Prospective Students
Fall 2010 CBH Student Profile
| Total students: 44 M.S. : 0 M.P.H.: 32 Ph.D.: 12 |
Females: 38 Males: 6 |
| Countries of citizenship: China South Korea United States |
Ethnicities represented: Asian - 2 |
Profiles of Current Students
Matt, Ph.D. student in Community and Behavioral Health
Previous majors: Physical Education, Health and Exercise Science, Kinesiology
Areas of interest: Physical activity, obesity prevention and treatment, health policy and its effects on population health, rural health (especially in males)
"My path to the Department of Community and Behavioral Health in the UI’s College of Public Health began from my childhood love of sports. After a failed attempt to study engineering during my freshman year of college, I decided to focus on physical education, my lifelong passion. Soon after changing majors, my father’s death from a heart attack motivated me to ensure that none of my loved ones would suffer the same fate, and I was determined to improve the health of the general public through studying how physical activity is important to health. My undergraduate and master’s training prepared me to conduct research on physical activity, and I will focus my Ph.D .dissertational work on improving physical activity participation in rural Iowa communities."
Erica, Ph.D. student in Community and Behavioral Health
Previous majors: Family Services, Health Communication
Areas of interest: Maternal, child and family health, adolescent health, sexual health, reproductive health, health education, health communication, and program evaluation
"A career in public health has interested me for the last six years. Throughout my undergraduate years at the University of Northern Iowa, my interest in public health intensified and narrowed to community and behavioral health. I volunteered with several health programs at UNI to broaden my experience. Those experiences increased my appreciation and desire for conducting research leading me to pursue and complete the M.S. in Health Communication through the Department of Community and Behavioral Health. In courses throughout the department and the College of Public Health, I have been able to take valuable theory, methods, and statistics courses that will benefit me in the Ph.D. program in which I am now engaged. "
Rebecca, M.P.H. student in Community and Behavioral Health
Previous majors: American Culture, History
Areas of interest: Global health, sexual and reproductive health, social marketing, communication for social change
"My passion for public health began when I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Madagascar from 1999-2002. As a community health educator, I learned how simple concepts and basic empowerment can make a huge impact on peoples' lives in developing countries. After Peace Corps, I worked for a multi-media health communication initiative in Tanzania for more than 3 years. My practicum this summer took me to three countries in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa, where I wrote guides for grassroots activists who were working to eliminate gender-based violence. After I graduate in December 2010, I intend to secure full-time work in Africa once again.
I have been working on my MPH in Community and Behavioral Health on a part-time basis since 2007, while juggling a full-time job, a family and a 110- mile round-trip commute from the Illinois Quad Cities. The department, my advisor and my instructors have been extremely encouraging and flexible; their support has been invaluable."
Kimberly, M.P.H. student in Community and Behavioral Health
Previous majors: African Studies; Global Health, Culture, and Society; and Community Building and Social Change
Areas of interest: Global health; immigrant and refugee health and health care seeking behavior; culturally competent health care; water, hygiene and sanitation; maternal, child and family health; gender mainstreaming and health
"As an undergraduate I majored in African Studies. The area in which I envisioned the greatest opportunity for improvement was health, largely because many African nations lack access to clean water and basic sanitation. As an Institute for Developing Nations Scholar, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Uganda and perform research with a water and sanitation organization. As a Community Building and Social Change Fellow at Emory University, I had the opportunity to work with a school-based health clinic and learned about the importance of creating culturally competent health care initiatives. These experiences cemented my interest in public health and I decided to pursue an M.P.H. in Community and Behavioral Health."