• 100% online with no residency requirements. Students do not have to come to campus.  
• Flexible to seamlessly fit into your busy life.   
  • Asynchronous courses—you do not have to be online at any scheduled time. Log in when you get the time!
  • Take as little as one course per term or as many as three.
  • Taking time off is easy.
• Fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) and member of ASPPH.
• Our program was one of the first 100% online MPH programs. We launched our first cohort in the fall of 2001, and since then have graduated nearly 600 students.   
• 42 credits

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IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to the coronavirus crisis, the GRE requirement is waived for ALL MPH in Public Health Practice applicants for fall 2021, and spring 2022

The GRE is required for all applicants for the MPH-Public Health Practice.  

However, the program will waive the GRE for students who meet one of the following:

• You are a foreign medical doctor with ECFMG certification.
• You have earned an advanced degree (MS, MA, MBA, Ph.D., D.Sc., MD, etc.).
• You have earned a bachelor's degree and have at least five years of professional full-time experience in public health or health care.

If you have questions about the GRE waiver, please contact the department.

The TOEFL is waived in one of the following circumstances:

• You are a U.S. citizen or U.S. Permanent Resident 
• You earned a degree from a U.S. institution or have completed at least two years of coursework toward a degree in the U.S.
• Students from certain countries or who attend certain institutions internationally may also be exempt. Contact the department for more information.

Prospective Students are allowed to take MPH-PHP courses prior to submitting their application.  Prospective students may take non-degree program courses for the following reasons: 

• Interest in getting a head start prior to admissions
• Interest in trying a course to see if online learning is right for them
• Meeting MPH requirements from another school/program

Prospective students can take up to 4 courses as a non-degree student and as long as they earn a B or better in each course, the course/s will transfer into the MPH degree once they have been admitted.  Please note that taking non-degree courses does not guarantee admissions.   

Enrollment for non-degree students opens approximately one month prior to the semester start date. For enrollment information, visit this link. Prospective non-degree students should contact the program office at phonline@schoolph.umass.edu for additional information and for help with enrollment.   

• Spring 2021 Semester
  • Spring 2021 MPH in Public Health Practice courses can be found here. 
  • Spring semester is February 1st-May 4th
  • Enrollment for non-degree students begins November 30th

The program is 42 credits or 14 3-credit courses. 

• 6 core public health courses (Biostats 540: Intro to Biostatistics, EHS 565: Environmental Health Practices, HPP 601: Application of Social & Behavioral Theory, HPP 620: Intro to the U.S. Health Care System, HPP 642-Public Health Leadership, and EPI 630: Principles of Epidemiology)
• 3 research-based courses, including a 200-hour practicum (HPP 698P: Practicum) and a final culminating capstone project (HPP 691S- MPH-PHP Capstone)
• 5 electives (students have the flexibility to choose the electives that best fit their interests or career goals.)  

Download the full curriculum with course descriptions.

As of January 6th, 2020, the curriculum for the MPH  in Public Health Practice has been updated.  All students admitted to the program beginning with fall 2020 will be required to complete the new curriculum.  Students admitted to the program prior to fall 2020 will follow the previous curriculum.  

Changes include: 

• HPP 642-Public Health Leadership is now a required core course.  This brings the number of required core courses from 5 up to 6. 
• Students are required to take only 5 electives, instead of 6.
• The total number of credits is still 42.   

Questions about changes to the curriculum should be directed to: 
Lori Peterson, MS 
Executive Director for Professional Programs SPHHS
413-545-4530
phonline@schoolph.umass.edu