Master of Public Health
Description and Outcomes
Public health professionals work to improve the health of populations ranging from communities as large as several countries to those as small as a single neighborhood. Public health practice includes designing and implementing health interventions, studying diseases and injuries affecting specific populations, and promoting healthy behaviors. Public health professionals also develop health policy and legislation, manage health services and facilities, and serve as consultants on a wide range of health initiatives. The Master of Public Health program prepares you to pursue diverse career opportunities across public health and private industries.
The Master of Public Health curriculum provides core knowledge and skills in the foundational areas of public health. The program emphasizes essential public health concepts and practical competencies needed to enter and advance in the field. You will explore key concepts such as biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health sciences, health policy, and social and behavioral sciences. Coursework is designed to help you apply public health principles to real-world situations while developing strong administrative, ethical, and professional skills. These competencies position you for leadership roles in the growing field of population health across local, state, and federal settings, as well as private organizations. You will have the opportunity to select elective courses in specialized areas of interest, allowing you to tailor your education to your career goals.
The program culminates in a capstone project that integrates and applies public health knowledge to a real-world issue or scenario without the involvement of human research participants. This culminating experience provides you with an opportunity to demonstrate readiness for professional practice in the public health workforce.
Concentrations
You can personalize your degree with a concentration in epidemiology, public health informatics, or public health leadership and administration.
Program Length
The Master of Public Health program consists of a minimum of 64 quarter credit hours. Upon successful completion of the program, you will be awarded the Master of Public Health degree.
Program Outcomes
- Disciplinary Knowledge and Skills: Analyze the impact of the social determinants of health on population-level outcomes.
- Research and Analysis: Appraise current and relevant health issues and policies.
- Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: Incorporate an evidence-based approach that is culturally and linguistically appropriate.
- Professionalism and Ethics: Leverage ethical principles, epidemiological concepts, and socio-behavioral frameworks to make recommendations for public health practice.
- Leadership and Teamwork: Apply leadership and management principles to address a relevant issue.
- Communications: Demonstrate professional competence in communicating effectively with diverse target groups.
Professional Competencies
In addition to the discipline-specific outcomes, professional competencies are integrated throughout your academic program. You can review the professional competencies associated with your academic program in the Professional Competencies section of this Catalog.
Program Availability
For program availability, please refer to the U.S. State and Other Approvals section and Program Availability Information.
Policies
Admissions Requirements
You must meet the below admissions requirements in addition to Purdue Global's general requirements.
Progression Requirements
If you are a graduate of a medical, osteopathic, naturopathic, chiropractic, or pharmacy program from an accredited university and hold the MD, DO, ND, DC, or PharmD degree, you may receive transfer credit fulfilling PU520 Principles of Epidemiology, PU535 Public Health Biology - A Global Perspective, and any available elective credits in your degree plan. Total credit awarded will range from 8 to 20 credits, depending on your election of a concentration.
To receive credit, by the end of the first term an official transcript must be received from your doctoral degree-granting institution. Transcripts received after the end of the first term may be denied eligibility for an official transfer credit evaluation.
Certification, State Board, and National Board Exams
Certification and licensure boards have state-specific educational requirements for programs that lead to a license or certification that is a precondition for employment. Prospective and current students must review Purdue Global’s State Licensure and Certifications site to view program and state-specific licensure information.
Licensure-track programs may limit enrollment to students in certain states; please see Purdue Global’s Program Availability Information to determine enrollment eligibility.
You are responsible for understanding the requirements of optional certification exams. Such requirements may change during the course of your program. You are not automatically certified in any way upon program completion. Although certain programs are designed to prepare you to take various optional certification exams, Purdue Global cannot guarantee you will be eligible to take these exams or become certified. Your eligibility may depend on your work experience, completion of education and/or degree requirements, not having a criminal record, and meeting other certification requirements.