The nature and content of the culminating experience are determined by the student's field of specialization. In some fields, the culminating experience may be a traditional written comprehensive examination. The student is expected to register for independent study credit in order to prepare fully for the examination. Complete details concerning the administration of the examination, given in the student's final quarter, are provided by the division responsible for the specialization.
In some areas, the culminating experience may be an applied research project. The standards for this are determined by the division responsible for the specialization.
In health services administration, students are required to undertake an integrative writing project, which may be in the form of an applied research project, policy analysis, or comprehensive case analysis.
Students in any of the divisions have the option to complete a traditional research-based master's thesis as the MPH culminating experience. This option is less frequently chosen, because the great majority of the students intend to go directly into professional practice. However, those students who expect to pursue an academic degree program, such as the PhD, are encouraged to consider a thesis, and there are of course students who are interested in a topic that is best approached in the thesis format.
