Health Science - Mountain State University

Health Science from Mountain State University is a Online Master Health Science degree that prepares you for a Healthcare career. The graduate program in health science can prepare those in traditional health care fields for advanced work, particularly in education or administration. It also provides options for those within related specialties, such as safety officers and advisors, occupational health nurses, safety and training coordinators, risk managers, occupational hygienists, ventilation engineers, and people in other health-sciences related fields. The program’s flexible structure allows students to integrate a variety of disciplines and to incorporate such elements as mentored learning, field experiences, and other nontraditional forms of study. It also provides convenience for those who need to schedule graduate study around work and family responsibilities. APPLICATION AND ADMISSION Admission to the graduate program in health science is open to those with a bachelor’s degree in a related field from a regionally accredited college or university. There are no standardized test requirements, although a writing sample may be required after application for assessment purposes. You can apply, enroll, and begin your studies at any time during the academic year. To apply, submit a graduate application and arrange for transcripts of all your undergraduate work, as well as any graduate work you have completed elsewhere, to be sent directly to the School of Graduate Studies. Because of the individualized nature of the program, you should discuss your educational goals with the program academic services director or dean either before you apply or as soon as possible after you are accepted. PROGRAM INFORMATION This section includes information on options, processes, and regulations within the M.H.S. program. Contact the program staff or the School of Graduate Studies for additional details. The Graduate Experience Your graduate experience can be of immense value to you in the future, not only because it advances specific career or educational goals, but also because it cultivates habits of mind and discipline that will be important throughout your life. Graduate work fosters independent critical thinking; the ability to plan and perform; and skills in communication, research, and presentation. The Nature of Graduate Study Graduate work makes use of strong academic skills. The program therefore includes as options a number of courses that reinforce key competencies in graduate study such as critical thinking, professional writing, and fluency in communication and evaluation. Taking advantage of these courses will assist you in furthering your abilities. In the course of graduate study, you should expect to improve and apply learning characteristics from your past undergraduate work. At the same time, your studies will emphasize higher-order attributes common in graduate education. Psychologists of learning describe an ascending complexity of learning: basic assimilation of data, comprehension of data, application of data, analysis of information, and synthesis and evaluation. One significant difference between undergraduate and graduate work is that graduate education assumes the first three elements as givens in your work and encourages analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, particularly as a result of independent research. Graduate study not only emphasizes independence but also cultivates higher order learning and presentation bolstered by graduate characteristics. Graduate Independent Study Courses A number of graduate independent study courses are offered in different subject areas to complement self-designed directed independent work. Contact the School of Graduate Studies to register for an independent study course. Syllabi You will receive a syllabus after registering for a graduate independent study course. If the course is electronically delivered, you will receive information about accessing the online syllabus. Instructor Contact After registering for a graduate independent study course, you begin coursework by contacting the designated instructor by e-mail. Let the instructor know immediately if you have questions about the syllabus or course material. If you have difficulty reaching the instructor or problems with interactive course elements, contact the Graduate Independent Study Office immediately. Time Limits and Extensions The starting date for a graduate independent study course is the date you register for the course as printed on your schedule. You have 20 weeks from the date of registration to complete each graduate independent study course unless a different limit is stated in the course syllabus. The specific completion date for each course is listed on your schedule. You may request an extension from the course instructor. If your request is approved, the instructor will notify the Graduate Independent Study Office, which will post the extension dates and new deadline. Approved extensions should state the time frame within which the instructor will agree to receive any remaining work. A grade of WIP (Work In Progress) will be assigned until the instructor has received and graded the remaining work. If the coursework is not complete by the specified date, the instructor will determine a grade for the course based on the work received by the deadline. Unless you have received an official extension, you must complete each graduate independent study course by the completion date posted on your schedule. If you do not finish the course by the assigned completion date and have not withdrawn or received an extension, you will receive a grade of F that will become part of your official transcript. Students who have exhausted their extensions are not eligible for administrative withdrawal. Withdrawing from Graduate Independent Study Courses Once enrolled, you may not drop a graduate independent study course. You may withdraw at any time before the completion date listed in the Schedule of Classes by completing a withdrawal form available from the Graduate Independent Study Office. You remain responsible for all tuition and fees associated with the course. Concurrent Program Enrollment It is generally preferable for graduate students to pursue a single degree pathway, but there are exceptions. The following processes apply to concurrent enrollment in two graduate programs. To be considered for concurrent enrollment, you must first obtain the approval of the academic officers over both programs. You can then register for a second section of Methodology, in which you construct a concurrent enrollment plan for proposal to the dean of graduate independent study. This proposal should include any concepts of structure and content developed in discussion with the academic officers. The dean of graduate independent study will consider the proposal to ensure that degree requirements are properly fulfilled and that an appropriate amount of content is shared between degree programs. To maintain the integrity of each degree program, the sum of the credits for the two degrees should not diminish by more than 20 percent. Two 36-hour degree programs, for example, could share 14 hours of Content credit. Pursuit of a second graduate indepen dent degree requires that both a new Methodology and a new Perspective project be submitted. Graduate Advisors and Mentors Your Methodology proposal must include the membership of a graduate committee that will guide and advise you throughout the program. Committee membership is voluntary, and it is your responsibility to ask advisors to serve on your committee. Graduate committees typically include faculty members from MSU or other colleges or universities, as well as qualified individuals outside the academic sector. It is important that committee members have terminal degrees or equivalent credentials, although in some fields of study a committee may include a member who lacks a terminal degree but has unique and appropriate professional experience. You will register for sections of 580 Content to complete independent work under the guidance of an advisor. If your approved degree plan includes the design of a special course (i.e., with regular graded assignments, an instructional syllabus, and continual teaching), the instructor for that course is designated a mentor and paid on a per-student basis. You will register for 590 Content to complete a special course with a mentor. In some cases, a mentoring team can take the place of a graduate committee with the approval of the dean of graduate independent study. Mentors must have appropriate credentials and be approved by the program. Mentors who evaluate a Perspective project forward their recommendations to the program’s director of academic services. The selection of committee members or mentors is your responsibility and is contingent on graduate program approval. You must provide documentation of appropriate credentials for any non–MSU committee advisors and mentors. If an illness or calamity affects one of your mentors or committee members in a way that alters the outcome of any degree work or deadlines, or if you are having difficulties with a mentor or committee member, you should immediately notify the Graduate Independent Study Office. Program Time Limit The time limit for completion of the program is five years from the date of your first enrollment. If you transfer credit hours from another program, you have five years from the date of your earliest enrollment in a course that you are transferring. Exceptions to this policy may be granted with the approval of the program dean. Program Withdrawal and Reinstatement To withdraw from the program, you must provide written notice to the Graduate Independent Study Office. Your committee or mentoring team then disbands and you are no longer a degree candidate (if you have reached that point in your studies). After withdrawing from the degree program, you may still enroll in appropriate single courses and apply for admission into a certificate program offered through graduate independent study. To be reinstated in the degree program, however, you will be required to retake Methodology, obtain approval of a new proposal, and form a new committee or mentoring team. DEGREE REQUIREMENTS The 36-semester-hour degree program is divided into three phases: Methodology, Content, and Perspective. Phase I: Methodology (3 hours) You begin by developing a detailed degree plan for proposal to the program. This proposal, based on your research, tells what you plan to learn in the Content phase and how you plan to demonstrate that learning in the Perspective phase. The degree plan should include the following elements: Once the program has approved your degree plan, you begin the Content phase. Need help writing a proposal for Methodology? (pdf)   Phase II: Content (25 hours) In Content, you carry out your learning goals as planned in Methodology. Content consists of 25 credit hours of graduate work incorporating two components: Specialty Knowledge (19 hours) You carry out your learning goals through such elements as traditional coursework, structured readings, research, writing projects, and tutorials. Members of your graduate committee or mentoring team help you fit your real-world learning into a theoretical framework. Field Experience (6 hours) The Content in all M.H.S. degree plans must incorporate a field experience. The field experience must support and reinforce your specialty knowledge, be under the direction of an advisor, and culminate in a project the advisor will evaluate. The elements of Content must total 25 hours of credit. You are awarded credit as you complete each element. Although there are other possibilities, the Content phase often incorporates some of the following options: Traditional graduate-level course. Graduate independent course. A graduate-level course delivered in a distance-based format through the School of Graduate Studies (for example, GIDS/GHSC 550 Professional Writing). Enveloped course. A course not usually applied at the graduate level that is incorporated into the foundation of a graduate-level project. For example, you may be able to include an upper-level undergraduate course if its focus is pertinent to a research project included in Content. You do not register for the undergraduate course but for the segment of Content describing the project. You are responsible for arranging to work with the instructor of the undergraduate course. Transfer course. A graduate course from another college or university transferred into the program under your learning plan. You petition the program to accept transfer credit (generally 6 to 9 hours) as part of your Methodology proposal. Transfer credit is subject to an evaluation fee. Portfolio. A vehicle for demonstrating mastery of a particular area, presented as the product of a segment of Content. You submit the portfolio to appropriate mentors or committee members for review. Directed study. Special study directed by an advisor or mentor as described in your learning plan. Field experience. On-site observation, application, and analysis under the supervision of a mentor or committee member. Field research. An independent project involving investigation, analysis, comparison, or synthesis, carried out at an off-campus site as described in your Methodology plan. Major project. A project fulfilling part of your plan in Content (for example, a grant proposal or the execution of an accepted grant, an article, or an extended multimedia presentation). Your approved Methodology proposal should account for every aspect of Content. Changes to any element of Content require an approved amendment to your Methodology proposal. Forms for proposing amendments are available in the Graduate Independent Study Office. Since advisors and mentors are rarely able immediately to evaluate the work submitted to them, be careful to budget an appropriate amount of time for review of your work when planning your program. Phase III: Perspective (8 hours) The culminating element in the degree is the Perspective project, in which you demonstrate mastery of your program content in a work featuring analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The Perspective project may be a traditional thesis; depending on your goals and your area of study, however, it may instead take the form of an extended written document, several smaller documents, a robust Web site, an oral presentation, or a portfolio. As with the Content phase, be careful to budget an adequate amount of time for your advisors or mentors to review your work. This consideration is especially important if you are working toward a specific graduation date or another requirement. Once your graduate committee or mentoring team has accepted and evaluated your Perspective project, it forwards a recommendation to the program’s director of academic services. After a successful review, you are awarded the final 8 hours of credit (for a total of 36 hours) and receive your degree . SAMPLE PROGRESSION This example shows how the M.H.S. program might be structured by a student with a bachelor’s degree and work experience in environmental health who wishes to concentrate on public policy. Phase I: Methodology The graduate proposal establishes a degree plan with a concentration in environmental health policy and identifies the members of the graduate committee. The proposal is submitted to the program, and 3 hours of credit are awarded upon its approval. Phase II: Content The Content phase includes work in the two component areas: specialty knowledge and field experience. Specialty Knowledge This component includes graduate courses in health science and interdisciplinary studies from Mountain State University , an on-line course from another accredited university, and a tutorial in the politics of environmental health conducted with a regional public-health agency director. Credit is awarded at the completion of each element for a total of 19 hours. Field Experience This component comprises an internship under the regional agency’s legislative liaison and lobbyist. Another 6 hours of credit is awarded at the conclusion of the internship when the committee evaluates the assessment work submitted by the student. Phase III: Perspective The Perspective project includes two components: a detailed, comprehensive, research-based proposal for developing the agency’s long-term goals and legislative agenda; and a presentation on long-range environmental health policy planning for a national conference. Upon completion of the Perspective components, the advisors reviewing them forward their assessment to the program, which awards the final 8 hours of credit toward the degree.   View more details on Mountain State University . Ask your questions and apply online for this program or find other related Health Science courses.