Master of Applied Science in Community-Based Primary Health Care Programs in Global Health, MAS | Johns Hopkins University Academic Catalogue

Program Overview

Please note: The Master of Applied Science (MAS) program in Community-based Primary Health Care Programs in Global Health is not open to new matriculants in AY24-25. Students previously admitted to the program should consult the prior catalogue/guidebook under which they were admitted or review the MAS Student Resources site in CoursePlus. For additional information, please follow up directly with the MAS Office to verify program requirements; MAS-Office@jh.edu.

The Master of Applied Science (MAS) is a fully online, part-time degree designed for working professionals. Programs focus on emergent industry sectors in public health and health care that have a need for highly skilled professionals. By building on the strengths of the School, they provide unmatched opportunities for advanced training and focus on both local and global health issues. Students are prepared to create innovative solutions through multidisciplinary approaches that apply the latest scientific knowledge. All MAS programs will culminate in a final Integrative Activity. The goal of this activity is for students to synthesize knowledge and skills obtained through coursework in a final project that demonstrates mastery of program competencies, as applied to real-world public health and health care questions. Students can complete their degree program in as little as two years, but are allowed up to four years.

The MAS program in Community-based Primary Health Care builds on the community health strengths of the Bloomberg School and the Department of International Health, which provides unmatched opportunities for advanced training, focuses on both local and global issues, and prepares students to address public health problems through multidisciplinary approaches that apply the latest scientific knowledge. The program will provide students with the skills to plan, implement, and evaluate community-based public health programs and services in countries throughout the world. Our focus on Primary Health Care is in keeping with the Alma Ata Declaration that is built on active community participation. We hope that as a result of this course students will be able to involve the communities where they work in being active partners in the provision of their own health care.

LinkedIn Group

We have established a LinkedIn group for each of the MAS program areas in order to strengthen connections between current students, faculty, and alumni of MAS programs, as well as to facilitate student-to-student peer networking.

Participation is voluntary, but we encourage students to join this professional networking community.

BSPH MAS and Certificate Programs in Global Health

Additional Public Health Learning Resources

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Public Health Training Center provides links to many of its online learning resources, as well as external resources, databases and public health organizations. These can be used to supplement learning on a particular topic, or provide background material. Many of these resources are available for free via their website.

The Welch Medical Library at Johns Hopkins has many resources related to research, writing and documentation on their YouTube channel.

The School has a number of research and practice related seminar series that occur throughout the year and contribute to the intellectual community of the School, for students, staff, and faculty. The Bloomberg School has a website that provides some additional resources for practitioners as well.

Practitioners can also access dozens of courses from Bloomberg School faculty on Coursera. Practice-focused offerings include courses on topics such as gun violence, food systems, health equity, biostatistics, and epidemiology, among others.

MAS in Community-based Primary Health Care Programs in Global Health Contact Information

MAS Program Adviser

William Brieger, DrPH
Professor and Program Director, MAS and Certificate programs in Global Health
Email: wbriege1@jhu.edu

For Program-wide Issues

Elizabeth F. Topper, PhD, MEd, MPH
Research Professor and Director, Master of Applied Science (MAS) Program Office
Email: etopper2@jhu.edu

Program Requirements

Course location and modality is found on the BSPH website.

Master of Applied Science in Community-based Primary Health Care Programs in Global Health is an interdisciplinary online degree. Faculty at the Bloomberg School of Public Health contribute to the program via course development, teaching, and advising students. The topics and concepts allow graduates to build a diverse skill set focusing on the design, analysis, implementation and evaluation of large-scale community-based primary health care programs.

Students will complete 50.5 credits to graduate. The program is designed to be completed in 8 academic terms - two academic years (Sept-May). In addition to the coursework, students must complete an Integrative Activity, where newly acquired knowledge and skills are used to create an applicable activity (e.g., identifying a problem in community-based primary health care and designing a solution, plan for implementation and evaluation method) – with a final paper that describes the methodology used and the final assessment. Students can complete their degree program in as little as two years, but are allowed up to four years.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

The Bloomberg School of Public health requires students to maintain satisfactory academic progress for the duration of the degree program. For the MAS program, satisfactory academic progress is defined as follows:

Maintaining a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.75 and grades of C or better in all required courses. Grades of P are sufficient in courses that are graded as Pass/Fail. Students falling below this minimum should consult with the MAS Program Office and their Academic Adviser in order to develop a course plan to allow them to raise the GPA above 2.75 as soon as possible, in order to return to good academic standing.

Failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress as defined by any of the criteria above may be grounds for dismissal from the program, and financial aid status will be affected. Full details of the School's Satisfactory Academic Policy can be found here.

Program Plan of Study

Students should follow the plan outlined below if they wish to complete the MAS program in two years. This plan will also allow students to maintain minimum credits needed for financial aid eligibility each term, and to follow any prerequisite sequencing. Courses can be taken at a slower pace if needed, so long as course prerequisites are met.

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
First Term		Credits
PH.550.860	Academic & Research Ethics at JHSPH
PH.600.601	Seminars in Public Health	2
PH.606.601	Fundamentals in Global Health Practice	4
PH.552.603	The Role of Qualitative Methods and Science in Describing and Assessing a Population's Health ^{May be taken during any term offered}	0.5
	Credits	6.5
Second Term
PH.604.621	Design and Planning of Primary Health Care Projects	4
PH.600.602	Seminars in Public Health: Advanced Topics	2
or PH.604.641 Disaster Preparedness (2 credits)
or PH.602.721 Organizing PH: Systems Approach (2 credits)
	Credits	6
Third Term
PH.600.701	Introduction to Epidemiology	4
PH.604.604	Global Epidemiology Policies and Programs	3
	Credits	7
Fourth Term
PH.600.709	Statistical Concepts in Public Health 1	3
PH.604.771	Social & Cultural Basis for Community and Primary Health Programs	3
	Credits	6
Second Year
First Term
PH.607.701	Health and Safety Preparation for Global Health Assignments	1
PH.607.704	Essential Medicines, Commodities and Supplies Needed for Community Level Primary Health Care Interventions	2
PH.607.711	Applying Evaluation to More Effectively Reach Communities Through Primary Health Care	3
	Credits	6
Second Term
PH.607.721	Urban Primary Health Care in Low and Middle-income Countries	3
PH.607.724	Applying Household Surveys to Primary Health Care Programs	3
	Credits	6
Third Term
PH.607.735	Planning Training and Learning Programs for Community Health Workers	4
PH.600.612	Professional Development: Writing for Results	2
	Credits	6
Fourth Term
PH.607.751	Building Community Capacity for Primary Health Care in Low and Middle-Income Countries	3
PH.607.880	Integrative Activity in Community-Based Primary Health Care	4
	Credits	7
	Total Credits	50.5

Integrative Activity

Master of applied science (mas) Integrative Activity: Human Subjects Research and Other Activities

This culminating experience will provide Master of Applied Science students with the opportunity to synthesize lessons learned via the application of concepts and techniques. Please note that individual degree programs may have specific guidelines related to their particular Integrative Activity course including, but not limited to the format, presentation, and composition of final course deliverable.

As you begin planning the research for your Integrative Activity within the MAS program, please review the information below and proceed accordingly. Regardless of whether IRB review is required, all MAS students should apply ethical principles in their interactions with humans and/or their data. Please follow the BSPH Ethical Code for Student Activities that Involve Human Interactions.

As long as the project is limited to the context of the course, or courses if components of the Integrative Activity is spread among more than one course, there is no need for IRB approval, even if the project involves human subjects research. These types of student projects are considered learning exercises when there is no plan to disseminate beyond the class, School, or affiliated agency.
If you do wish to publish your project while you are a student, you will need to test to see if you are conducting Human Subjects Research (HSR) which would necessitate IRB approval. You can test your project for HSR by using the IRB worksheet or consulting the IRB guidance flowchart. You will need to go to IRB for official/final determination before beginning your research in order to be approved for publication. All student-initiated research projects which you intend to publish must have a preliminary review by the IRB Office to determine whether they are human subjects research requiring IRB oversight, unless (1) the student is working with a Principal Investigator (PI) from another institution, or (2) the PI is adding you as a student investigator to an existing, IRB-approved study. If you are using human subjects data, you must obtain a determination from the BSPH IRB. If you are collecting primary new data, complete the IRB Office Determination Request Form for Primary Data Collection or if you are using existing data, complete the IRB Office Determination Request Form for Secondary Data Analysis in collaboration with your adviser and submit it to the BSPH IRB Office e-mail address bsph.irboffice@jhu.edu. Be sure to include your adviser in your e-mail submission.
If you do not intend to publish the project while you are a student, IRB approval will not be required. However, if you would be interested in publishing it after graduating from JHU, you should note that the project must meet the ethical standards of your institution and that many institutions will not allow you to present/publish human subjects research without having prior IRB approval. For this reason, we strongly recommend that you consult your organization now if you think that you may wish to publish in the future.

PROGRAM COMPETENCIES

Please note: The Master of Applied Science (MAS) program in Community-based Primary Health Care Programs in Global Health is not open to new applicants in AY24-25. Students previously admitted to the program should consult the prior catalogue/guidebook under which they were admitted or review the MAS Student Resources site in CoursePlus. For additional information, please follow up directly with the MAS Office to verify program requirements; MAS-Office@jhu.edu.

The Master of Applied Science in Community-based Primary Health Care Programs in Global Health is an interdisciplinary program. Faculty at the Bloomberg School of Public Health contribute to the program via course development, teaching, and advising students. The topics and concepts allow graduates to build a diverse skill set focusing on the design, analysis, implementation and evaluation of large-scale community-based primary health care programs.

According to the requirements of the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), all BSPH degree students must be grounded in foundational public health knowledge. Please view the list of specific CEPH requirements by degree type.

By the end of the program, students should be able to:

A. Core Global Health Practice Competencies

Apply capacity building processes to global health programming in low and middle-income countries.
Identify and collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders whose active participation is required for successful global health programming at community, sub-national, national and regional levels.
Apply ethical reasoning to the policy and programming decisions needed for designing and implementing global health programs in low and middle-income countries.
Exhibit a health equity and social justice lens in the design and conduct of global health programs.
Apply appropriate management processes in the design, implementation and evaluation of global health programs.
Demonstrate social, cultural and political awareness of the context in which global health programming takes place.
Conduct strategic analysis of factors that influence the success of global health programming.

B. Community-Based Primary Health Care Competencies

Use community-based approaches to address priority health problems through full participation of community members and groups
Design and manage implementation of household surveys that yield relevant health and social data needed to plan community-based PHC programs
Analyze local contexts and project implementation designs in order to develop evaluation plans that can be practically applied to community-based PHC programs in middle and low-resource settings
Design a community-based primary health care program from the analysis through implementation to evaluation stages
Prepare a training plan for front-line and community health workers involved in community-based PHC
Conduct a detailed analysis of the demographic, epidemiological and social aspects of a major health need in a low- or middle-income country.