Description of our Programs
The College of Public Health and Health Professions offers a wide variety of master's and doctoral degree programs. We offer both entry level and executive master of Health Administration programs, a master of Public Health program, a master of Occupational Therapy program, a master of Physical Therapy program, and two master of health science programs. They are: Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation Counseling. The doctoral degree programs are in Clinical and Health Psychology, Rehabilitation Science, Health Services Research, Audiology, and Physical Therapy. Our College also offers opportunities for clinical and research training in speech-language pathology and Audiology.
Occupational Therapy visit
the website
Occupational therapy is a health profession in which activities with specific
goals are used to help people prevent, lessen, or overcome disabilities.
Occupational therapists help people with disabilities deal with emotional,
cognitive, and/or physical problems that interfere with the ability to function
successfully in daily life. This health career is appropriate for persons
who enjoy solving problems, like working with other professionals, and like
helping people with disabilities achieve maximal independence. Occupational
therapy blends biomedical and psychological and social sciences. We offer
three graduate programs: the entry level master's program and the advanced
master's program. Our entry level program is for students who want to become
practitioners and our advanced master's program is for students who already
have their clinical OT degree and emphasizes advanced study in occupational
therapy research and theory. Students also have the opportunity to develop
a specialty area through electives.
Our distance learning advanced masters program is designed for the working
therapist seeking graduate work via the internet.
Public Health visit
the website
The public health program is designed to prepare researchers, service
leaders, and educators in the prevention and amelioration of disease and
the promotion of health at the community level. The 48-credit master's
level curriculum offers the opportunity for students to specialize in any
of the five core areas of public health - biostatistics, environmental health,
epidemiology, public health management and policy, and social and behavioral
sciences. The social and behavioral sciences track offers further
specialization in rural public health, aging, or community health education.
Examples of potential job settings include community health centers,
not-for-profit organizations, and governmental health agencies.
Physical Therapy visit
the website
Physical therapists assess and treat individuals with a variety of problems,
such as musculoskeletal, neurological, and cardiovascular difficulties related
to disability, injury, disease, and aging. Physical therapists work closely
with other health professionals and also play a significant educational
role in the prevention of injuries. Our 3-year DPT professional program
is for students who want to become physical therapists and emphasizes the
acquisition of knowledge and its application to clinical treatment.
Rehabilitative Services/Rehabilitation Counseling
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Rehabilitation service providers typically work with individuals with
disabilities or individuals disadvantaged for social or economic reasons.
Our undergraduate program emphasizes teaching students to respond to the
rehabilitative needs of clients by assessing types of services needed, providing
appropriate education, and coordinating service delivery. In our graduate
program in rehabilitation counseling, students learn a variety of skills,
including vocational assessment, job development and placement, case management,
mental health counseling, and community resource development. Students prepare
for careers in a variety of human service settings.
Health Services Administration visit
the website
Health administrators often deal with industry challenges and assume
leadership positions in health systems, hospitals, group practices, managed
care organizations, and consulting firms. The Master's degree program emphasizes
training in managerial, financial, economic, legal, and ethical aspects
of health administration. The College of Public Health and Health Professions
also offers an Executive Master's in Health Administration. This program
is for working professionals who want to develop or improve their business
skills, learn about the latest developments in health care, and apply these
skills and knowledge to their work setting. Finally, the department offers
a Ph.D. program in health services research.
Clinical and Health Psychology visit
the website
Clinical psychologists work with individuals, families, groups and organizations
to address psychological, behavioral, and psychosocial issues related to
health, illness, and disability. The Clinical Psychology doctoral program
has been continuously accredited by the American Psychological Association
since 1953. The program adheres to the scientist-practitioner model of training
in which the student learns to integrate science and practice and to contribute
to the evolution of the profession. The program offers areas of concentration
in Health/Medical psychology, Clinical Child/Pediatric psychology, and Neuropsychology,
Neurorehabilitation, and Clinical Neuroscience. An APA accredited internship
is also available.
Communicative Disorders visit
the website
Speech-language pathologists are concerned with the assessment and treatment
of disorders related to speech and language, such as problems with reading,
writing, swallowing, and thinking. Audiologists provide services to people
with suspected or diagnosed hearing problems. The Department of Communicative
Disorders offers clinical and research opportunities in inpatient and outpatient
medical settings to enable students to gain practical experience in speech-language
pathology or audiology. The department, in conjunction with Communication
Sciences and Disorders, also offers both on-campus and distance learning
doctoral programs in audiology. Communicative Disorders also offers a certificate
program in medical speech-language pathology.
Rehabilitation Science visit
the website
The Rehabilitation Science doctoral program is the only one of its kind
in the Southeast. It is designed to prepare rehabilitation scholars. Students
are given the opportunity to develop skills in teaching, research, service
leadership, and interdisciplinary teamwork in rehabilitation. In addition,
students design their own specialty area within the broad categories of
movement dysfunction, occupational function and health, social and behavioral
integration, communication neuroscience, rehabilitation engineering, or
a related area of emphasis consistent with the student's career goals. Upon
successful completion of this 90-credit program, students will receive their
PhD and are well positioned for opportunities in education, research, and
management not typically available to individuals with only their entry
level clinical degree. The program particularly strives to prepare rehabilitation
scholars who can fill the void for faculty created by a rapidly changing
health care delivery system.
