Mercer University to Offer Public Health Degree for Working Adults

Metro Atlanta residents interested in earning a public health degree during convenient evening hours will soon be able to do so on Mercer University’s graduate and professional campus in Atlanta.

Beginning in August 2013, Mercer will offer the Master of Public Health degree on its Atlanta campus near I-85 and I-285. The generalist degree program is designed particularly for working adults seeking to either build or enhance their broad understanding of preventative health and research within local and global communities.

Since 1998, Mercer has offered the public health degree program on its Macon campus, producing hundreds of graduates. With the new program in Atlanta, Mercer will now be offering the program at two locations. The new program is designed for students in a cohort model to earn the degree in five semesters.

“Starting next fall, students will have access to a fully accredited generalist M.P.H. program in a nontraditional format,” said Nannette Turner, director and chair of Mercer’s Department of Public Health, in a statement. “We will offer evening classes, online classes, hybrid and distance learning options – all designed with the professional student in mind. The program is ideal for the student who wants to continue working part-time or full-time and complete her or his degree within a reasonable timeframe.”

The expansion of the M.P.H. program is the first visible step of the new Mercer Health Sciences Center, which was approved in April by the University’s Board of Trustees and became operational on its Atlanta campus in July. In addition to the three current health sciences units – medicine, pharmacy and nursing – the Health Sciences Center will open a fourth academic unit on July 1. The new College of Health Professions will incorporate the master’s-level physician assistant and the doctoral-level physical therapy programs, which are housed within the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and the master’s-level public health program, which is offered in the School of Medicine. The new college will also allow for the addition of future health sciences programs, such as occupational therapy, as well as the expansion of existing programs, such as public health, on multiple Mercer campuses.

The university provided this report.