Sociomedical Sciences

The Health Promotion track is designed for students who are interested in developing, implementing, and evaluating strategies that address health promotion at multiple levels. Drawing on the Department’s strengths in the study of social determinants of disease and health, this track reconceptualizes health behavior as an interactive product of the social environment. Thus Health Promotion requires strategies and theories that extend beyond the level of the individual to analyze and target a myriad of interpersonal, organizational, community, economic, political, and cultural factors that shape health. It is preferred, but not required, that students enter the program with some work experience in public health.

Upon completion of course work in the track, students are able to assess state-of-the-art health promotion efforts, analyze the foundations of the discipline of health promotion, articulate the historical and philosophical bases of health promotion, and explain the dominant theories and conceptual frameworks in health promotion from an ecological perspective. Graduates, in addition, have the capacity to systematically design and develop implementation plans for multi-level health promotion interventions as well as to develop effective program evaluations.

*Note for Prospective Applicants: Beginning in the Fall 2012, the School is moving to a new Certificate program. MPH students in the 2-year Columbia MPH program will identify an area of focus from more than 20 offerings including: Health Promotion, Research, and Practice; Global Health; and History, Ethics, and Law. Visit the Prospective Student/Columbia MPH site for more information.