Public Health Certificate Program (Pre-Pay Discount 10%)

Gain an introduction to foundational epidemiologic concepts and approaches to population health issues in public health. Learn what epidemiology is and how it relates to other disciplines. Through online instruction, applied learning activities and assigned readings, you will examine a broad spectrum of topics, including the major causes and trends of morbidity and mortality in the U.S., outbreak investigation, epidemiologic study design and properties of tests. You’ll also understand the role of epidemiologic methods in describing and assessing a population’s health. 

This course is ideal for anyone interested in working in the public health field, and it can be taken as part of the Public Health Certificate Program or as a standalone course.  

Learning Outcomes 

• Explain what epidemiology is and how it relates to other disciplines.  
• Explain and be able to utilize frequently used terms and methods of epidemiology 
• List major causes and trends of morbidity and mortality in California, the U.S. and globally 
• Analyze quantitative data for measures of disease occurrence, mortality, standardization of disease and mortality rates, measures of effect, summary measures of effect, screening and diagnostic testing accuracy and performance  

Skills You'll Gain 

• Ability to analyze strengths and weaknesses of different study designs. 
• Use rates, ratios and proportions to understand health data 
• Data analysis skills 

Course Format and Pacing
This is an online course delivered through Canvas, UC Davis CPE’s learning management system. Course materials—including video lectures, readings, assignments, and discussion forums—are released on a structured, week-by-week schedule. Students move through the course together, with regular due dates to support consistent progress and engagement. Most learners can expect to spend approximately 10–12 hours per week engaging with course content and completing assignments.

Social determinants of health are conditions in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship and age, that have profound effects on health and health outcomes. Through online instruction, applied learning activities and assigned readings, you’ll explore major concepts within social and behavioral aspects of health that are used in public health practice and research. We will examine how an interconnected web of factors—from social identities such as race and ethnicity to social networks and neighborhoods to institutions and policies—can affect the health of individuals and communities. 

This course is ideal for anyone interested in working in the public health field, and it can be taken as part of the Public Health Certificate Program or as a standalone course.  

Learning Outcomes 

• Understand the social, political and economic determinants of health and how they contribute to population health and health inequities  
• Gain familiarity with fundamental canonical theories, concepts and models from social and behavioral disciplines that are used in public health research and practice 
• Discover how structural bias, social inequities and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community and systemic levels 

Skills You'll Gain 

• Ability to use social and behavioral models in public health practice, research or policy  
• Familiarity with relevant public health literature and scientific publications  

Course Format and Pacing
This is an online course delivered through Canvas, UC Davis CPE’s learning management system. Course materials—including video lectures, readings, assignments, and discussion forums—are released on a structured, week-by-week schedule. Students move through the course together, with regular due dates to support consistent progress and engagement. Most learners can expect to spend approximately 9–11 hours per week engaging with course content and completing assignments.

Health statistics are used to understand risk factors for communities, track and monitor diseases, see the impact of policy changes, and assess the quality and safety of health care. This course introduces data analysis for public health, including the essential tools: descriptive statistics, statistical inference and the probability concepts on which these tools are based. Through online instruction, applied learning activities and assigned readings, you’ll learn how to identify appropriate statistical analyses to answer basic public health questions, analyze realistic datasets and provide a written interpretation of the results considering the original public health question. 

This course is ideal for anyone interested in working in the public health field, and it can be taken as part of the Public Health Certificate Program or as a standalone course.  

Learning Outcomes 

• Explain the role of evidence for public health research, policy or practice. 
• Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context 
• Analyze quantitative data using biostatistics and statistics software 
• Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice 

Skills You'll Gain 

• Basic statistics software skills, including how to create common data visualizations.  
• Data organization and analysis skills 
• Research queries about groups 

The course includes weekly live Zoom sessions to support learning and engagement.

Health administrators manage and lead hospitals and other healthcare and public health organizations. Through online instruction, applied learning activities and assigned readings, this course will help you understand the American healthcare system so that you can contribute to its evolution. You’ll begin with a broad identification of the main components and issues of the structure/organization, financing and delivery of health services and public health systems. You’ll examine the legal and ethical bases for public health and health services in the US. and learn essential skills and concepts to lead and manage a health service organization. 

This course is ideal for anyone interested in working in the public health field, and it can be taken as part of the Public Health Certificate Program or as a standalone course.  

Learning Outcomes 

• Describe the organization, structure, and function of health care, public health and regulatory systems across national and international settings 
• Explain and apply the roles of planning, directing, controlling and organizing for managers 
• Become familiar with the basic principles and tools of budget and resource management 

Skills You'll Gain 

• How to navigate healthcare systems and organizations 
• Budget and resource management  
• Essential management and leadership practices in health organizations