The Interprofessional Public and Population Health Graduate Certificate is designed for students and working professionals involved in program planning and implementation, evaluation, education policy, health policy, engineering administration, research, and other areas related to public and population health. It recognizes that an interdisciplinary, systems approach is essential for communities to solve complicated social and economic problems. No one perspective or set of strategies can address the many dimensions of current societal problems. Prevention and population health are important cornerstones of the solutions to these problems, requiring linkages and new models of interaction among primary care, hospitals, communities and public health.
The Interprofessional Graduate Certificate is a 16-credit program with courses in four core disciplines: epidemiology, health policy, social and behavioral health, and environmental health. The fifth course grounds students in public health principles and practice. The sixth course will provide students the opportunity to engage in interprofessional workshops and other learning forums to foster competencies in interprofessional values, communication and teamwork. Three of the courses, in health behavior, epidemiology and health policy, are offered online, which will provide added flexibility for students.
This program is open to post-baccalaureate students, to those currently enrolled in a UWM graduate degree program, as well as to health professionals who have completed a baccalaureate, master’s or doctoral degree. The certificate program is a collaborative program between the College of Health Professions and Sciences, School of Nursing, and the Zilber College of Public Health, and is coordinated through the Zilber College of Public Health with administrative support from the School of Nursing.
Admission Requirements
Application Deadlines
Application deadlines vary by program, please review the application deadline chart for specific programs. Other important dates and deadlines can be found by using the One Stop calendars.
Application
- Students wishing to obtain this certificate must declare their intention by applying to the program office or director.
- All graduate certificate applicants—even those already enrolled in a UWM graduate program—must apply to the Graduate School.
- Graduate degree and previously admitted graduate non-degree students who decide to pursue a certificate program must submit the application before completing 6 credits in the certificate sequence.
- Applicants must possess a baccalaureate degree and have a minimum 2.75 cumulative undergraduate grade point average to be admitted into a certificate program.
Credits and Courses
The completion of 16 credit hours is required for the certificate program. All students are required to complete six courses (all are 3 credits unless noted):
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PH 700 | Structures of Inequality and Population Health | 3 |
| PH 703 | Environmental Health Sciences | 3 |
| NURS 728 | Epidemiological Principles for Population Health | 3 |
| NURS 803 | Health Policy | 3 |
| KIN 556 | Multilevel Approaches to Changing Physical Activity and Eating Behaviors | 3 |
| or KIN 534 | Physical Activity, Exercise and Health | |
| ATRAIN 703 | Foundations of Interprofessional Practice | 1 |
| Total Credits | 16 | |
Students will need to maintain a 3.0 GPA and meet all other standard requirements for UWM graduate students for continuation in the program.
Additional Requirements
Transfer Credit
No more than 20% of the required credits may be taken at an institution other than UWM. These courses are subject to Graduate School transfer policy and must be approved by the director of the certificate program.
Grade Point Average Requirement
A minimum cumulative 3.00 grade point average in certificate courses taken at UWM is required.
Articulation with Degree Programs
- Credits and courses required for a certificate may double count toward meeting UWM graduate degree requirements subject to the following restrictions:
- Degree programs must approve the courses from certificates that can double count toward the degree.
- All credits taken in completion of certificate requirements may count towards a UWM graduate degree as long as they do not contribute more than 90% of the total credits needed to obtain the degree. (Note: Students in PhD programs must still complete the minimum residency requirements)
- Certificate courses used toward meeting degree requirements must be completed within the time limit for transfer credit.
- Courses completed for a degree may be counted toward a subsequent certificate, subject to all certificate policy requirements.
- A course may count toward no more than one certificate and one degree.
- Students may not earn a certificate subsequent to a concentration in the same area.
Time Limit
Certificate program time limits shall be established as follows:
- 18 or fewer credits/Three years from initial enrollment in the certificate sequence.
- 19 or more credits/Four years from initial enrollment in the certificate sequence.
For certificates that are designed as add-ons to degree programs and are awarded concurrent with the degree, the time limit shall be the same as that of the degree program.