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Pakistani students to earn UofL MPH degree in Lahore, Pakistan
UofL and NUR Foundation officials meet to discuss the MPH program in Pakistan.
The school is expanding its borders to Lahore, Pakistan with classes expected to begin in fall 2016 for the Master of Public Health (MPH) program, making it the only U.S.-accredited MPH program in the country.
The degree follows the same progression of courses as in Louisville, requiring completion of 44 credit hours over a two-year period for full-time students.
“Public health is population focused, and the international community at-large represents the population,” said Craig Blakely, PhD, MPH, dean of the School of Public Health and Information Sciences. “Pakistan has faced natural disasters the last few years and continues to struggle with high infant and maternal mortality rates, poor water quality and other environmental exposures. We miss far too many opportunities to favorably impact key aspects of population health.”
SPHIS is partnering with the NUR Foundation (NUR) and Fatima Memorial System (FMS) to offer its degree abroad. NUR is a private philanthropic entity with longstanding support of health-related services and professional training. NUR worked to establish FMS, a nonprofit, non-governmental organization consisting of a 510-bed hospital, College of Medicine, College of Dentistry, College of Nursing, Institute of Allied Health Sciences, the Center for Postgraduate Training and a Center for Health Research. FMS also operates an integrated community development outreach program in seven locations in and around Lahore, Pakistan.
“All of the top 10 schools of public health such as Johns Hopkins University, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Harvard University, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor and Columbia University are focused on major global initiatives. Pakistan provides us with an opportunity to dramatically expand our international platform, and aligns with the strategic directions of the school and university,” Blakely said.
