Academic Programs:::AUA

The College of Health Sciences (CHS) is a member of the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER). ASPHER is an association of institutions and individuals primarily concerned with strengthening the role of public health by improving the training of public health professionals for both practice and research within the European Region, as defined by the World Health Organization. Membership is a testament to the quality of the program, graduates, and increasing international recognition.

PROGRAMS

CENTER FOR HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (CHSR): CHSR is an applied research center established in 1995 to respond to research and development needs in the public health in Armenia . CHSR is a resource to support and facilitate the existing public health infrastructure. Among its objectives are the following: 1) Provide supervised field training for students enrolled in the MPH program; 2) serve as a venue for linkages among the Ministry of Health, donor agencies, and the MPH faculty; 3) respond to requests for technical assistance from local Armenian ministries and research institutes; 4) support programmatic development of health services in conjunction with the Ministries of Health within the Regions; and 5) respond to the requests for technical assistance from international organizations working on health projects in Armenia. The CHSR collaborates on projects with many local organizations and employs an outstanding professional research staff. Also located within the CHSR are the Meghrigian Institute and the AUA Health Center . Students may find opportunities for clinical experiences in these facilities.

MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM: The MPH provides experienced health professionals a thorough grounding in population-based approaches to health sector problem identification, investigation, analysis, and managed response. The overall objective of the MPH Program is to prepare health professionals to draw on the knowledge and skills from a variety of disciplines to define, critically assess, and resolve problems affecting the public's health. Thus, the intensive, modular curriculum emphasizes basic public health sciences and essential managerial and analytic skills including project planning and evaluation, epidemiologic investigation, understanding complex determinants of health, effective communication to professional and lay audiences, and leadership.

The two-year curriculum is organized around a guiding framework, which first provides students a conceptual overview of the diverse profession of public health and the team-oriented approach to professional practice. The courses are taught in intensive, sequential blocks, which build upon and integrate with each other. The first year curriculum provides exposure to the breadth of public health disciplines. The second year curriculum provides advanced training in key methodological disciplines and concludes with a student-directed thesis-like project which integrates essential public health knowledge, skills, and methods in a professionally and personally relevant practice context. Students proceed through the program as part of a defined cohort, fostering group spirit and gaining experience in multi-disciplinary group problem solving, project leadership, and management.

While the program consists almost entirely of requirements, students infuse elective content through the multitude of individual and group projects associated with each module and through special studies activities. Students are encouraged to become involved with the Center for Health Services Research and Development, which provides an opportunity for supervised, mentored practical experiences while addressing the health needs of Armenia and the region.

MPH Student Information Manual 2011-2013

Robert Bagramian , DDS, PhD, is the Dean of the College of Health Sciences . He is a Professor in the School of Dentistry and Public Health at the University of Michigan , where he also served as a Professor and Chair in the Department of Community Dentistry for seventeen years. He is an accomplished scholar and the recipient of many awards in the dental and public health spheres and currently provides consultancy services both nationally and internationally. In addition to teaching at the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels at major universities such as the University of Michigan and University of California , he has served as Visiting Professor at the University of Berne, Switzerland, and the National University of Singapore.

VARDUHI PETROSYAN , MS, PhD
Assistant Professor
Director, Center for Health Services Research and Development (CHSR)
Associate Dean, College of Health Sciences (CHS)

COLLEGE ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Applicants to the MPH Program are subject to the same admissions requirements as students admitted to the University's other masters programs. In addition to the general requirements, applicants to the MPH Program should be graduates of health professions programs (such as medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine) or hold a baccalaureate degree in nursing, engineering, natural sciences or social sciences discipline, and have two years of practical work experience in the health sector.

COLLEGE GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

The MPH program consists of a minimum of 95 units in required and elective coursework as specified by the program. The Certificate in Public Health can be awarded after satisfactory completion of 54 units and the approval of the Program Director. In addition to completing the required curriculum, students must also fulfill all university imposed requirements, including a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0. Only electives and courses specifically designated can be taken on a satisfactory/fail basis. The College of Health Sciences adheres to a defined admissions policies and procedures which interface with the AUA policies and procedures for admissions.

FACULTY, COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES

ABRAHAMYAN, LUSINE, PhD, University of Toronto; MPH, American University of Armenia; MD, Yerevan State Medical University
Visiting Assistant Professor, AUA
Post-doctoral Fellow, Canadian Institute of Clinical Evaluative Sciences

ARMENIAN, HAROUTUNE, DrPH, Johns Hopkins University ; MD, American University of Beirut
Professor, AUA
Professor of Epidemiology, UCLA
Professor Emeritus, Johns Hopkins University

ARZOUMANIAN, KIM, PhD, Johns Hopkins University
Visiting Assistant Professor, AUA

ATHERLY, ADAM, PhD, University of Minnesota, MA, University of Washington
Visiting Associate Professor, AUA
Associate Professor, Colorado School of Public Health

BUNKER, EDWARD, MPH, Johns Hopkins University ; MS (Health Informatics) Johns Hopkins University
Visiting Instructor of Public Health, AUA

CRAPE, BYRON, PhD, Johns Hopkins University ; MSPH Linda University
Assistant Professor, AUA
MPH Program Coordinator, CHS

DEMIRCHYAN, ANAHIT, MPH, American University of Armenia ; MD, Yerevan State Medical University
Senior Research Specialist, CHSR, AUA

DIENER-WEST, MARIE, PhD, Johns Hopkins University
Visiting Professor, AUA
Helen Abbey and Margaret Merrell Professor in Biostatistical Education, Johns Hopkins University

ENDERS, FELICITY, PhD, Johns Hopkins University
Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, Mayo Clinic

HARUTYUNYAN, TSOVINAR, PhD, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; MPH, American University of Armenia
Assistant Professor, AUA

KAGAN, SARAH, PhD, MS, University of California, San Francisco
Visiting Professor, AUA
Lucy Walker Honorary Term Professor of Gerontological Nursing, University of Pennsylvania

LANG, DELIA, PhD, Loma Linda University; MPH, Loma Linda University
Research Assistant Professor, Emory University

MCPHERSON, ROBERT, PhD, Johns Hopkins University
Visiting Assistant Professor, AUA

PARKER, HILARY, PhD candidate, Johns Hopkins University
Visiting Lecturer, AUA

PETROSYAN, VARDUHI, PhD, Johns Hopkins University; MS, University of Idaho
Assistant Professor, AUA
Director, CHSR
Associate Dean, CHS

POGHOSYAN, LUSINE, PhD, University of Pennsylvania ; MPH, American University of Armenia
Visiting Assistant Professor, AUA
Assistant Professor, Columbia University

SCHARPF, ROB, PhD, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; MS, Johns Hopkins University
Visiting Assistant Professor, AUA
Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins University

SOGHIKIAN, KRIKOR, MPH, University of California, Berkeley; MD, Fouad First University of Cairo, Egypt
Visiting Professor, AUA
Professor, University of California, San Francisco

TEKIAN, ARA, PhD, American University of Beirut; MHPE, University of Illinois, Chicago
Visiting Associate Professor, AUA
Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago

THOMPSON, MICHAEL E., DrPH, Johns Hopkins University; MS, The University of Maryland at Baltimore County
Adjunct Associate Professor, AUA
Associate Professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

TULI, KARUNESH, PhD, MPH Johns Hopkins University; MD, All India Institute of Medical Sciences
Visiting Assistant Professor, AUA

WHITE, KATHLEEN, PhD, MS, University of Maryland at Baltimore County
Visiting Associate Professor, AUA
Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University

YENOKYAN, GAYANE, PhD, Johns Hopkins University; MPP, Johns Hopkins University; MPH, American University of Armenia; MD, Yerevan State Medical University
Visiting Assistant Professor, AUA
Assistant Scientist, Johns Hopkins University