Master of Science

• To complete the MS in CHPR, students must complete a minimum of 45 units, conduct a two-quarter community-based research internship, and write a master’s thesis.

• 30 of 45 units must be from CHPR subject code courses.

• All courses must be taken for a letter grade if that is offered.

• All students in the MS in CHPR must also fulfill the course requirements below.

• Students are advised to check the prerequisites for all CHPR courses, especially the Biostatistics and Research Methods courses.

A minimum of nine units from this section are required; additional units above nine will count towards the 45 unit residency total. At least three units must have a quantitative focus, as approved by the CHPR Office. CHPR subject code courses on this list will also count towards the 30 CHPR subject code courses unit requirement.

Students may take any combination of the courses listed here, except for the following: students may take either EPI 258 or EPI 259 but not both, and students may take either CHPR 247 or PEDS 202C but not both.

Courses are subject to change without notice. Please check Explore Courses for up to date course availability and scheduling information.

Students may count the courses below to count towards the 45-unit residency total. CHPR subject code courses on this list will also count towards the 30 CHPR subject code courses unit requirement.

Students may petition for elective approval of courses they would like to take for their MS degree which are not on the pre-approved elective list or the Biostats and Research Methods list. However, petitions by coterms for courses previously taken as an undergraduate will be denied.

Courses are subject to change without notice. Please check Explore Courses for up to date course availability and scheduling information.

If a course is not pre-approved as an elective,  a student may petition the CHPR Office for approval. To be eligible for consideration as an elective:

• the course must have a course number of 100 or greater

• the course must be a minimum of 3 units (2 units may be considered)

• the course must be taken for a letter grade AND

• the course must be approved by the CHPR Office

• Coterms: petitions for elective approval of courses already taken in your undergraduate career are not allowed. Only CHPR subject code courses and courses on the pre-approved electives and approved Biostats and Research Methods lists are eligible for course transfer to your graduate career.

Students are required to take a minimum of 30 CHPR units. CHPR units can come from any course with a CHPR subject code (e.g., CHPR 232). Approved electives with other subject codes (e.g., EPI 259) do not count towards the 30 unit CHPR minimum, but may count towards other requirements such as the 45 program units, and/or the biostats and research methods requirement.

Students must complete a consecutive two-quarter-long community-based research internship under the supervision of a mentor approved by the CHPR Office. Students will receive six total units for their internships, which are all unpaid positions, per University policy. The primary learning goal of these internships is for students to apply their coursework and implementation science in a community or lab setting by engaging community members and faculty to create innovative, research-based chronic disease prevention solutions addressing community health challenges.

1. Students must fulfill the following requirements to enroll in CHPR 290 Curricular Practical Training and Internship:

   1. Complete or be enrolled in:

      • CHPR 220 Research in the Community

      • CHPR 228 Theoretical Foundations and Design of Behavioral Intervention Trials and

      • at least one approved Biostatistics and Research Methods course.

2. Students may begin their community-based research internships upon completion of the CHPR Foundations courses.

Students are required to complete a master’s thesis. Students may begin their master’s thesis upon completion of the CHPR Foundations courses. The master’s thesis allows students to demonstrate knowledge, application, and thoughtful, scholarly communication of theoretical principles central to community health interventions, study design, research, and analytic methods, as well as depth in a substantive area of community health and prevention research. The thesis is intended to be 30 pages in length (i.e., article-length), double-spaced, including supporting tables, figures, and references. The thesis can take one of the following forms:

1. Analysis of original data collected via a student’s internship

2. Comprehensive literature review with meta-analysis of data or critical reanalysis of data

3. Evaluation of a methodological problem using data

4. Comprehensive literature review with a grant proposal (NIH-style format) for a new study to bridge a gap in existing knowledge

5. Organizational health improvement and evaluation plan written for a student’s internship organization

6. CHPR mentor approved, independently designed thesis

The program encourages students to use extant data sets for their projects. Students are not limited to quantitative data sets; many School of Medicine faculty possess qualitative data sets that may be analyzed for an MS thesis project. Students can also collect original data, for example, through surveys. Students are encouraged to develop their thesis into a manuscript for publication or a credible research grant application, and mentorship is provided.

The optional subplan in Contemplation by Design: Applied Contemplative Science offers the opportunity to develop deep knowledge of contemplative science as well as skills for applying it in community health and prevention programs and research projects. The subplan requires 12 units of coursework that count towards the 45 unit minimum for the CHPR MS, 9 of which must have a CHPR course code. Completion of the subplan results in a notation that appears on the transcript and diploma.

Students declare the subplan by submitting eform "Field of Study (Subplan) Declaration or Change for Graduate Students" in Axess.

Courses listed for the sub-plan are specifically approved for the sub-plan, and are not automatically approved for CHPR students who do not declare the subplan. At this time, we will not be approving any other electives for this subplan.

Complete any combination of the approved elective courses below to reach the minimum 12 unit requirement for the subplan.