Goals of the Special Project

1. The Special Project provides the student an opportunity to synthesize and apply the knowledge and skills gained in the MPH course work.
2. The Special Project Report is the vehicle for the student to demonstrate the ability to produce a (complete) scholarly or professional product.

Departmental Criteria for student's registering for Special Project

• Prior to registering for Special Project, students must have completed all core coursesand at least 30 credit hours of their MPH program. Students are required to submit a short Proposal prior to registering for the Special Project. This proposal should delineate the relevance of the proposal project as well as the format of the final product and the uses for this product. The proposal should also delineate the anticipated timeline for the project including milestone which can be used to evaluate a student's progress and the deadline for a draft and final products of the project.
• Each MPH student will register for 3 credit hours of Special Project. This level of credit recognizes that the student will invest significant time (a minimum of 150 hours) on their project. The special project provides the student a forum to apply the education and skills they have acquired during their professional and academic work to produce a product that will both demonstrate their competencies as well make a useful contribution to their field of endeavor.
• The final product of a student's Special Project may take a variety of formats. Traditional formats such as a Final Report (either in the form of a scholarly paper or a white paper/ technical report) are standard, but projects may also utilize non-traditional formats such as video presentations or slide shows, however, these products should be accompanied by a written report which may include a guide to the other format, and should include a description of the importance or role of the product, how it was formulated and how it should be used.
• A member of the Faculty of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health will be responsible for oversight of the Special Project Contract. If the Project Supervisor is external to the Faculty, the project must be approved by a faculty member within the department.
• Project involving the use of animals, humans, or (some) human derived data must apply for and receive appropriate approval (IRB, ACC, etc.). This approval must be included as an addendum to the project and should attach to the Contract for Special Project which is filed prior to initiation of project. Please follow the following links for more information on Human Subjects and other similar approvals:
  
  
  • Research Compliance
  • HIPAA