MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH GRADUATE CERTIFICATE
Become an Emerging Leader and Advocate for Health Equity
Build upon your expertise and improve the health and well-being of women, families and children in Georgia, the United States and around the globe through the Maternal and Child Graduate Certificate Program.
With values rooted in social justice, health equity and life-course approaches, this program prepares emerging leaders to:
- advocate for justice in the community and in state and national policies
- support and evaluate culturally responsive, community-driven programs
- lead interdisciplinary research teams to increase understanding of evidence-based practices in improving maternal and child health
Apply MCH Certificate Toward a Future Graduate Program
Credits from your courses can be applied toward our MPH, Ph.D., DrPH or Graduate Certificate in Public Health program upon admission. You can dip your toe in now and dive in later, depending on your unique situation and goals.
Students in the MPH, Ph.D., DrPH, or Graduate Certificate in Public Health programs who want to build upon maternal and child health specific knowledge and skills can embed the Maternal and Child Health Graduate Certificate. Because many of the prerequisite and required MCHGC program courses overlap with the MPH program, you can earn both credentials at the same time.
The program is open to public health graduate students and practitioners and leaders from other allied public health professions. Enhance your previous education and career experience and prepare to advance in the public health industry or other allied public health fields.
Leaders from a variety of disciplinary areas like these are encouraged to apply:
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What does it cost?
Georgia residents: $4,646 per semester
Non-Georgia residents: $12,395 per semester
Nonrefundable seat deposit: $0
Tuition is based on the 2021-22 academic year and is subject to change.
Tuition rates apply to new non-degree-seeking or graduate certificate students. There is a different charge for master’s or doctoral students in the School of Public Health who embed the Maternal and Child Health Graduate Certificate within their program. See the Tuition tab below to learn more.
How long will it take?
20 hours (not including 7 hours of prerequisites)
Three semesters. Three or four courses per semester.
Where can I take classes?
Atlanta Campus and Online
Application Deadlines
Spring 2023 Admission
Application opens on August 18, 2022
Deadline: October 1, 2022
Questions: mch@gsu.edu
Applicants who have submitted all required materials can expect to receive a decision four weeks after the admission deadline.
Students can enter the program in the fall or spring.
Program Details
Applicants must possess a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution to be considered for admission to the Maternal and Child Health Graduate Certificate (MCHGC) program.
Application Requirements
- Online application and $50 application fee
- College transcripts
- Personal statement
- Resume (work experience is valuable but not required)
- Three reference letters
- The GRE is not a requirement for admission to the MCHGC program.
While most students who apply to the MCHGC program are public health graduate students — specifically students completing the MPH degree due to the overlap in courses between the two programs — maternal and child health leaders come to the graduate certificate program from a variety of disciplinary areas, including but not limited to, pediatrics, nutrition, nursing, psychology, counseling, social work, family and self-advocacy. Leaders from these areas and other allied public health professions who want to build upon their expertise to reach this population through the acquisition of maternal and child health specific knowledge and skills are encouraged to apply. However, they will be required to complete the MPH foundational core courses that are prerequisite to and required within this MCHGC program, specifically:
- seven credit hours of MPH foundational core courses that are prerequisite and do not apply to the MCHGC (PHPH 7011/PHPH 7711 and PHPH 7017 courses), and
- six credit hours of MPH foundational core courses are required within and do apply to the MCHGC (PHPB 7140 and PHPB 7160 courses).
Because it is possible for most or even all MCHGC program courses to apply to the MPH program, depending on the student’s MPH concentration, students pursuing the MCHGC program often also apply to and concurrently complete the MPH degree program, though earning the two credentials concurrently is not required.
Because it is possible for some MCHGC program courses to apply to the Graduate Certificate in Public Health, students pursuing the MCHGC occasionally also apply to and concurrently complete the Graduate Certificate in Public Health program, though earning the two credentials concurrently is not required.
Some MCHGC program courses apply to the public health doctoral programs (Dr.P.H. and Ph.D.), depending on the student’s concentration and focus. Some doctoral students pursue the MCHGC while concurrently completing their doctoral-degree program, though concurrently earning the two credentials is not required.
PHPH 7011: Epidemiology for Public Health
PHPH 7711: Epidemiologic Methods I
PHPH 7017: Fundamentals of Biostatistics I
PHPB 7160: Fundamentals of Health Systems, Leadership, and Policy
PHPB 7140: Health Promotion Planning, Administration and Evaluation
PHPH 7425: Foundations of Maternal and Child Health
PHPH 8330: Environmental Factors in Maternal and Child Health
PHPB 8331: Implementation and Scale-Up of Evidence-based Practices for Maternal and Child Health Populations
PHPB 8332: Maternal and Child Health Advocacy: From Rights to Justice
PHPH/PHPB 7960: M.P.H. Applied Practice Experience
Prerequisite Public Health Foundational Courses (7 credit hours)
The following two public health foundational courses are core to the M.P.H. and are prerequisites to the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Graduate Certificate. Students with or working toward a CEPH-accredited public health graduate degree or the Graduate Certificate in Public Health may waive these two courses if they have already completed comparable courses in their other public health graduate program. Students admitted to the MCH Graduate Certificate program who have not completed these courses should complete them within their first two semesters of the MCH Graduate Certificate program; however, these credit hours do not count toward the MCH Graduate Certificate.
- Choose one epidemiology course: PHPH 7011 Epidemiology for Public Health (3) or PHPH 7711 Epidemiologic Methods I (3)
- PHPH 7017 Fundamentals of Biostatistics I (4)
Required Public Health Foundational Courses (6 credit hours)
The two public health foundational courses below are core to the M.P.H. and required for the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Graduate Certificate. Therefore, these credit hours do count toward the MCH Graduate Certificate. Students with a CEPH-accredited M.P.H. or Dr.P.H. degree, or the Graduate Certificate in Public Health, may waive these two courses if they have already completed comparable courses in their other public health graduate program.
- PHPB 7140: Health Promotion Planning, Administration, and Evaluation
- PHPB 7160: Fundamentals of Health Systems, Leadership, and Policy
Maternal and Child Health Graduate Certificate Core Courses (12 credit hours)
- PHPH 7425: Foundations of Maternal and Child Health
- PHPH 8330: Environmental Factors in Maternal and Child Health
- PHPB 8331: Implementation and Scale-Up of Evidence-based Practices for Maternal and Child Health Populations
- PHPB 8332: Maternal and Child Health Advocacy: From Rights to Justice
Maternal and Child Health Graduate Certificate Applied Practice Experience (2 credit hours)
Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Graduate Certificate students complete an applied practice experience (APE) within a MCH focused organization or community-based setting. The APE learning contract required for APE course registration must identify exactly how MCH Graduate Certificate students will demonstrate the MCH Graduate Certificate competencies in their MCH focused community-based setting. APE courses completed without a MCH Graduate Certificate-focused learning contract or experience will not count toward the MCH Graduate Certificate. Students earning the M.P.H. and MCH Graduate Certificate concurrently are only required to complete one APE, but those students must also identify (in advance) on their APE learning contract how they will demonstrate both their MCH Graduate Certificate competencies and their M.P.H. foundational and concentration competencies during their MCH focused APE. An APE completed before MCH Graduate Certificate program admission cannot count toward the MCH Graduate Certificate program, even those that were MCH focused. The following courses are prerequisite to the MCH focused APE: PHPB 7140, PHPB 7160, PHPH 7425, and PHPH 8330; and the following courses are pre-or co-requisite to the MCH focused APE: PHPB 8331 and PHPB 8332
Georgia residents: $4,646 per semester
Non-Georgia residents: $12,395 per semester
Nonrefundable seat deposit: $0
Tuition is based on the 2020-2021 academic year and is subject to change
Please note: the above tuition rates apply to new non-degree-seeking or graduate certificate students. There is a different charge for current masters or doctoral students in the School of Public Health who embed the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Graduate Certificate within their program. See the Tuition tab below to learn more.
Financial Aid
Contact Student Financial Services
Georgia State University’s Student Financial Services is here to help you understand the cost of your program, the payment schedule and financing opportunities.
Make a Virtual Appointment
404-413-2600
Students enrolled in the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Graduate Certificate program may be eligible to apply and receive graduate assistantships.
Competencies
The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Graduate Certificate program focuses on the following key competencies:
- Knowledge Base/Context – Understand the knowledge of maternal and child health history, systems and practice
- Self-reflection – Assess the impact of personal values, beliefs, communication styles, cultural influences, and experiences on one’s personal and professional leadership style
- Ethics – Learn conduct congruent with generally accepted principles and values
- Critical Thinking – The ability to identify an issue or problem, frame it as a specific question, consider it from multiple perspectives, evaluate relevant information, and develop a reasoned resolution
- Communication – The verbal, nonverbal, and written sharing of information
- Negotiation and Conflict Resolution – Resolving or managing disputes and finding a solution that meets the legitimate interests of involved parties
- Cultural Competency – Knowledge and skills necessary to communicate and interact effectively with people regardless of differences
- Family-Professional Partnerships – Understand how to build partnerships with families to honor the strengths, culture, traditions, and expertise that everyone brings to the relationship.
- Developing Others through Teaching, Coaching, and Mentoring – Designing the learning environment, providing guidance and structure needed for people to examine their assumptions, and influencing the career development and professional growth of another
- Interdisciplinary/Interprofessional Team Building – Provide a supportive environment in which the skills and expertise of team members from different disciplines are acknowledged and seen as essential and synergistic
- Working with Communities and Systems – Recognize the complexity and examine the linkages and interactions among components, norms, laws, resources, infrastructure, and individual behaviors that influence outcomes
- Policy – Understand the resources necessary to improve health and well-being for children, youth, families, and communities, and be able to articulate those needs in the context of policy development and implementation
Maternal and Child Health Faculty
Virtual Highlights
Ran For Moms, By Moms
Contact
School of Public Health
P.O. Box 3995
Atlanta, GA 30302-3995