Welcome

July 18, 2008
(Updated)

Congratulations on your acceptance to the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health. We hope that your preparations to begin your Master of Public Health are going smoothly. We look forward to meeting you in person at the end of August.

Please review all of this information carefully. If pressing questions remain about the courses for which you should register, or about any other matter pertaining to your academic program, you are welcome to contact Lynne Loomis-Price by phone or email.

ORIENTATION

The Mailman School of Public Health orientation will begin on Monday, August 25th. The complete orientation schedule will appear on the Office of Student Affairs web site: (http://www.mailman.hs.columbia.edu/studentaffairs/orientation/index.html).

 The Department’s REQUIRED Orientation will take place on Monday, August 25th from 2:00 - 4:00 PM.  (The exact location will be available on the first day of Orientation.) At this session, faculty, staff, and current students will describe program requirements, review registration procedures, address course selection for Fall 2008, and provide recommendations about how to plan your academic program. You will also receive the name of your faculty advisor.

BEFORE YOU ARRIVE

Please be certain that you have provided Student Health with proof of your Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccination, as well as other information requested in your Admissions letter; otherwise a “hold” will be placed on your registration. If you have any questions, call Student Health directly at 212-305-3400. Also, please be sure that your Columbia University ID (the “Uni”) and your email are active. You can look up your Uni through the “People Search” function on the top right corner of the Columbia University home page (http://www.columbia.edu/).

COURSE SELECTION

The Student Handbook Track Supplement contains a section about the courses required for your track. A curriculum worksheet, specific to your track, can be found on the links below, as well as the tentative Fall 2008 Course Schedule (pending classroom assignments). You will also find a registration information sheet with the courses that are required (or strongly recommended) for first semester full-time students.

REGISTRATION

Registration for new students takes place on Wednesday, August 27, and Thursday, August 28. Directions for registration are available here: http://www.mailman.hs.columbia.edu/studentaffairs/registration.html.  When you register on-line, you may want a completed paper Registration Form http://www.mailman.hs.columbia.edu/studentaffairs/download-form.html in front of you, for easy reference during the process.

DUAL-DEGREE STUDENTS

If you are a dual-degree student, and you are not intending to register through MSPH this fall, contact Lynne Loomis-Price immediately; your academic and residency requirements must be planned carefully. If possible, attend orientations at both schools.

NOTE TO FOREIGN STUDENTS

With the visa information supplied to you by Columbia University’s International Student Services Office, you should have received details about the International Student Orientation. If you did not, contact them directly at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/isso/isso.html. Please feel free to stop in and say hello anytime after you arrive.

TECHNICAL ISSUES MODULES

All Population and Family Health students complete Forced Migration, Demography, Human Rights, and Reproductive Health Technical Issues modules early in their program. These online modules are designed to provide students with basic understandings of key terms and core concepts in these areas. You may wish to begin these modules in August; some are prerequisites for Fall courses. Once you have set up your uni and password, visit the CourseWorks site from the Columbia University homepage, and click on “Next Semester Courses.” If you are not successful at first, check back periodically.

We look forward to meeting you during orientation and registration. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Lynne Loomis-Price (at 212-304-5261 or LL2295@columbia.edu).

Sincerely,

Links:

Student Handbook, Curriculum Worksheet, and Recommended Fall 2008 Course Registrations:
Forced Migration, Global, Reproductive and Family Health, Sexuality and Health

Department Course Schedule for Fall 2008
Sample Registration Form

|Top|