BELTON, Texas—The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB) is pleased to announce an official partnership with the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University. This collaborative initiative allows medical students to earn a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from UMHB while completing their Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree requirements.
Over the past year, Dr. Ariane Secrest, UMHB’s Public Health Program Director, and Burnett School of Medicine leadership devised the MD/MPH course integration plan to maximize student learning outcomes and success. Together, both institutions uncovered nine credit hours of overlap. Therefore, the agreement between UMHB and TCU provides an integrated pathway to the MPH for interested medical students without extending their time to the MD degree completion. The prescriptive integration plan is also sensitive to the timing of significant medical school internships and examinations required for successful completion.
“We could not be more excited about partnering with the Burnett School of Medicine to assist in training future physicians who value a preventative, proactive approach to medicine necessary in a world plagued by chronic disease,” said Dr. Secrest. “UMHB’s MPH is a natural complement to the MD, offering a comprehensive view of the social, cultural, environmental, and economic issues surrounding healthcare. To better address the negative health impacts associated with chronic disease, healthcare providers equipped with a solid public health foundation will lead to a healthier nation.”
UMHB’s Master of Public Health is a 42-credit hour degree with a health promotion concentration that admitted its first students in the fall of 2022. The Public Health Program (PHP) is a recent addition to the many health profession degrees offered within the university’s Mayborn College of Health Sciences.
