DVM/Masters of Public Health in Veterinary Medicine and Public Health
Background: Veterinarians have made a substantial contribution to public health within the state of Illinois and nationally over the past 120 years. It has been estimated that 25 years of the 30 year gain in human life expectancy at birth achieved through the 20th century were due to improvements in sanitation and hygiene, two areas in which veterinarians continue to play an active and productive role. Recent research has suggested that far more infectious diseases are zoonotic than previously thought. Several examples of zoonotic exposures have occurred in the recent past, from SARS and avian flu virus to West Nile virus and monkey pox. With the advent of rapid transportation between countries and across time zones, disease transmission can occur rapidly with potentially devastating results for both humans and animals. The prospect of naturally occurring disasters as well as bioterrorism further illustrate that, to keep the public safe and healthy, health professionals from many backgrounds must be trained in the core principles of public health and possess special knowledge of public health epidemiology and disease control.
Program description: The College of Veterinary Medicine at UIUC and the School of Public Health at UIC offer a program designed to award both Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Master of Public Health degrees upon successful completion.
The joint DVM/MPH degree program is a five year program of study. Students in the program must satisfy the required four years of the professional Veterinary Medicine program of study. In addition, students in the DVM/MPH program must satisfy the required 39 to 41 semester hours of the Masters of Public Health Professional Enhancement Program (PEP). As part of the coursework, students are required to complete a Capstone Project usually associated with a pre-approved field experience. The Capstone and field experiences are exciting opportunities for MPH students to participate in professional public health activities while developing their own meaningful project.
Veterinary medical students in the combined DVM/MPH degree program will acquire population based epidemiologic and statistical training as well as instruction in community and environmental health. Additional courses in the core disciplines of public health will only strengthen the students’ veterinary medical training and their understanding of the principles and applications of population health concepts.
Admission requirements: Students accepted into the professional DVM curriculum may apply to the joint DVM/MPH program during their first year in the DVM program. DVM students must have earned a baccalaureate degree to qualify for admission to the joint degree program. Applications for the joint program are considered early in the Spring semester so students are encouraged to consult with the Office of Academic and Student Affairs during Fall semester. As of 2005, application have been due by February 1st. DVM students must be in good academic standing in the DVM program and must meet the requirements for the MPH program at the UIC School of Public Health.
DVM students are allowed to take the introductory public health course, CHSC 400, and if admitted to the program, have it count toward the MPH requirements. Students are also allowed to take additional courses on-line during the application process in Spring semester so that they do not lose a semester.
Progress though the program: The joint degree is designed as a five-year program of study.Veterinary medical students will ordinarily complete years 1 through 3 of their veterinary medical training at UIUC while taking some public health courses online and/or completing pre-approved courses within the graduate programs of Veterinary Pathology and Veterinary Biosciences deemed equivalent to required SPH courses. DVM students will spend a minimum of two semesters following their third year of veterinary training in residence at UIC SPH. Students will be encouraged to spend a summer in Chicago while completing their field experience and capstone project in a public health related setting. Students will then return to UIUC to complete their fourth year clinical rotations.
Alternatively, students in the joint DVM/MPH program may elect to spend the year in Chicago after the fourth year of the DVM curriculum.
Shared courses applied to both degrees:
The SPH Epidemiology 403 course (3 sh) will be applied to satisfy both
the SPH and the CVM basic epidemiology course requirement VP 350 Epidemiology
(2sh).
Twelve (12) semester hours of required coursework taken at the School of Public Health to satisfy MPH course requirements will count toward the DVM free electives requirement.
The following CVM courses will count for credit in the MPH program:
VP 641 - Food Safety and Public Health (2sh)
VB 620 - Toxicology (2sh)
VP 637 - Virology (3sh)
The MPH core curriculum course, Public Health Concepts and Practice (CHSC 400), a section of which is taught at UIUC, counts for credit in the MPH program.
Additional UIUC-CVM coursework such as the public health clinical rotation for VM4 students may be counted toward the MPH degree.
Contacts:
J.A. Herrmann, DVM, MPH, DACT
Director, DVM/MPH Program
College of Veterinary Medicine
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Babette Neuberger, JD, MPH
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs
School of Public Health
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign