Earn Your Master of Public Health in Social and Behavioral Sciences Online
Build the expertise to create lasting behavior change across communities, organizations and populations. Through Kent State University's nationally recognized, STEM-designated Online MPH in Social and Behavioral Sciences program, you'll gain the advanced skills and evidence-based training to design, implement and evaluate health interventions that transform lives—from individual families to entire communities, schools, workplaces and healthcare systems.
Program Snapshot
- 100% online course delivery
- Three annual start dates: fall, spring and summer
- Focused seven-week courses
- No GRE required
- Complete your degree in as few as 24 months
Benefits of a STEM-Designated Program
STEM-designated public health programs offer key advantages:
- Extended OPT for international students: Up to 36 months of Optional Practical Training (OPT), giving additional time to gain U.S.-based work experience after graduation
- In-demand skills for domestic students: Training in data analysis, quantitative methods, and technical skills valued across public health fields
- Rigorous, analytical focus: The STEM designation highlights the program’s emphasis on evidence-based, data-driven approaches to public health challenges.
Recognized for Excellence
The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) and the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) accredit our online MPH programs, ensuring adherence to the highest educational standards. This accreditation, combined with our #10 national ranking and Quality Matters certification, reflects our commitment to excellence in online public health education.
Our Military Friendly Gold Designation recognizes Kent State University's outstanding service to the extended military community and all our students.
Build the Career You Want
Take your career to a higher level with Kent State’s affordable, flexible undergraduate and graduate public health programs. Our 100% online programs allow you to keep up with your current responsibilities while you study. Find out how these programs can help you create the career and positive public health impact you want to have.
Download our guide to learn more about:
- Career Opportunities
- Customizing Your Degree
- The Student Experience
- Admission Requirements
- Tuition and Financial Aid
Download Program Brochure
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Committed to Your Success
You’ll thrive at Kent State thanks to uniquely personalized instruction, tutoring and applied practice experience support. The close-knit learning environment, small class sizes, robust online student portal and dedicated faculty help you build the professional connections and competencies that define successful public health careers.
- Dedicated tutoring support for your biostatistics courses ensures your mastery of essential analytical skills
- Faculty mentors work closely with you to secure applied practice experiences aligned with your career goals
Online MPH in Social and Behavioral Sciences Overview
The Master of Public Health degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences provides students with an interdisciplinary approach to improve health in populations across the life course. Students learn to apply theoretical principles to design, implement and evaluate effective programs that include behavioral and environmental approaches. Graduates are able to design and evaluate public health interventions intended to improve health for families, workplaces, communities and other settings.
The active research of the college’s faculty — particularly in the areas of childhood obesity, violence and injury prevention, substance abuse prevention and chronic disease prevention — provides students the opportunity to work on large-scale externally funded prevention research. Students are prepared for careers in health promotion; program design and evaluation; and prevention program development for state and local health departments, workplace health promotion programs, hospitals, international health agencies, mental health centers and non-profit organizations.
Students have the opportunity to declare the Addictions Counseling graduate certificate to become a licensed chemical dependency counselor in Ohio.
You’ll learn to:
- Evaluate and apply basic social, behavioral and biological theories that affect health behaviors
- Analyze and appreciate the role of the social determinants of health in the onset of and solution to public health problems
- Strategize effective implementation of evidence-based public health programs
- Analyze and apply methods of addressing emerging health, social and behavioral issues in public health
With these skills, you can excel in important roles across sectors, including as a:
- Director of research and evaluation in university settings
- Social and community service manager for state and local health departments
- Addiction treatment program developer in hospitals, health agencies or mental health centers
- Social scientist in government, education, or the private sector, including in arts organizations, foundations, and social service agencies
Exclusive Opportunity for Kent State University Undergraduates: The Combined Program
Launch your career sooner than you expected. In Kent State’s public health program, juniors and seniors with qualifying GPAs can apply up to 9 credit hours of coursework toward the public health bachelor’s and master’s degrees. By double-counting credits, you’ll start and complete your online MPH earlier than anticipated, save money on tuition and fees and be prepared to dive into your career ahead of your classmates and ahead of schedule. For more information, please contact an admissions outreach advisor at onlinedegrees@kent.edu or toll-free at +1 844-234-4073.
Growing Impact, Growing Opportunities
11% Projected Job Growth for Community Health Workers, 2024-2034 — Faster Than the National Average2
The demand for professionals who can design and implement health behavior interventions spans multiple sectors. With an MPH in Social and Behavioral Sciences, your skills can lead to well-compensated positions across healthcare, nonprofit and corporate settings:
We Do More for You
Kent State’s public health programs are already competitively priced. In addition, you may be eligible for scholarship support.
Courses
Major Requirements
BST 62019 BIOSTATISTICS IN PUBLIC HEALTH (3 credits)
This course provides graduate students with an understanding of basic statistical methods as well as the skills to perform and interpret basic statistical procedures and interpret the results. Emphasis is on principles of statistical reasoning, presentation of graphical and numerical descriptive statistics, statistical inference (estimation and hypothesis testing) and careful interpretation of results. By the end of the course, students achieve competency in applying appropriate basic statistical methods to real-time data and presenting the results appropriate for public health professionals and educated lay audiences.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
CES 67664 THEORIES AND PRACTICES IN ADDICTIONS COUNSELING (3 credits)1
(Slashed with CES 77664) Review of historical and contemporary theories and models of addiction (e.g., disease, behavioral, public health, family systems), as well as recommended practices in addictions counseling. Pharmacology and sociocultural factors emphasized. Implications for prevention, treatment, and policy are considered.
Prerequisite: CES 67662; and graduate standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
or SBS 63030 SEMINAR IN SOCIAL AND BEHAVIOR SCIENCES
Explores case studies in the social and behavioral sciences on topics that address the leading health indicators including substance use (alcohol, tobacco and other drugs), obesity (physical activity and nutrition), HIV and STIs, mental health, injury, immunization, access to healthcare and social determinants of health.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Schedule Type: Seminar
Contact Hours: 3 other
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
EHS 62018 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CONCEPTS IN PUBLIC HEALTH (3 credits)
(Slashed with EHS 72018) Provides a comprehensive overview of core topics in environmental health as related to public health.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
EPI 62017 FUNDAMENTALS OF PUBLIC HEALTH EPIDEMIOLOGY (3 credits)
(Slashed with EPI 72017) Introduces principles, methods and application of epidemiology. Covers the history of epidemiology, concepts of disease causation and prevention, measures of disease frequency and excessive risk, epidemiologic study designs, causal inference, outbreak investigation and screening. Provides experience with calculation of rate standardization; measures of disease frequency, association and impact; and sensitivity and specificity of screening tests. Highlights applications of epidemiology to understanding of disease etiology, transmission, pathogenesis and prevention; evaluation and public policy development.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
HPM 62016 PUBLIC HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (3 credits)
(Slashed with HPM 72016) Public health administration comprises efforts to improve the health of communities. Provides an overview for public health administration and practice, including organization, law, legislative relations, financing, workforce issues, leadership and surveillance.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
HPM 63007 PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMS: PLANNING, IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION (3 credits)
Overview of developing, implementing and evaluating public health programs. Examines how public health programs can target different levels within a population, different determinants of health and strategies and interventions.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
HPM 63020 COMMUNITY HEALTH NEEDS ASSESSMENT (3 credits)
(Slashed with HPM 73020) This course covers concepts and methods relevant to community health needs assessment, such as systems thinking; the use of quantitative and qualitative methods; primary and secondary data; and the role of community assessment in current national policy, including the Affordable Care Act, and on community health improvement. Students draw from multiple disciplines to assess health status and its determinants (social, behavioral and environmental), needs for health services and the capacity and resources of the local community. Students also learn to facilitate and evaluate the use of data for decision making by partnerships, organizations and policy makers.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
SBS 60002 QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES (3 credits)
Introduces basic quantitative methods used in social and behavioral scientific research. First we focus on the measurement of socio-behavioral phenomena and the relationship between measurement and statistics. Next, we examine the interrelated roles of scientific theory and the design of socio-behavioral research studies. Last, we focus on building appropriate multiple linear regression and or analysis of variance statistical models to provide valid analysis of data collected in socio-behavioral research.
Prerequisite: BST 62019; and graduate standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
SBS 60021 SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE THEORIES (3 credits)
Examines fundamental social and behavioral science theoretical frameworks that explain health behaviors with an emphasis on application through universal prevention approaches to inform both research and program evaluation designs.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
SBS 63008 GRANT WRITING IN SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES (3 credits)
Students learn the basics of grant writing for federal and non-federal funding agencies with a particular emphasis on the components of most proposals for funding. This includes rationale for seeking funds, collaborations with community organizations and working with consultants and subcontractors. Students also learn about the basic sections of grant writing such as specific aims and hypotheses, developing a literature review, background and significance, research design and methodology, developing a budget and conducting research with human subjects. Students have an opportunity to write sample grant proposals and learn about the review and scoring process and post-award grant management.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
SBS 64634 SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH BEHAVIORS (3 credits)
(Slashed with SBS 74634) Overviews the social determinants of health and dynamic interplay between individual behaviors and community structures (systems orientation), including public policy, social and built environments, commercial messages, access to services, cultural norms, psychosocial hazards and poverty as causal effects that either provide opportunity or constraints to health. Also examines systems approaches to preventing public health threats from issues including substance use (alcohol, tobacco and other drugs), physical inactivity, poor dietary practices, unsafe sexual behaviors, violence and injury and mental health.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Major Electives
Choose from the following (6-9 credits):
Any Biostatistics (BST) Graduate course (50000 or 60000 level)
Any Environmental Health Sciences (EHS) Graduate course (50000 or 60000 level)
Any Epidemiology (EPI) Graduate course (50000 or 60000 level)
Any Health Policy and Management (HPM) Graduate course (50000 or 60000 level)
Any Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) Graduate course (50000 or 60000 level)
Other courses with coordinator approval
Culminating Requirement
CES 67692 PRACTICUM IN ADDICTIONS COUNSELING (3-6 credits)1
(Slashed with CES 77692) Field-based experiential training and supervised practice of addictions counseling with individual and group clients. Practicum site must be approved by CES program. Individual supervision must be supplied onsite (at location of practicum) by licensed behavioral health care provider approved by CES program. Six to seven class sessions per academic term that focus on theory- and training-to-practice implementation, professional role development, ensuring ethical practice, and counselor self-care. Students are required to complete Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification (BCII) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) background checks and submit results to authorized personnel at practicum site prior to first day of academic term in which practicum will take place.
Prerequisite: CES 67665 or CES 67666; and graduate standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture, Practical Experience
Contact Hours: 1 lecture, 14-35 other
Grade Mode: Standard Letter-IP
or SBS 60392 APPLIED PRACTICE EXPERIENCE IN SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
(Repeatable for credit) Observation and participation in public health activities of a public health agency, hospital or other approved organization. The student completes the field experience with joint supervision from the university and approved organization or agency.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing; and special approval.
Schedule Type: Practical Experience
Contact Hours: 9-18 other
Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory-IP
PH 61199 INTEGRATIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE (1 credits)
Students complete an integrative learning experience that demonstrates a synthesis of foundational and concentration competencies. Students, in consultation with faculty, select foundational and concentration-specific competencies appropriate to the student’s educational and professional goals.
Prerequisite: 30 credit hours of Biostatistics (BST) or Environmental Health Sciences (EHS) or Epidemiology (EPI) or Health Policy and Management (HPM) or Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) courses; and graduate standing.
Schedule Type: Project or Capstone
Contact Hours: 1 other
Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory-IP
Minimum Total Credit Hours: 46
Graduation Requirements
| Minimum Major GPA | Minimum Overall GPA |
|---|---|
| - | 3.000 |
- Practicum placement at an approved public health agency under the guidance of a qualified preceptor (150 contact hours)
- Final portfolio/report and a seminar presentation integrating theory and practice
- Successful completion of PH 61199.
- Participation in at least one approved interprofessional education event; event requires students to participate at a specific time/date to be determined in consultation with the student's advisor.
- No more than one-half of a graduate student’s coursework may be taken in 50000-level courses.
- Grades below C are not counted toward completion of requirements for the degree.
Questions and Answers
Have questions? We have answers.
Choosing the right online program comes with lots of questions, and our admissions outreach advisor is here to help you sort through them all. Connect with this friendly, knowledgeable advisor for personalized guidance. Taylor will make sure you have everything you need to feel confident about your next steps at Kent State.
Admissions and Application Deadlines
- From Fortune. ©2024 Fortune Media IP Limited. All rights reserved. Used under license. Fortune and Fortune Media IP Limited are not affiliated with, and do not endorse the products or services of, Kent State University.
- Retrieved on September 19, 2025, from bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/community-health-workers.htm
- Retrieved on September 19, 2025, from glassdoor.com/Salaries/us-health-care-project-manager-salary-SRCH_IL.0,2_IN1_KO3,30.htm
- Retrieved on September 19, 2025, from ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Health-Education-Specialist-Salary
- Retrieved on September 19, 2025, from ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Health-Care-Administrator-Salary#Yearly