About the Program

Stanford’s master’s program in Community Health and Prevention Research within the Stanford Prevention Research Center (SPRC) is designed for students pursuing health-related careers focusing on chronic disease prevention, health and wellness promotion, and the pursuit of health equity. Most students complete the program in one academic year. 

The growing and increasingly recognized and valued fields of community health and prevention research are concerned with expanding and enhancing disease prevention and control efforts in communities at local, state, national, and international levels. The world-renowned SPRC recognizes that community health and prevention research play an increasingly vital role within the field of medicine, the study of global health, and population-level efforts to prevent and reduce chronic diseases.

What You’ll Study

What you will study at the graduate level depends on your particular degree, academic interests, and professional goals. In our program you will:

• Study patterns of chronic diseases in diverse communities and settings and examine how prevention can optimize health and promote health equity at the individual, family, community, and population level. 

• Critically interpret and evaluate research on community health and prevention

• Become involved in research teams that encourage health equity promotion and social responsibility.

• Gain and hone methodological skills, including research study design, study implementation, and data analysis related to community health and prevention research.

• Use coursework and implementation science in a community-based research internship with the expectation that they design, implement, and assess health and wellness solutions addressing preventable community health challenges.

• Complete a master’s thesis.