College Graduates First Students

June 4, 2020

Two students have graduated from the first-ever degree program of the College of Community Health Sciences.

Troupe Grimes and Derek Stallworth completed the College’s Master of Science in Population Health Sciences Degree in May. The College began offering the graduate program in fall 2018.

“I chose this graduate program because I believe it best prepared me for my future career as a physician,” Grimes said. “By examining the health-care field from many different viewpoints – social behavioral, provider-based, administrative – I believe one will have a better understanding of how our system works and how and why it needs to be improved.”

Population health is an interdisciplinary field that integrates clinical care and public health practices to prevent, reduce and manage human disease. Population health uses patient-centered approaches to understand the needs of different population groups, with a particular focus on investigating health disparities.

The degree program is based in the College’s Department of Community Medicine and Population Health and incorporates faculty from The University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Business. The program has faculty with backgrounds in business, health policy, medicine, nursing, psychology, health promotion and public health.

Classes are offered both in the traditional in-person setting or online, and the program is designed for both practicing and future health-care professionals.

Grimes has been accepted into the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. He said as a medical student and eventually as a physician, he plans to apply what he learned in the Master of Population Health degree program to more proactively address the health needs and concerns of Alabamians.

“Through my time in the program, I’ve gained a more holistic view of medicine and have seen how complicated and fragmented our healthcare system is,” he said. “As a result, I hope to be an advocate for continued improvement and innovation that benefits all Americans.”