Looking for an interdisciplinary program to prepare you for a career in Public Health?

This Certificate was originally designed in collaboration with UConn's eCampus within the Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning. The Certificate is part of UConn’s MPH program and the graduate education offerings from University of Connecticut’s Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service (UConn UCEDD).

 

The Certificate of Interdisciplinary Disability Studies in Public Health (Disability Certificate) is a 12-credit graduate level course of studies offered entirely online. It uses the 10 Essential Public Health Services as a framework to study the health and well-being of people with disabilities and their families, as well as the communities in which they live, learn, work, and play, and the populations of which they are a part.

The Certificate is comprised of the following 4 courses (3-credits each):

  • Foundations of Public Health and Disability
  • Epidemiology of Disability
  • Disability Law, Policy, Ethics, and Advocacy
  • Public Health Interventions in Disability

This Certificate was originally designed in collaboration with UConn's eCampus within the Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning.

Why this Certificate?

The Certificate is designed to be a freestanding Certificate whose targeted audience, in addition to public health students, consists of individuals in the professional and paraprofessional workforce in medicine, dentistry, nursing, social work, law, education, psychology, political science, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech/language/hearing sciences, and other fields related to public health and disability who are in a position to help ensure health and social equity for all people with disabilities and their families.

Certificate highlights and outcomes

  • A 2015 publication  in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice highlights the Certificate as a potential resource for other Schools and Programs of Public Health to develop disability-specific courses
  • A 2019 publication by Certificate leadership in the Review of Disability Studies investigated outcomes in education and employment of those who took at least one Certificate course
  • A 2020 publication by a Certificate student and Certificate leadership in Infants & Young Children discussing policy and practice of early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) within the medical home
  • A chapter on preparing a disability-competent workforce in the 2021 edition of the textbook, Public Health Perspectives on Disability: Science, Social Justice, Ethics, and Beyond, includes the Certificate as a highlighted strategy to add disability content to public health and healthcare education standards.

Applications received by July 10 are considered for matriculation during the following fall semester and by November 10 for matriculation during the following spring semester.