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Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion

Education

Master's of Public Health (MPH) Certificates

The Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion offers two certificate programs through the Masters of Public Health (MPH) program at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. 

Health Promotion Research and Practice

The terms health education and health promotion are often used interchangeably, with health promotion being the more recent of the two terms. The field of health promotion involves designing programs (often referred to as interventions) that cover the gamut from disease prevention and promotion of optimal health to detection of illness and provision of treatment, rehabilitation, and/or long-term care. Programs address infectious diseases and chronic diseases, with consideration of social and structural environmental influences on health and disease, and can be domestically or globally situated. To be effective, health promotion programs need to be based on theory, evidence, and data from at-risk populations. Unfortunately, many programs are designed based on precedent, tradition, and/or intuition, leading to limited success.

Health Communication

Health communication involves the study and use of communication strategies to inform and influence individual and community decisions that affect health. Health communication can take many forms, ranging from the use of modern mass and multi-media to traditional and culture-specific forms of communication such as storytelling, puppet shows and songs. With increased dominance of mass and digital media in a growingly connected world, the need for effective health communication strategy grows increasingly relevant. The scope of health communication includes research and practice to reach vulnerable and underserved populations, engaging communities or the general public on specific health conditions, framing health issues to advocate for policy change, increasing capacity for effective communication in clinical settings, and more. 

Cross Registration for Mailman Students

The Center believes that public health is an interdisciplinary field, and encourages students to integrate Mailman coursework with appropriate coursework from other schools at Columbia Univerity. There are many opportunities to cross-register without additional fees or dues. To do so, Mailman students must obtain permission from: (1) your academic advisor at Mailman, and (2) the non-Mailman school that offers the course for which you are cross-registering. Students with questions or concerns should contact the Office of Student Affairs (212-342-3128). Here are some useful resources:

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