| The University of Georgia will begin training
the next generation of public health policy makers, practitioners
and researchers in fall 2004, following the approval by the University
System of Georgia Board of Regents of a new master’s degree
program in public health.
“We are very excited about the new graduate program,”
says Arnett C. Mace Jr., senior vice president for academic affairs.
“It is a positive step toward further strengthening UGA’s
public health programs.”
The interdisciplinary degree program initially will be coordinated
by UGA’s Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute http://www.biomed.uga.edu/
and its Division of Public Health. It will be a unique collaboration
between many academic units, including the departments of environmental
health science and health promotion and behavior.
“Given the current budget limitations within the University
System, we are pleased that this program provides a new and very
important degree program with essentially no additional cost,”
says BHSI director Harry Dailey. “The majority of courses
for the M.P.H. already exist in various schools, colleges and departments
across campus.”
The master’s of public health program will initially offer
courses of study in environmental health science and health promotion
and behavior. Specialty areas will eventually be expanded to include
gerontology, health communication, nutrition and exercise science.
“We anticipate that the M.P.H. at UGA will be a very popular
graduate degree program and serve to strengthen interdisciplinary
interactions across campus,” says Phil Williams, BHSI public
health division chair and M.P.H. program coordinator.
The university hopes to enroll 30 graduate students this August
and expects the program to grow to about 200 students within the
next three years.
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