1. As with other certificates, you can use up to 6 credits of previously completed course work. So if you already have those (see below) you would have to sign up for any additional credits that you would want to receive once you are accepted into the certificate.
2. The certificate requires completion of 12 regular course credits (generally will be 4 courses) and one 3 credit hour internship.
3. The 4 regular courses include two required courses: a health assessment course, usually in the form of an introductory epidemiology course such as CPH-605; and introductory course in global health, such as CPH-751. CPH-605 is offered Fall and Spring semesters; CPH-751 is being offered in the Fall.
4. The other 2 courses are electives (see section below). Not all are offered every year; there may be other courses that satisfy elective requirements.
5. One of the courses has to be outside the College of Public Health.
6. The internship is a crucial culminating experience for the certificate. It requires at least a 4-week internship abroad, in or related to a resource-poor or resource-limited setting. It also requires a mentor both at UK and locally. This internship is now a new course, CPH-709 (description below).
7. Entry into the certificate program will not be automatic for students who simply want to do it. There will be an application and selection process, and one of the major limiting factors at this point is the lack of resources to run a large program. Hopefully the demonstrated interest from students will help the program develop.

Elective Courses

Students are to select at least two elective courses, for a minimum of 6 credit hours. Below is a selected list of possible electives, but students may elect other courses, with approval of the Graduate Certificate Director. Courses must include topics related to global health from a medical, cultural, geographical, sociological, or other perspective. One elective has to be from List A (or be approved by GH Director). At least one course has to be from a college other than Public Health.

List A (all 3 credit hours)

• ANT 646 Global Health: People, Institutions, and Change
• CE 655 Water, Sanitation and Health
• CPH 646 Public Health and Anthropology
• CPH 612 Infectious/Emerging Diseases Epidemiology
• GEO 475G Medical Geography
• ENT 561 Insects Affecting Human and Animal Health

List B (all 3 credit hours)

• AAS 431G Cultures and Societies of Sub-Saharan Africa
• ANT 603 Human Biology In Context of Sociocultural Change
• ANT 766 Gender, Ethnicity and Health
• ANT 774 Food and Food Security in a Changing World (BSC 774)
• ANT 775 Culture and Politics of Reproduction
• ANT 637 Sociocultural Dimensions of Economic Development (SOC 637)
• BIO 582 Virology
• BSC 766 Concepts in Medical Sociology (SOC 766)
• BSC 763 Seminar on Health Inequities
• CHE 565 Environmental Chemistry
• CJT 619 Professional Seminar in International/Intercultural Communication
• CPH 645 Food Systems, Malnutrition, and Public Health
• GEO 544 Human Population Dynamics
• NUR 752 Culturally Competent Healthcare: Client, Clinician, and Organizational Perspectives

CPH 709: Global Health Internship

Course Learning Objectives: This course will provide the opportunity for students to participate in a health-related activity, project or program in a resource-limited setting in a foreign country. This will allow students in the Global Health Certificate Program to gain direct international experience with some relevant, current global health issues, and to integrate and apply knowledge and skills learned in their coursework.

The minimum duration of the internship will be four weeks. The internship will be a 3 credit hours. Each internship will be unique, depending on the student’s background and interest, as well as on the needs and resources of the location where it will be conducted. The main activity and setting of the internship can range from providing primary or specialty direct patient care in a hospital, outpatient or other type of medical setting; prevention, community health or health education activities in schools, neighborhood meetings or other venues; collection of environmental samples from water, soil, food, etc. For students in the colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Health Sciences, the internship may take the form of a rotation.

Internship placements will require completion of an application to be submitted to and reviewed by the GH certificate director. The internship application shall include a proposed work plan, with activity and learning objectives, and a mentorship plan which should include a UK-GH associate faculty supervisor and a local, qualified mentor or supervisor in the host location. Approval of the internship application will also include consideration of the student’s background, interests and language capabilities. In addition to the field experience, before traveling the student will complete pre-departure orientation and preparation requirements of the Office of International Affairs for students studying or working abroad. Upon returning to the U.S., the student must report on his/her experience in the form of a written report, an oral, open presentation or other format and be approved by the UK-GH supervisor, for the completion of his/her internship.

Exceptions: With approval of the GH Program director, international students may be able to conduct the internship in a resource-limited or underserved setting in the U.S. Reduction of the duration of the internship abroad to less than 4 weeks will be considered only in exceptional cases and will require written approval of the GH Program director.

Funding for travel and living expenses will be responsibility of the student, but the GH Program Director and associate faculty will assist in pursuing travel funds from available sources, such as fellowships, travel awards and financial aid towards study or practice abroad.

 

Objectives:

Prepare public health workers to address the multi-factorial Maternal and Child Health (MCH) issues in Kentucky in their workplaces by enhancing public health-related skills.

Provide participants with theoretical, practical, and relevant educational experiences in MCH to enhance the health and welfare of children, mothers and families.

Align the resources, mission and vision of the UK College of Public Health with the Kentucky Institute of Public Health Practice Enhancement with MCH content and develop undergraduate, graduate and continuing education programs that have appropriate MCH content.

Admission Requirements and Application Procedures for Certificate in Maternal and Child Health (MCH):

The Graduate Certificate is open to graduate students outside the College of Public Health in other professional schools at the University.

Applicants must satisfy the minimum Graduate School Requirements for admission to a Certificate (which are identical to those for enrollment as post-baccalaureate graduate student) and apply separately for the Graduate Certificate in MCH. Post-baccalaureate status is not available to non-Kentucky residents or international applicants.

Students enrolled in (or applying to) a graduate degree program or post-baccalaureate graduate students may apply for the Graduate Certificate in MCH.

Applicants for admission to the Graduate Certificate in Maternal and Child Health must be approved by the Certificate Director, who shall notify the Graduate School in writing of the student’s admission.

Admission to the Graduate Certificate in MCH curriculum or award of the graduate certificate does not guarantee admission to any degree program at the University of Kentucky.

Admission to the Graduate Certificate in MCH may be limited so that the faculty and resources are not overwhelmed.

Degree seeking applicants for the Graduate Certificate must present an undergraduate transcript with a GPA of more than or equal to 3.0. Students who enroll in post-baccalaureate status need to have an undergraduate GPA of 2.5 or better and a graduate GPA of 3.0 or better.

Applicants for the Graduate Certificate who are seeking or plan to seek a graduate degree must submit scores on the verbal, quantitative, and analytical portions of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). This rule may be waived for one semester in individual cases upon the recommendation of the Director of the Graduate Certificate. In cases where waivers are granted, the GRE scores must be submitted before the end of the first semester of graduate study.

Applicants for the Graduate Certificate who do not plan to work toward a graduate degree (i.e., visiting students, Rank I, other certification and certificate programs, and post-baccalaureate students) are exempt from the requirement of submitting GRE scores.

Doctoral level degree holders are exempt from submitting GRE scores.

Applicants must submit the appropriate fee to the Graduate School.

Applicants must provide to the Graduate Certificate Director a two-page essay on why the individual needs and desires a Graduate Certificate in Maternal and Child Health and a one-page biography which includes the student’s educational and work experience, as an aid to the admission decision.

Students enrolled in the Graduate Certificate may not use the MCH-required Certificate Course, CPH 740 –Introduction to Maternal and Child Health for credit in any other degree program in the College of Public Health.

Graduate Certificate in Maternal and Child Health Requirements:

The Graduate Certificate curriculum involves a total of 15 graduate credit hours including 6 hours of required courses.

The Graduate Certificate curriculum is approved or re-approved for operation for a period of six years by the Graduate School.

All course work for the Graduate Certificate in MCH must be completed within 5 years of admission.

Graduate Certificate students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better to progress in the curriculum.

Students who already are or will be enrolled in any other degree program, or those who simply apply for post-baccalaureate (non-degree status) in order to complete the Graduate Certificate in MCH, are eligible to apply for admission. Courses and credit hours that satisfy the Graduate Certificate can be used to jointly satisfy degree credit hours for a degree (i.e., MPH, DrPH) and Graduate Certificate.

Award of the Graduate Certificate in Maternal and Child Health

When a student enrolled in the UK Graduate School has successfully completed the last required course and has satisfied the GPA and grade requirements, the Director shall send a completed, signed Graduate Certificate Completion Form to the Dean of the Graduate School verifying that the student has fulfilled all requirements for the Certificate and requesting award thereof. The Graduate School shall then issue the student’s certificate and officially notify the University Registrar of the awarding of the Certificate for posting to the student’s permanent transcript.

Graduate Certificate Director:

James C. Cecil, III , DMD, MPH, Department of Health Behavior, UK College of Public Health is the Director of the Graduate Certificate in Maternal and Child Health. Dr. Cecil is a part-time CPH faculty with clinical and academic experience in maternal and child health issues. As faculty at the College of Dentistry and former Kentucky State Dental Director, he developed a course in Children’s Oral Health for health department nurses in Kentucky called “KIDS Smile” which has been used in several other state programs. As dental director, Dr. Cecil worked closely with the MCH program at the Kentucky Department for Public Health.

Dr. Cecil may be contacted by email: jimc@email.uky.edu; by mail - UK College of Public Health, Department of Health Behavior, 121 Washington Street, Room 109 C, Lexington, KY 40506-2031; or by cell phone at 859 339-2240

Graduate Certificate Associates:

Dr. Henrietta Bada, pediatrician, neonatologist and faculty at the UK College of Medicine; Dr. Ken Muse, obstetrician and faculty at the UK College of Medicine; Dr. Linda Alexander, Assistant Dean and faculty at UK College of Public Health.

Curriculum:

The Graduate Certificate consists of 15 credit hours, 6 of which are required courses and 9 of which can be selected from the list of electives below or other existing classes or classes to be developed as approved by the certificate director.

Required Courses:

• CPH 740 – Introduction to Maternal and Child Health (3 hrs). (A new course proposal is included in this Graduate Certificate proposal)
• CPH 605 – Introduction to Epidemiology (3 hrs).

Selective Courses in Existence Throughout the University:

• CPH 645 – Food Systems and Malnutrition and Public Health (3 hrs). “This course explores key issues in public health and malnutrition through a food systems perspective. Understanding how the various parts of the food system interact is essential in the design of effective public health policy and projects to combat malnutrition in all its various forms. … we will look at public health nutrition challenges throughout the food system, both in the US and in the developing world.”
• CPH 648 – Health and Culture (3 hrs). “Health educators involved in advocacy, policy, or promotion should be trained to understand differences in minority populations in order to help build and lobby for the infrastructure needed to prevent excess disease and death among underserved populations. A special emphasis…will be placed on understanding the role of culture in influencing the adaptation of health attitudes, practices and behaviors. An additional focus will be placed on health status, current trends, and health indicators for special populations identified through the Kentucky Health Objectives …, as reported by the Kentucky Department for Public Health.”
• CPH 646 – Special Topics in Behavioral Health: Public Health and Anthropology (3 hrs). “This seminar explores the contributions that anthropology, the academic field that focuses on the study of human culture, can make towards a better understanding of health behavior in the context of public health…. We will consider how the perspectives and tools developed in anthropology can be utilized in public health to help understand culture, both in the United States and in developing countries.” This course has a module on MCH which includes topics such as preventive child services, learning from caregivers of young children, children and medicines, care-seeking for illness in young infants in an urban slum in India, and midwifery, home births, and emergency obstetric referrals in Guatemala.
• NUR 658 – Risky Behaviors and Health (3 hrs). “This course examines the epidemiological, psychological, and theoretical perspectives of risk taking behavior and its health consequences across the lifespan. Selected topics include stress, tobacco, drug, alcohol, and medication abuse, unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, eating disorders, occupational and sports activities, and violence across the lifespan.”
• FAM 502 – Families and Children Under Stress (3 hrs). “An investigation of the stressors and crises experienced by families and the examination of family members’ adaptation and coping efforts. Special attention is given to prevention, management, and enrichment strategies. Implications for practitioners will be drawn from conceptual frameworks and recent research.”
• CPH 647 – Research Methods for Health Promotion (3 hrs). “This course provides the student with basic knowledge about the design and analysis of research in the field of health promotion. The theory, design applications, and analytic strategies used for various types of research are presented in a sequential format. Goals of the course include: 1) gaining the ability to critically evaluate research in health promotion practice, 2) achieving competence in research methodology, and 3) understanding the conceptual application of analytic techniques to data.”
• CPH 758 – Special Topics in Health Services Management: Health Care Access and Coverage (3 hrs). “This is a selective policy course offered to give students a greater understanding of programs available to serve underserved populations, how the changes in the health care market impact care provided to underserved populations, and policy and programmatic options to address the needs of underserved populations.” CPH 610 – Injury Epidemiology and Control (3 hrs).
• CPH 610 is a course that explores “The epidemiologic basis for understanding the distribution and determinants for injuries and poisonings, including both intentional and unintentional events. A wide variety of injury settings are discussed including home, transportation, occupational, recreational, plus violence, suicide, and homicide. The continuum of injury using pre-event, event and post-event concepts of Haddon’s matrix is also emphasized.”
• CPH 758 (and FP 825) – International Public Health (and Introduction to Global Health & International Medicine) (3 hrs). “This course will acquaint students with the major issues and challenges for public health in a variety of wealthy, emerging and impoverished nations.” CPH 758 has a module in Maternal and Child Health.
• CPH 653 –Public Health Law and Policy (3 hrs). “CPH 653 is an introductory course for non-lawyers in selected aspects of the law related to public health. Major attention is paid to fundamental legal principles and legal reasoning, recurring legal issues confronted by public health agencies, and the use of law to advance a public health agenda. Emphasis is placed on giving students tools to use when they encounter law- related problems in their professional careers. The course is intended for students in all divisions of the College of Public Health.” The course has a module on public health law ethics and practice as well as a module on statutory rights of vulnerable populations and reproductive health issues.

 

 

Curriculum

The Graduate Certificate in Gerontology is awarded to individuals who complete 15 graduate credit hours in an approved multi-disciplinary curriculum in gerontology.

Twelve hours of coursework must include at least one course (3 hours) in each of the following areas plus 1 additional 3 hour course as an elective:

• Biomedical Sciences and Health Services
• Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Policy, Planning and Ethics

Students may choose courses according to their preference and course availability. To ensure an interdisciplinary experience, no more than 2 courses may be taken from each department. Special requests may be submitted to the Faculty Committee in advance. Attached is a worksheet to help organize a Plan of Study as well as a pre-approved course list.

Students must receive an A or B in all Certificate coursework. Students have up to three years to complete the Certificate. An extension of three additional years may be requested.

The award of a Certificate in Gerontology will be posted on the student’s official transcript. There is an annual reception to honor all students completing their Certificate.

Practicum OR Research Requirement

A Practicum focused on aging can be completed in conjunction with a practicum requirement from another degree program (with prior approval), or can be arranged independently. A minimum of 210 hours will satisfy the practicum requirement.

Instead of a practicum a student may choose to conduct a research project. Projects may be done either in conjunction with a dissertation or as an independent study.

Students will work with a faculty advisor during the proposal stage and as they complete their practicum/research projects. Proposals must be submitted to the Certificate Faculty Committee prior to beginning work. (Please note that the Faculty Committee meets in May, August and December.)

Once the proposal has been approved, work may begin. For a practicum, it is usual practice for the on-site supervisor to meet with the student weekly to offer feedback and discuss their progress toward the goals and objectives of the experience.

Midterm evaluations are sent to the student and on-site supervisor to formally evaluate the progression of the practicum. Upon completion of the experience, the on-site supervisor is asked to complete an overall evaluation. Students are required to submit a final report/evaluation with a copy of any materials developed during the practicum to the Certificate Committee for final approval.

The Application Process

The Certificate Faculty Committee meets three times a year, May, August and December, to consider applications, practicum/research proposals, completions and special requests. All application materials must be received in the Certificate Office in advance. Remember to include adequate time for letters of reference to be requested and returned.

Pre-approved Certificate courses that have already been completed may count towards the curriculum requirements (This does not include practicum or research projects). Requests to include these courses are made on the application. No more than six hours previously completed at UK can be counted toward the Certificate.

To Apply:

1. Students must be admitted to the UK Graduate School. With the exception of professional programs located outside of the Graduate school (such as a Pharm.D. student), you must be be admitted to the Graduate School. Graduate School application deadlines and forms may be obtained by calling (859) 257-4613 or through their website at: http://www.research.uky.edu/gs/ . Submit Graduate School applications directly to the Graduate School. Please note submission deadlines.
   
   If applying as a Post-Baccalaureate student, please mark your Graduate School application as Gerontology, non-degree.
2. Submit the following to the Certificate Coordinator at the address below:
   
   Completed application.
   
   Official transcripts. Official transcripts are required for undergraduate and graduate work from universities other than the University of Kentucky. A GPA of 3.0 is required for admission.
   
   Two references. Have your references sent directly to the Certificate office (Attn: Certificate Director, Graduate Center for Gerontology; 306 Wethington Health Sciences Building; 900 S. Limestone; University of Kentucky; Lexington, KY 40536-0200; Ph: 859.257.1450). These should be on letterhead in a signed, sealed envelope. If you are currently pursuing a graduate degree, one reference must be from a faculty member in your academic department.
   
   Practicum/Research proposal. It is not necessary that the practicum or research proposal be submitted with the application unless it will be a part of the next semester’s coursework. See Curriculum page for more information. All practicum/research proposals must be approved by the Certificate Committee prior to beginning the project. An example of a practicum learning contract is available in the Certificate Office for your review.