Academics & Programs

In Population Health Data Science I (PHDS-I) students will spend the semester learning the fundamentals of probability theory, univariate statistics, statistical computing/programming/visualization, and machine learning. A mix of traditional and experiential learning will focus on how to build an analysis pipeline to answer pressing questions in population health. In-class examples and projects will use real data sets. Examples include: comparing cardiovascular interventions in clinical trials, evaluating the incidence of influenza in the United States, and visualizing international health expenditures and burdens. Students will propose a small data-driven project focused in population health, and use their newly-acquired data science skills to collect, analyze, and present their work. Recitation component required.

Instructor(s): Professor Tom McAndrew
Open to first and second year students only, all others by permission. 

Class REMOTE ONLY, Recitation REMOTE ONLY. Both class and recitation are synchronous. 

This course provides students with fundamental principles of research methodologies relevant to population health research. Through this course, we will review a range of methodologies, including randomized controlled trials, observational studies, mixed methods, and comparative qualitative case study methods. In addition, students will obtain the research and methodological skills needed to translate their academic work into concrete policy lessons for international and domestic government and civil societal actors. This course will combine formal lectures with recitation.

Instructor(s): Professor Fathima Wakeel and Professor Hyunok Choi
Pre-requisite: POPH 001

Class REMOTE ONLY, Recitation REMOTE ONLY. Both class and recitation are synchronous.

This course will introduce students to the basic perspectives and skills needed to work with peoples and communities other than their own in a cross-cultural setting.  An introductory understanding of culture and the components of culture, such as values, beliefs, language, and world view, will be explored specifically in relation to health and health outcomes at the individual and community-levels.  

Instructor(s):  Professor Sean Daley
Open only to College of Health students.

Class REMOTE ONLY, Synchronous

Design Thinking is a human centered design process used to identify problems and create actionable solutions. Students will be exposed to the process, and attitudes needed, to frame and reframe problems, challenge assumptions, access their creativity, and tell compelling stories to communicate their ideas. The emphasis is on learning by doing and focuses on practicing the 5 steps in Design Thinking: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test that can be applied to virtually any area where new solutions are needed.

Instructor(s): Professor Chris Kauzmann
Open only to College of Health students.

Class REMOTE ONLY, Synchronous

This course is designed to introduce students to the inequalities and systems of stratification various industrialized and non-industrialized peoples and cultures around the world face when it comes to their health and wellness. Critical theoretical perspectives will be utilized, as will case studies of health inequities and inequalities, to examine connections between health and cultural and social factors such as race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and gender. Current global trends in addressing these inequities and inequalities will also be explored.

Instructor(s):  Professor Sean Daley
Open to all students.

Class FLEX, Synchronous

This is a broad survey course introducing undergraduate students to field of global population health. This course introduces students to major concepts, methodologies, and analytical frameworks for understanding several historical and contemporary population health issues at the international level. This module will combine both quantitative and qualitative case study analysis of specific heath topics, countries, and international organizations, such as the World Health Organization and World Bank. Students will also learn about the rise and influence of the private philanthropic sector, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, as well as the role of the private sector in vaccine development and health emergencies.

Instructor(s):  Professor Ed Gomez
Open to all students.

Class REMOTE ONLY, Synchronous.

Taught by Joan Lunden, award-winning journalist, bestselling author, television host, and motivational speaker, this seminar explores the importance of the relationship that health organizations have with the media and the powerful role it can play in what a population deems important in public health. We will examine how mass media campaigns have been used to change behaviors: tobacco, alcohol, and drug use; lowering risk factors for heart disease and diabetes; and even road safety to produce life-saving changes in large populations as well as to manage national and worldwide health crises.

Instructor(s): Ms. Joan Lunden

Class REMOTE ONLY, Synchronous

How do social, economic, environmental determinants bring about diseases in groups of human beings? This course will survey the methods of investigating the biological mechanisms underlying human health outcomes. Students will explore investigation of human diseases using emerging and traditional tools in genomic, molecular, immunological, and environmental fields. Students will also be expected to deepen their awareness of individual/group susceptibility, and propose societal approaches to intervention and prevention of human diseases.

Instructor(s): Professor Chris Daley and Professor Hyunok Choi
Open to first-year students.

Class FLEX, Recitation REMOTE ONLY, class and recitation are both synchronous.

To introduce the undergraduate students to current research methods within environmental health sciences. The course examines causal inference issues on human gene-environment interactions using large, national databases as learning tools. Each student will hone his/her skills in research processes, conduct a literature review, learn to cite, and prepare research paper proposal components. In addition, the students will acquire, process, and merge database for analysis. The course will culminate in a team-based presentation as well as the final research proposal.

Instructor(s): Professor Hyunok Choi
Open to first-year students.

Class REMOTE ONLY, Synchronous.

This course is designed to introduce students to the basic principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR) and other engagement methods. It provides a broad understanding of partnership formation and maintenance, community assessment and diagnosis, defining health and related problems in community settings, implementing change, evaluating partnerships, and bringing results back to communities. Students will be exposed to examples of well-done engaged research and will have an opportunity apply what they have learned through real-world experiences.

Instructor(s):  Professor Chris Daley and Professor Sean Daley
Open to College of Health first year students and upper-level students from all colleges.

Class FLEX, synchronous.

Epidemiology is the field of scientific inquiry concerned with questions about the determinants of disease in the population. This course covers fundamental concepts of epidemiological thinking including study designs and analytical methods to address confounding, bias, and effect modification. Students will be introduced to measures of disease frequency and association, sources of bias and how to address them, and concepts in causal inference. Case studies are drawn health concerns ranging from infectious disease outbreaks to population health surveillance, and disease prevention through screening programs.

Instructor(s): Professor Hal Skinner
Open to juniors and seniors only, all others by permission.

Class REMOTE ONLY, Recitation REMOTE ONLY. This class has both synchronous and asynchronous components.

This is a course that is designed for undergraduate- and graduate-level students. In this course, students will learn the various methods as well as conceptual and analytical frameworks involved in the policy-making and the political processes involved. Issues of policy agenda-setting, policy diffusion, policy formulation, and implementation will be addressed, ultimately going through the ‘entire’ policymaking process. Concepts and methods in political science will also be introduced as well as their application to health policy-making. This module will close with several case study illustrates from the United States and around the world.

Instructor(s): Professor Ed Gomez
Open to juniors and seniors only, all others by permission.

Class REMOTE ONLY, Synchronous

The Master of Science (MS) in Population Health degree prepares graduate students to investigate and address health determinants using data science and develop novel and effective avenues for disease diagnosis and prevention, health promotion, and intervention. The program combines foundational courses in population health with additional data science, qualitative research methods, population health survey methods, research ethics, and policymaking. Students gain knowledge and skills through coursework, experiential learning opportunities, research projects, and engagement with traditional and non-traditional partners to pursue a healthier world. 

The MS degree requires a minimum of 42 credits. It provides students with a strong conceptual background in population health and extensive methodological expertise in data science and qualitative research.  All majors will obtain a strong foundation in population health by completing Population Health Concepts and Methods; Biological Basis of Population Health: Concepts and Methods; Health Data and Computational Science; and Social Determinants of Population Health. Students will also be required to take Methods in Epidemiology I; if this course was completed at the undergraduate level at the College of Health, students would be expected to take a Special Topics in Epidemiology course instead during the MS program.  Further, they will enhance their methodological expertise by taking courses in Applications in Statistical Learning; Data Architecture, Mining, and Linkage;  Qualitative Research Methods; and Population Health Survey Methods . Additionally, students will complete two 1-credit seminars in Research Ethics in Population Health and Data-informed Policy Making. Students will also take three concentration elective courses to provide them with additional expertise in substantive and/or methodological areas of interest. The population health thesis integration occurs in the required two-semester sequence. Students propose and implement a population health research paper or project in consultation with a faculty member or an internship site.

Launch of this program is scheduled for Fall 2021 and is currently pending University faculty approval.  

The Master of Public Health (MPH) degree prepares graduate students to work in a variety of local, state, national, and global public health research, practice, and policymaking settings. Students will gain expertise in the core domains of public health, investigate and address the determinants of health using data science, and develop novel and effective avenues for disease prevention and health promotion. The program combines foundational courses in public health with additional courses in data science, qualitative research methods, leadership, cultural competence and health, and policymaking. Students gain knowledge and skills through coursework, experiential learning opportunities, research projects, and engagement with traditional and non-traditional partners to pursue a healthier world. The MPH program is designed to meet the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) accreditation requirements.

The MPH degree requires a minimum of 42 credits. It provides students with a strong conceptual background in public health and extensive methodological expertise in data science and qualitative research.  All majors take core public health courses, including Health Promotion and Education, Health Data and Computational Science; Environmental Health Sciences: Concepts and Methods; and Health Services, Administration, Politics, and Policy. Students will also be required to take Methods in Epidemiology I; if this course was completed at the undergraduate level at the College of Health, students will be expected to take a Special Topics in Epidemiology course instead during the MPH program.  Further, they will enhance their methodological and practice expertise by taking courses in Data Architecture, Mining, and Linkage; Qualitative Research Methods; and Health Program Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation. Additionally, students will complete three 1-credit seminars in Leadership and Health Practice, Cultural Competence and Health, and Data-informed Policy Making. Students will also take two elective courses that will provide them with additional expertise in substantive and/or methodological areas of interest. The public health capstone integration occurs in the required two-semester project, in which students plan, implement, and evaluate a public health project at an internship site.

Launch of this program is scheduled for Fall 2021 and is currently pending University faculty approval.  

Current Lehigh students enrolled in the College of Health and pursuing a BS in population health may apply to the 4+1 accelerated program once they have achieved junior standing, a minimum of 54 credits.

• Completed online application
• $65 application fee
• Minimum of 3.25 cumulative undergraduate GPA by the end of the first semester of junior standing
• 2 letters of professional recommendation
• CV/resume
• Essay/Personal statement
• Completion of two advisor-approved graduate-level concentration elective courses (with a grade of “B” or higher”) before undergraduate graduation
• Successful completion of a bachelor's degree prior to entering a graduate degree
• No entrance examinations are required.

A graduate of an accredited college or university may apply for admission to the MS or MPH program.  Applications for admission may be completed online and must be filed by July 15 for the following fall semester or by December 1 for the spring semester. Application criteria and requirements for the College of Health are listed below.  Additional information may be found in the course catalog.  

• Completed online application
• $65 application fee
• Recommended GPA Minimum: 3.0 undergraduate GPA or graduate GPA of at least 3.0 on a minimum of twelve hours of graduate work at other institutions.  Applicants for the MPH will be considered from individuals with a minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.75.
• Official transcript(s) from each post-secondary institution attended
• 2 letters of professional recommendation
• CV/resume
• Essay/Personal statement
• Successful completion of a bachelor's degree prior to entering a graduate degree
• No entrance examinations are required.

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