Public Health Foundations & Practice Certificate

Program Director: Lok Pokhrel, PhD (252-744-3775; pokhrell18@ecu.edu) 

The Public Health Foundations and Practice (PHFP) Certificate program is offered fully online and is designed to improve the knowledge and skills in public health, particularly in public health planning and evaluation, rural health, health administration, biostatistics, and epidemiology. It provides a robust foundation in essential principles and methodologies tailored to rural, practice-based environments. By focusing on disease prevention and skill development, the program equips students with the skillset necessary to excel in diverse health sectors. Ideal for both experienced professionals and those new to public health, this certificate serves as a crucial steppingstone toward advanced education, including a Master of Public Health degree, thereby significantly improving career prospects and public health outcomes.  

This certificate is open to students enrolled in graduate and medical degree programs as well as students who are accepted into the certificate program. Students currently enrolled in the Master of Public Health (MPH) program are not eligible to earn this certificate. The certificate program is open to any student that has successfully completed a baccalaureate program with a 2.5 GPA and meets the other requirements determined by the Department of Public Health. 

To earn the certificate, a student must complete five certificate courses (12 s.h.) with a 3.0 GPA or better. A student earning a C in any course as part of the certificate must petition the Department of Public Health for probationary continuation and may be required to repeat the course. Students with two C’s will have to retake one of the courses and earn a “B” or better to successfully complete the certificate. All course grades count toward the certificate GPA. Courses in this certificate program can be transferred into the MPH program with a grade of B or better and upon meeting the department’s academic admission requirements. 

Admission Requirements 

  • This certificate program is open to students who have successfully completed a baccalaureate program with a 2.5 GPA or greater. 
  • Applicants must submit two letters of recommendation, a curriculum vitae/resume and a statement of purpose. The GRE or other standardized test score is not required. 

Curriculum and Course Descriptions 

The PHFP certificate requires completing 12 credit hours as follows. All courses are offered completely online. 

Requirements: 

  • BIOS 7021 – Biostatistics for Health Professionals I 
  • MPH 6034 – Foundations of Rural Health 
  • MPH 6041 – Principles of Epidemiology 
  • MPH 6042 – Public Health Organization and Administration* 
  • MPH 6043 – Public Health Planning and Evaluation 

*If a student does not have a former health related degree, the student will be required to take MPH 6042 before enrollment in any other course. 

BIOS 7021 – Biostatistics for Health Professionals I (3)

Prerequisite: MATH 1065 or consent of instructor. Applies statistical methods to health sciences. Types, organization, and display of data; elementary probability; parametric and nonparametric techniques when dealing with one or two samples (matched and independent); one way ANOVA; and simple linear regression. 

MPH 6034 – Foundations of Rural Health (1)

Foundations of rural health takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding rural populations, with emphasis on the social determinants of health. 

MPH 6041 – Principles of Epidemiology (2) 

Principles of epidemiologic concepts and methods applied in public health practice.  

MPH 6042 – Public Health Organization and Administration (3) 

Introduces concepts of health care administration including US and international healthcare systems, healthcare delivery and care diversity, leadership and management of healthcare. 

MPH 6043 - Public Health Planning and Evaluation (3) 

Introduces intervention planning, implementation, and evaluation concepts and methods that are applied in public health practice. 

How to Apply 

For Public Health Foundations & Practice Graduate Certificate admissions consideration, a two-step application submission process is required:  

  1. Applicants must first apply through SOPHAS Express. Upon submission of your SOPHAS Express application, you will receive a unique applicant ID.  
  2. The provided SOPHAS ID is required to begin, and subsequently submit, an additional application through the ECU Graduate School. 

All applicants to the program must submit the following to SOPHAS Express: 

  • Application and fees 
  • Unofficial Transcripts 
  • Resume/Curriculum Vitae 
  • 2 letters of recommendation from an academic advisor, professor, and/or supervisor (non-relatives) 
  • Statement of Purpose (Personal Essay) 
  • 1 Writing sample (optional) 

All applicants to the program should submit the following to the ECU graduate school: 

  • Application and fees 
  • Official transcripts 

Additional Information 

  • You must provide your full legal name in the SOPHAS Express application and ECU Graduate School application (abbreviations are impermissible). 
  • Students attending on F1/J1 student visas are not eligible; USCIS required course delivery mode not available. 

Approval of a fee waiver through SOPHAS Express does not guarantee a fee waiver for the ECU Graduate School. The Graduate School has limited fee waivers and, if not eligible, you will be required to pay the nonrefundable application processing fee. 

Checklist for Current Students in the Public Health Foundations & Practice Certificate Program 

For application materials and further information, contact:

Lok R Pokhrel, MSc, MS, PhD,  
Program Director  
Department of Public Health 
Brody School of Medicine  
610 Moye Blvd, Mailstop 660, Greenville, NC 27834 
252-744-3775; pokhrell18@ecu.edu