All graduate professional degree programs identified in the instructional matrix shall assure that each student demonstrates skills and integration of knowledge through a culminating experience.
2.5.a. Identification of the culminating experience required for each professional public health degree program. If this is common across the program's professional degree programs, it need be described only once. If it varies by degree or specialty area, sufficient information must be provided to assess compliance by each.
Students in the MPH program may complete one of two options to fulfill the culminating experience, including PH 298 - Project (4 units) or PH 299 - Thesis (4 units). During the 2010- 2011 academic year the comprehensive examination option was suspended due to the following factors the test question bank and format, faculty evaluation process and workload, and timing of results.
PH 298 Project
The graduate project is designed to give students the maximum flexibility in developing a scientifically sound product designed to meet their professional needs. The project is approved at the department level and no paperwork needs to be filed with the Division of Graduate Studies.
The function of the project is to provide a student with a culminating experience that integrates knowledge through applied research or creative effort. As noted in the PH 298 Project guidelines, “a project reflects applied field research or creative effort, often suited to the student’s individual and/or professional goals.” Students identify an appropriate topic which must be approved by the project committee. The project committee is comprised of two tenured or tenure-track faculty in the Public Health department, one of which serves as the chair. The third member is not required to be a member of the faculty, but must possess at least a master’s level degree and have a minimum of five years working experience in the topic area.
Students register for four units of PH 298 the following semester to begin their project research. The final report for a project must be completed within two years from the date the proposal is accepted. The structure of the final report mirrors the thesis, including title page, table of contents, list of illustrations (if necessary), abstract, introduction, literature review, materials and methods, results, discussion, references, vita, and appendices (if necessary).
Guidelines for the project may be found in Resource File 2.5.A (Appendix M), in the student orientation handbooks, and online at
http://www.fresnostate.edu/academics/gradstudies/requirements/culminatingexperience.html#pro ject.
PH 299 – Thesis
The function of the thesis is to provide the student with a culminating experience that demonstrates their ability to make a scholarly statement and present their findings in a clear and concise manner. The thesis must be written in a style appropriate to the Public Health field. The graduate thesis is the written product of the systematic study of a significant problem. It clearly identifies the problem, states the major assumptions, explains the significance of the undertaking, sets forth the sources for and methods of gathering information, analyzes the data, and offers a conclusion or recommendation. The finished product must evidence originality, critical and independent thinking, appropriate organization and format, clarity of purpose, and accurate and thorough documentation. An oral defense of the thesis is required in front of the faculty and MPH peers. Critical and independent thinking should characterize every thesis. Mere description, cataloging, compilation, and other superficial procedures are not adequate. Additional information about thesis requirements may be found at Division of Graduate Studies website and links are available to students on the MPH Blackboard site:
1) Thesis Information Session
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTxmP9CsF7g&feature=youtu.be) 2) Thesis Guidelines
(http://www.fresnostate.edu/academics/gradstudies/documents/thesis/guidelines.pdf).
Approximately 65% of students enroll in the thesis and 35% of students enroll in the project. Samples of student theses and projects will be available on site. In addition, samples of student theses are available electronically at
http://iii.lib.csufresno.edu/search/X?searchtype=X&searcharg=thesis+public+health+&SORT=D &searchscope=12.
2.5.b. Assessment of the extent to which this criterion is met and an analysis of the program's strengths, weaknesses and plan relating to this criterion.
The MPH program faculty feel this criterion is fully met and will continue to be met in the future. The program faculty are committed to the success of each student. Prior to the 2011- 12 academic year, students selected a thesis/project chair and committee members to guide them through the process. It was clear that the workload among the faculty was skewed with a handful of individuals having a higher number of students to supervise. Historically, MPH program faculty have supervised student theses and projects as an overload to their already extensive workload. As a result, students and faculty experienced frustrations in completing the thesis/project in a timely manner. In addition, it was noted that a number of students were not making satisfactory progress toward graduation.
During the 2011-2012 academic year, the culminating experience was redesigned to address the frustrations of faculty and students. Two primary MPH program faculty were given three WTUs as a part of their assigned teaching load to chair student thesis and projects. A course syllabus was designed with specific assignments (i.e., human subjects, committee assignments, chapter revisions, etc.), group meetings for common thesis/project issues, and individual meetings to review progress. Students are enrolled in the first two units in the Spring semester to complete the first three chapters of their culminating experience. Students are encouraged to gather their data over the summer and complete the first draft of the remaining chapters of their thesis/project. The following Fall semester students are enrolled in the remaining two PH 298/299 units for the completion of their culminating experience. Anecdotal student feedback has been very positive. Many have indicated that they appreciate the structure and accountability that forces them to make progress on a weekly basis. In addition, this has relieved some of the anxiety of finding a faculty member willing to chair their committee.
The redesign is supported by the MPH program faculty. Thesis/projects are now a part of two faculty members’ assigned workload. Committee members continue to assist students with additional expertise to ensure the quality of the final thesis/project. As a result, this redesign has relieved the frustrations of overloaded faculty who had difficulties in meeting the time constraints needed to assist students through the culminating experience.
A weakness that has been noted by MPH program faculty is the students’ writing skills. This deficit has been discussed across the university’s graduate programs as a problem not
unique to the MPH program. To address this problem, the Division of Graduate Studies has funded a Graduate Writing Laboratory to assist students in the grammatical construction of their written requirements. MPH students are strongly encouraged to utilize the laboratory throughout their coursework and culminating experience. In addition, the Dean’s office has made $5,000 during AY 2012-2013 available to the MPH program to provide a “graduate mentor” to assist students’ writing skills.
In addition, the Division of Graduate Students implemented a new “zero-unit” policy to encourage graduate students to make timely progress for the completion of their culminating experience. Previously, graduate students would register for “zero-units” to continue their access to university resources and faculty for $350 per semester. Beginning Spring 2012, all graduate students must pay the zero unit tuition fee ($2,567.50) to maintain continuous enrollment after enrolling in all courses toward the degree, including project (298) or thesis (299). This approach was used with the joint doctoral program where the graduation rate dramatically improved as a result of the increased tuition.
The MPH program faculty remains committed to ensuring a quality culminating experience. We realize that creative approaches must to be considered to meet the needs of a changing student population.