You may have proctored exams in your online courses. The university has an online proctoring service and proctoring is typically available at community colleges or other institutions in your community. These services allow students to schedule proctoring exams that best fit their schedule and do not typically require them to come to Southern Miss.

Yes, students can attend part-time or full-time.

Public health is the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities. This work is achieved by promoting health lifestyles, researching diseases, and detecting, preventing, and responding to infectious disease. Public health professionals try to prevent problems from happening or recurring through implementing educational programs, recommending policies, administering services and conducting research.

Allied professionals who are clinically trained will be introduced to basic concepts in public health and are prepared for professional careers within or outside their field. Students choose electives that support their long-term career goals with which may include:

• Pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees
• Increasing your income within your allied health field of practice
• Gaining credibility within the health care setting
• Potentially moving to a management position within your allied health field
• Transitioning to another career outside of your allied health field (i.e., health educator; health administrator; alternate route to teacher education)

Many students remain employed full-time within their current field and may be eligible for leadership roles with the organization that they currently work. With a public health degree, students are also qualified for many non-clinical, entry-level positions with community or healthcare organizations. Examples include community health work, health care manager, or program manager.

Yes, technical electives taken as part of the student’s allied health program do count toward degree. Students must still meet University HOURS TO DEGREE requirements:

120 hours are needed to graduate with an online Public Health degree. At least 50 percent of the hours applied to a degree at The University of Southern Mississippi must be earned from a senior college, and 45 of these hours must be in courses numbered 300 or above. The last 25 percent of course work must be earned from Southern Miss. The student must earn at least 12 hours in the major area of study from Southern Miss.

There is not an internship, but students do partner with a health care or community-based organization to complete a capstone project their final semester. The capstone course, DPH 482, is an integration of knowledge and skills focused on application of public health practices within student’s clinical field of expertise. Examples include preparing for accreditation site-visits; auditing and revising organizational policies to meet new federal or state guidelines, re-designing clinic workflow to improve efficiency; or writing a grant to address local community needs.