MPH in Public Health Practice
Take the first step to earn your MPH.
Public health professionals make the world a safer and healthier place. Our public health practice graduate degree gives you the advanced skills and knowledge to make a meaningful contribution to this vital perspective.
Designed for working public health and health care professionals and one of the first online, accredited degrees of its kind, our 42-credit program combines a foundation in public health theory with every aspect of public health practice from epidemiology to policy. Its unique curriculum gives you the latitude to tie coursework to your goals or interests. And because it’s online, you get to collaborate with students from across the country and the world, learning from both faculty and each other.
MPH in PHP course requirements:
- Six public health core courses (18 credits) ranging from biostatistics to public health leadership
- Three research-based courses, including research methods, a practicum, and a final capstone project that gives you the framework to delve into a current issue of your choice (9 credits)
- Five electives from your choice of over 40 biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health sciences or nutrition courses (15 credits)
Benefits list
100% Online
UMass Amherst’s MPH in public health practice is fully online, with asynchronous courses that let you log in whenever it’s convenient for you. Busy schedule? Take as few as one course per term (or as many as three when your schedule opens up). Need a semester off? You can pause at any time.
Take Courses Before You Enroll
Want a head start? Need course credits for another program? Not sure if online learning is right for you? Try before you apply. You can take up to four courses as a non-degree student, and as long as you earn a B or better, we’ll transfer all course credits into the program once you’re admitted.
Put Coursework Into Practice
The online public health practice master’s gives you the opportunity to study a practical and current public health problem of your choice. You’ll apply critical thinking, analytical abilities, and communication skills that will integrate the core academic areas of public health.
Featured classes
This course will provide a comprehensive overview of issues related to health in women, addressing areas including but not limited to biology, psychology, geography, economics, health policy, and social issues.
Constitutional and social bases for public health law. Development of statutes and regulations and their effects on social problems, including review of court decisions and preparation of administrative regulations.
This course examines violence from a public health perspective in the United States and globally. It covers topics from interpersonal to structural violence and approaches to violence prevention.
Featured faculty
Daniel Goldstein
Practicum Coordinator of Online MPH in Public Health Practice
Focus on public health ethics, bioethics, data governance, social justice, and community development.
Leso Munala
Her focus is on violence against women, including sexual violence, and post-rape care services.
Lawrence Pellegrini
Senior Lecturer in Health Policy and Management
Focus on Social Security disability, health economics, mental health
In the spotlight
“I think when I first started, I just wanted a different lens to look at health care. But as I went through, I realized…how it was changing what I do.”
Application information & deadlines
Applications are considered twice a year. Admission deadline for fall is June 15, and for spring, Oct. 1. Students apply to the UMass Graduate School application system.
Fall admissions
Applications for fall admissions are due by June 15.
Spring admissions
Applications for spring term admissions are due Oct. 1.
Professional and Online Programs
Fully asynchronous and flexible undergraduate and graduate programs for working professionals at UMass Amherst