More Information

Bachelor's Degree with 3.0 GPA

Applicants must hold a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent from an accredited college or university and show evidence of strong academic achievement and scholarship (a GPA of 3.0 in the last 60 undergraduate units, or if the applicant has 12 or more graduate units, the GPA will be based on graduate units), as well as high motivation. Individuals with graduate education and/or work experience in a field relevant to public health are especially encouraged to apply.

Applicants should send official transcripts from any college or university attended to SOPHAS.

Academic Background

Applicants are expected to have an educational background sufficient to succeed in graduate public health courses, and must submit official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended. Applicants must have completed the following courses with a C or higher:

• College algebra, statistics or a more advanced math course

Students planning to concentrate in a specific area of public health will be expected to have adequate preparation in that area, as determined by the admissions committee. Please see concentration-specific admissions criteria below for possible additional prerequisites.

Letters of Recommendation

Applicants must provide a minimum of three letters of recommendation from academic advisors, professors, supervisors, mentors or anyone else familiar with his or her academic and/or professional ability. Letters will be submitted to SOPHAS electronically.

Resume or CV

Applicants are asked to submit a resume or CV outlining his or her academic and professional experience and achievements.

Statement of Purpose and Objectives

Applicants must write a statement of purpose and objectives (maximum of 1500 words) regarding their responses to specific essay questions outlined below. When writing their essays, applicants should focus on the concentration to which they are applying.

• What are your current career objectives, and how do you expect your graduate education to enhance your career options?
• Please describe your experience and training relevant to the pursuit of this degree

Please note that some schools of public health use software to detect plagiarism in statements of purpose. It is important to ensure that an applicant’s statement is written in his/her own words and, when appropriate, that quotations and citations/references are used for a direct quote.

Resilence Statement (optional)

If you have not addressed this elsewhere in your application, please describe any obstacles you have had to overcome including experiences in adversity or isolation and/or failures you have experienced in pursuit of a goal; how you showed resilience, motivation and determination; and how these experience have shaped your resolve to pursue a graduate degree. 250 words or less (1250 characters).

Other Factors

Other factors considered in the determination of a candidate's potential for success in the MPH Program are:

• Long range goals and commitment to public health

• Successful leadership experience or potential

• Work and volunteer experience related to the concentration's public health focus

• Demonstrated community service

• Public health experience or interest

• Documented experience and/or commitment to under-served areas and populations

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Concentration-Specific Admissions Criteria

GRE/MCAT Scores are no longer an online MPH admissions requirement

Applied Epidemiology

Students accepted into this discipline should have a good background in the biological sciences and mathematics. In addition to the general admission requirements for the MPH program, other factors considered in the determination of a candidate's potential for success in the epidemiology concentration area are long range goals and commitment to both public health and epidemiology, experience/interest in applying epidemiological principles to public health, and work and volunteer experience in epidemiology.

Health Behavior Health Promotion

The Health Promotion concentration places a strong emphasis on the following factors in its determination of a candidate's potential for success in the concentration: long range goals and commitment to public health; successful leadership experience or potential; work and volunteer experience related to health behavior and health promotion; demonstrated community service; public health experience or interest; and documented experience and/or commitment to underserved areas and populations. The personal statements of students applying for admission to the Health Promotion concentration should include information regarding these factors.

Health Services Administration

Students selecting this program should possess some background in a public health or a health care related field, and/or have experience working or volunteering with at least one public health program or health care organization. Students obtain additional skills in the administration and fiscal management of programs that address the health beliefs in a variety of cultures.

• Students applying to the Health Service Administration concentration who have any work experience in public health can strengthen their application with a description of that experience

Further Information

For more information regarding the online MPH Program, please visit the Online MPH Program page. If you have additional questions, please contact us at COPH-onlineMPH@email.arizona.edu.