track the status of your application on the RSRB website. If it remains in “Departmental Review” for more than one week, ask the PI (your committee chair) to follow up with the Department Chair. Please consult the on-line RSRB application instructions for protocol development, templates for consent letters, and definition of terms (http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/rsrb).

For a printable copy, see Forms section below:

Thesis Proposal 

Before the actual research project starts, the final research proposal, including the background, study objectives, and methods, is presented Research Proposal Presentations:

Before the actual research project starts, the final research proposal, including the background, study objectives, and methods, is presented and defended publicly. The goal of the presentation is to obtain feedback about the study objectives and proposed methodology from additional faculty and students. The presentation should last no more than 50 minutes to leave ample time for discussion. To set a date, first verify availability of committee members, then secure a presentation date with the Graduate Program Administrator.

Send an electronic version of the proposal abstract to the Administrator at least 7 days in advance of scheduled presentation. The abstract should describe the project and be approximately 250-300 words. An electronic announcement for the presentation with the abstract will be disseminated to all PHS faculty, staff and students as well as invited guests one week prior to the scheduled presentation. Printed announcements will also be posted. A reminder announcement will be forwarded the morning of the scheduled presentation.

Thesis Proposal Requirements

The final thesis proposal document should have the following sections:

1. Title page (see formatting below)
   1. The cover page is not numbered
   2. Project title is typed in Title Case following standard rules of English
   3. Only the Chair is listed on the cover page. Others may be included in the acknowledgements
   4. Department of Public Health Sciences
   5. University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
   6. Year of Final Defense (not month or day)
2. Table of contents
3. Abstract
   1. The final abstract of the project should appear immediately after the table of contents
   2. The final abstract must include the following headings bolded with a brief description of each: Background, Objective, Methods, Results and Conclusion.
4. Introduction
5. Background Chapters providing review of the literature for topics relevant to the thesis
6. Specific Aims
7. Methods – separately described by Aim
   1. Study design and study population
   2. Outcome
   3. Exposure
   4. Statistical Analyses
   5. Power
8. Clinical or Public Health Significance
9. References
10. Tables
11. Figures
12. Appendix
    1. Study materials (surveys etc.)

Students should use the following margins: 1 1/2" from the left side and 1 1/4" from the right side, top and bottom, including the page number (you may put the page number on the bottom of the page). Font size should be 11 – 12; Font type should be Times New Roman; The report should be double-spaced.

Send an electronic version of the proposal abstract to the Administrator at least 7 days in advance of scheduled presentation. The abstract should describe the project and be approximately 250-300 words. An electronic announcement for the presentation with the abstract will be disseminated to all PHS faculty, staff and students as well as invited guests one week prior to the scheduled presentation. Printed announcements will also be posted. A reminder announcement will be forwarded the morning of the scheduled presentation.

Students are strongly encouraged to arrange a time with committee members to rehearse the proposal presentation several days in advance of the proposal date. Students are strongly encouraged to review information and guidelines regarding how to prepare effective Power Point presentations.

MS-HSRP Contact Information

Quratulain A. Majoka, MBA, PHS Graduate Programs Administrator (for registration, graduation processes, financial questions, and other administrative matters) Phone (585) 275-7882 Email: Annie_majoka@urmc.rochester.edu

Yue Li, PhD, Program Director for MS-HSRP (for curricular questions and graduation requirements) Phone: (585) 275-3276 Email: yue_li@urmc.rochester.edu

MS-HSRP Thesis Project Planning Guidance

Program Website: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/education/graduate/masters-degrees/publichealth.aspx
Program Director: Christopher Seplaki, PhD
Program Formats: Online and Online/On-Campus Hybrid
STEM approved: No
Total credits required: 43

Notes:

1. This Handbook applies ONLY to MPH students who matriculated in Fall 2020 or beyond. MPH Students who matriculated in Spring 2020 or in a prior semester should refer to the 2019-2020 edition of the Graduate Student Handbook, or the version specific to their semester/year of matriculation. All relevant editions of the Graduate Student Handbook are available on the MPH Hub.
2. All MPH students should use the MPH Hub as the primary source of program information regarding all aspects of their program experience. The information in this Handbook is accurate as of the date of publication. Beyond that point, in the event of any discrepancy in guidance between the MPH Hub and this Handbook—the MPH Hub should be taken as the holding the most current information.
   
   Students can access the MPH Hub via Blackboard: Log in to Blackboard at https://learn.rochester.edu. On the left side choose “Organizations”. Then from the resulting list on the right choose “MPH Hub”. Links to primary content items can be found on the left margin; e.g., see the link on the left for “ILE” for information about the Integrated Learning Experience (ILE).

MPH Program Guiding Statements

The University of Rochester MPH Program Vision

A world in which diverse, highly-trained public health professionals act to improve the health of individuals and the communities in which they live and in which health inequities no longer exist.

The University of Rochester MPH Program Mission

The program offers a flexible and supportive academic experience that provides students with the educational experiences, professional mentorship and career guidance to improve health and reduce health inequities among diverse populations, through public health scholarship, instruction and service.

The University of Rochester MPH Program Goals

Goals for our MPH program are organized into three groups: scholarship goals, instructional goals, and service goals.

Scholarship Goals

1. To stimulate student ILE capstone paper topics related to faculty research activities and/or joint faculty-community initiatives related to public health.
2. To maintain a departmental research program that encompasses important public health science topics

Instructional Goals

1. To provide students with up-to-date scientific knowledge and skills to address contemporary public health problems
2. To provide outstanding academic and career development mentorship

Service Goals

1. To engage in meaningful local, regional and national/international service roles
2. To regularly engage with public health professionals and community partners so that the MPH program is responsive to evolving public health needs

As noted above, we provide here a brief description of the values and culture for the URMC, and UR. The values and culture of the University of Rochester Medical Center are expressed in our ICARE values. ICARE is an acronym for Integrity, Inclusion, Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Excellence.

• INCLUSION: I will embrace diversity, be an ally for others, and acknowledge that everyone has their own story.
• INTEGRITY: I will be honest, ethical, and act in a fair and trustworthy manner.
• COMPASSION: I will act with kindness, show empathy, and be responsive to individual needs.
• ACCOUNTABILITY: I will lead by example, take responsibility for my actions, and support the efforts of my team.
• RESPECT: I will be open and accepting of others’ perspectives, and treat each person with dignity and cultural sensitivity.
• EXCELLENCE: I will advance personal and team goals, seek innovative approaches, be Ever Better – Meliora.

Additional information about the values and culture of the URMC are available online at https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/about-us/values-culture.aspx.

The vision and values of the University of Rochester are available online at https://rochester.edu/about/values.html and are included here. As a community, the University of Rochester is defined by a deep commitment to Meliora—ever better. Embedded in that ideal are the values we share: equity, leadership, integrity, openness, respect, and accountability. Together, we will set the highest standards for how we treat each other to ensure our community is welcoming to all and is a place where all can thrive. We will hold ourselves accountable to these values in the design of our programs, the development and delivery of our services, the evaluation of performance, and the ways in which we interact as a community.

• Meliora: We strive to be ever better, for everyone.
• Equity: We commit to diversity, inclusion, and access.
• Leadership: We take initiative and share responsibility for exemplifying excellence.
• Integrity: We conduct ourselves with honesty, dedication, and fairness.
• Openness: We embrace freedom of ideas, inquiry, and expression.
• Respect: We value our differences, our environment, and our individual and collective contributions.
• Accountability: We are responsible for making our dealings with others.

MPH Program of Study Sheet

Current MPH students should download an updated version of the program of study worksheet (according to their semester of matriculation) and view the approved list of electives, on the appropriate pages of the MPH Hub.

MPH Integrated Learning Experience (ILE)

All MPH students should use the MPH Hub as the primary source of program information regarding all aspects of their program experience. The information in this Handbook is accurate as of the date of publication. Beyond that point, in the event of any discrepancy in guidance between the MPH Hub and this Handbook—the MPH Hub has the most current information.

Students can access the MPH Hub via Blackboard: from the main “My URMC” login page, scroll down to “My Organizations” (on the right side)—there you will see a link to “MPH Hub”. Click this link to enter the MPH Hub. Links to primary content items can be found on the left margin; e.g., see the link on the left for “ILE” for information about the Integrated Learning Experience (ILE).

Students should access information about the Integrated Learning Experience (ILE) on the MPH Hub—see the link on the left side margin, labeled “Integrated Learning Experience (ILE)”. Only a brief overview is presented in this Handbook.

When completing their ILE students will register for credit the course PM 500 MPH Integrated Learning Experience (ILE). Student can download the syllabus and timeline for PM 500 MPH Integrated Learning Experience (ILE) on the MPH Hub. This document describes the ILE in detail. Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the ILE project steps and begin thinking about their topic, and potential faculty readers, early in their program experience. The syllabus for PM500 is also available directly here or via this link: https://rochester.box.com/s/seejydgvsn4hxpvohb3to3t4teyb4an3.

The ILE Primary Reader and Project Advisor must be a primary, full-time faculty member in the Department of Public Health Sciences. You can view a list of PHS primary faculty here. Students should enter the name of their primary reader/advisor when requested during the registration process for PM500.

The Secondary Reader must be a full-time faculty member at University of Rochester and be approved by the Primary Reader and MPH Program Director (PD director approval is via the agreement form submitted to the Hub via Step 1 link).

Students are encouraged to discuss their ideas for ILE paper option, topic and primary reader with their Academic Advisor in an ongoing fashion in the semesters preceding their ILE. See the PM 500 syllabus for guidance on the ILE paper structure and formatting.

MPH Contact Information

Quratulain A. Majoka, MBA, PHS Graduate Programs Administrator (for registration, graduation processes, financial questions, and other administrative matters) Phone (585) 275-7882 Email: Annie_majoka@urmc.rochester.edu

Christopher Seplaki, PhD, Program Director for MPH (for curricular questions and graduation requirements) Phone: (585) 273-1549 Email: Christopher_seplaki@urmc.rochester.edu

PHS Master’s ILE Essay / Thesis Committee Member Agreement Form

PHS Example Cover Page Format