Simmons University announced today that its public health programs have earned accreditation by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).
The accreditation includes the Simmons’ Masters of Public Health (MPH) with a concentration in health equity, its public health bachelor's degree programs (BA and BS), and an accelerated degree that combines the bachelor's and MPH degrees in a condensed format.
CEPH assures quality in public health education and training to achieve excellence in practice, research and service, through collaboration with organizational and community partners.
“The accreditation process requires commitment from administrators, faculty, staff, students and other constituents,” said Laura Rasar King, executive director of CEPH. “The Council recognizes the efforts of Simmons University to make ongoing improvements to ensure that students receive a high-quality education that advances them toward their career goals.”
The public health programs at Simmons are built around the understanding that public health and social justice are deeply intertwined.
“Health equity is infused into every aspect of Simmons’ public health programs, and we’re honored and gratified to earn this accreditation,” said Dr. Stephanie Berzin, Dean of Simmons University’s College of Social Sciences, Policy, and Practice. “Our faculty are part of a tremendously skilled and passionate public health community at Simmons, and their dedication to health equity, curricular innovation, and interactive online learning has helped us reach this important milestone.”
The mission of the online MPH program, MPH@Simmons, is to prepare students to work toward achieving health equity at the local, national and international levels. Faculty have intentionally designed the curriculum, which includes live online sessions, self-paced work, and immersion experiences, to help students gain a firm understanding of how social justice is connected to all areas of public health.
“We’re proud that the quality of our public health programs has been recognized by CEPH. We’ve very intentionally designed the MPH curriculum so that health equity is viewed through a structural racism lens,” said Meenakshi Verma-Agrawal, Assistant Program Director and Associate Professor of Practice with the Simmons Master of Public Health program. “By engaging in a series of health-equity focused courses, students gain critical skills and tools to more effectively identify, research and address the root causes of health inequities, which is so crucial in this field.”
During the 21-month MPH program, students explore core areas of public health, including epidemiology, biostatistics, health policy and health services, environmental health, and social and behavioral health. The program is centered on the impact of structural racism and other forms of oppression on health, including socio-structural determinants like housing and income. Students also have the opportunity to gain hands-on public health experience through a Health Equity Change Project and virtual or in-person immersions, enabling them to graduate prepared to work in partnership with communities to redress historic and ongoing systems of oppression. Learn more about MPH@Simmons.
At the undergraduate level, the Bachelor programs challenge students with a unique combination of interdisciplinary liberal arts education and a specialty focus on public health. “Our undergraduate program applies transformative learning to the field of public health, preparing students to address the pressing health problems that we are facing right now,” said Valerie Leiter, Chair of the Department of Public Health. “Simmons students want to go out and make a difference, and the accelerated bachelor’s to MPH option is a strong path leading to a rewarding career in the field.”