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North American schools of public health
Graduates, in other words, tend to develop the critical-analytical skills that enable graduates to successfully play the role of leaders, policy-makers and agents of change in any public health related field, throughout the world.
Because of the increased awareness of public health as a viable option for graduate study in the US and an articulated need for a centralized information resource for public health education, the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) has led a national initiative to develop and facilitate a national centralized application for students interested in applying to US-accredited schools of public health. ASPH has developed a centralized application service, SOPHAS (Schools of Public Health Application Service), to streamline the process for all: advisors, recommenders, and, most of all, students.
SOPHAS allows applicants the opportunity to apply to multiple schools using only one application, one set of transcripts and one group of recommendation letters. In addition, applicants have only one single point of contact rather than multiple contacts at different schools. Currently, 22 out of the 38 Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) are utilizing SOPHAS for the first cycle of the centralized application service. CEPH accredited schools of public health have a combined faculty of over 7,500 and educate more than 19,000 students annually from every state in the US and all schools welcome international students and scholars.
In most cases, admission to Master of Public Health (MPH) degree programs is based upon a file portfolio consisting of the following materials: completed application and fee, a personal statement describing the student’s potential to contribute to the field of public health, a resume reflecting work and volunteer history, evidence of an earned baccalaureate, graduate degree or equivalent from an accredited institution of higher education, official transcripts of all academic work, three letters of recommendation from academic or professional references and a strong undergraduate record overall, with a grade point average of 3.0 or better in their major. Most pre-professional Master of Public Health programs require a minimum of 42 credit hours, but please be advised that program, degree and hour requirements may vary by each institution.
Most US institutions require submission of standardized test scores (e.g. GRE) taken within the last five years. In addition, applicants whose primary language is not English or whose undergraduate degree is from a college or university in a non-English speaking country must provide satisfactory scores on the Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Again, international applicants should speak with an admissions counselor at each institution for school specific requirements.
For the majority of institutions accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health, acceptance is not based simply on a single indicator such as the grade point average (GPA). Rather, the complete application is valued. This is particularly important if a student is weak in one area, but exceptionally strong in others. In such cases, it is important that students form direct lines of communication with admissions professionals working in the schools to which they are applying.
Unfortunately, not all international applicants are able to visit the schools to which they apply and to which they may eventually matriculate. In such cases, it is imperative that international applicants communicate online or by telephone with staff, faculty and current students so that they can make sure that the selected college or university is the absolute best choice for their graduate program in the public health sciences. In addition, international applicants should have dialog with their selected institution’s office for international students and scholars. For more information, please utilize the Association of Schools of Public Health Website at www.asph.org which contains a great resource of links to each of the 38 accredited schools of public health in the United States, Puerto Rico and Mexico.
