MS in Public Health

Admission Requirements

In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, applicants must meet the following program requirements:

  • Baccalaureate Field
    • A major in the biological, physical, or social sciences is preferred.
    • Students applying to the primary concentration in Environmental and Occupational Health must have completed a full year of general chemistry, at least one semester of organic chemistry, and two semesters of calculus; one course in human physiology is also required for those interested in a secondary concentration in Occupational Safety.
    • Those interested in the ASAC-ABET Accredited MS Program in Industrial Hygiene must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited school, including completed course work in college-level mathematics, biology, general and organic chemistry, and physics.
    • Exceptions may be granted for applicants with relevant work experience or high-level academic achievements. Exceptions may be admitted with an individually documented plan of study to compensate for deficiencies, although applicants are strongly encouraged to satisfy all deficiencies prior to matriculation. Applicants are invited to consult with the Industrial Hygiene program director about possible deficiencies.
  • Grade Point Average At least 3.00/4.00.
  • Tests Required GRE General. For GRE General Tests, the combined verbal and quantitative scores must be at least 300.
  • Minimum English Competency Test Score
    • TOEFL 80, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21 (iBT Test); 60, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Writing 21 (revised Paper-Delivered Test), OR,
    • IELTS 6.5, with subscores of 6.0 for all four subscores, OR,
    • PTE-Academic 54, with subscores of Reading 51, Listening 47, Speaking 53, and Writing 56.
  • Letters of Recommendation Three required.
  • Personal Statement Required; the statement should address the applicant’s intended research, career goals, and reason for pursuing the MS degree in the chosen area.

Degree Requirements

In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, students must meet the following program requirements:

  • Minimum Semester Hours Required Varies by concentration. 48 for the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Concentration; 40 for the Health Policy and Administration Concentration; 52 for the Industrial Hygiene concentration; and 53 for the Occupational Safety concentration.
  • Course Work At least 32 semester hours must be in courses other than IPHS 598, and at least 9 semester hours must be at the 500-level. No more than 4 hours of IPHS 596 may be applied to the degree.
  • Comprehensive Examination Not required.
  • Thesis, Project, or Course-Work-Only Options Thesis or course work only. No other options available.
    • Thesis: Thesis required for all areas. Thesis students must earn at least 8 hours in IPHS 598.
    • Course Work Only: Only for Biostatistics students. Comprehensive examination required.

School-Wide Requirements

Course Title
School of Public Health Core Requirements
BSTT 400
Biostatistics I a
EPID 403
Introduction to Epidemiology: Principles and Methods
IPHS 520
Foundations of Public Health
Required Non-Credit Training
Information Privacy & Security/Health Privacy Training (IPS)
Human Subjects Research
Title IX Training
SPH Academic Integrity Tutorial
a

BSTT 400 is not required for students in the MS in Biostatistics  or MS in Biostatistics, Concentration in Health Analytics programs.

Concentration Requirements

Remaining courses and their distribution depend on the student’s primary (and secondary, where applicable) area of concentration. MS students select from one of the following primary concentration areas:

  1. Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (EOHS)
  2. Health Policy and Administration (HPA)

Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Concentration

In addition to School of Public Health Core Requirements, students must complete the following concentration requirements:

Course Title
Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Concentration Requirements
BSTT 401
Biostatistics II
EOHS 405
Environmental Calculations
Students must also complete the division core of 12 semester hours in EOHS courses, choosing at least one course in each of the following three areas: (1) Exposure Assessment, (2) Health Assessment, (3) Risk Assessment and Policy
• Students should see their advisor for a list of courses in each area.
• Students are strongly encouraged to complete at least one course recommended by the Director of Graduate Studies which provides a broad introduction to public health.

Health Policy and Administration Concentration

  • MS students concentrating in Health Policy and Administration must complete all of the core requirements for the MS degree. In addition, 22 hours of course work relevant to the disciplinary area of Health Policy and Administration are taken in consultation with the faculty advisor.
Course Title
HPA 415
Introduction to Public Health Policy
HPA 460
Introduction to the Economics of Health and Healthcare
HPA 521
Empirical Methods for Health Research I
HPA 522
Empirical Methods for Health Research II
HPA 567
Public Health Policy Analysis
HPA 581
Advanced Topics in Health Economics
Electives - Selected in consultation with the faculty advisor (4 hours)

Secondary Concentrations

Global Health Secondary Concentration (available to all onsite MS students)

Students earning an onsite MS in Public Health degree in any of the primary concentrations may also enroll in the Concentration in Global Health. Students in the Global Health Concentration program must satisfy school-wide and divisional requirements in addition to the following: IPHS 409, IPHS 410 and an elective (3 hours). Selection of an elective should be made with the help of the student’s academic advisor; and is subject to the offering department’s approval. MS students in the GH Concentration must focus their research thesis (IPHS 598, 8 or 16 hours, as required by the student’s divisional concentration) on a global health related topic either outside the U.S. or domestically through an appropriate alternative venue. In addition, as feasible, students in the concentration are strongly encouraged to select topics of global health relevance when completing all course assignments for their program. Competency in a foreign language is also highly recommended but not required for the program. With proper planning, courses may be used to satisfy both the Global Health Concentration and divisional requirements.

Industrial Hygiene Secondary Concentration (EOHS students only)

Course Title
Secondary Concentration Requirements
MS students concentrating in the ASAC-ABET-Accredited Program in Industrial Hygiene within the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Division must complete all of the SPH requirements for the MS degree. In addition, students must take:
BSTT 401
Biostatistics II
EOHS 405
Environmental Calculations
EOHS 421
Occupational Health and Safety Practice
EOHS 425
Evaluation and Control of Physical Agents
EOHS 426
Evaluation and Control of Airborne Contaminants
EOHS 427
Evaluation and Control of the Psychosocial Work Environment
EOHS 428
Industrial Hygiene Laboratory I
EOHS 432
Air Quality Assessment and Management
EOHS 529
Applied Industrial Hygiene and Safety
EOHS 551
Occupational and Environmental Disease
EOHS 563
Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems

Occupational Safety Secondary Concentration (EOHS students only)

Course Title
Secondary Concentration Requirements
MS students concentrating in Occupational Safety must complete all of the SPH requirements for the MS degree. In addition, students must take:
BSTT 401
Biostatistics II
EOHS 405
Environmental Calculations
EOHS 421
Occupational Health and Safety Practice
EOHS 427
Evaluation and Control of the Psychosocial Work Environment
EOHS 428
Industrial Hygiene Laboratory I
EOHS 529
Applied Industrial Hygiene and Safety
EOHS 551
Occupational and Environmental Disease
EOHS 563
Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems
EOHS/EPID 571
Injury Epidemiology and Prevention
IE/EOHS 441
Ergonomics and Human Factors
IE 461/EOHS 460
Safety Engineering
Select one of the following:
EOHS 425
Evaluation and Control of Physical Agents
IE 446
Quality Control and Reliability
TSM 421
(Urbana campus course)

Public Health Informatics Secondary Concentration (Online MS-HPA students only)

Course Title
Secondary Concentration Requirements
MS students concentrating in Public Health Informatics must complete all of the SPH requirements for the MS degree. In addition, students must take the following:
Required Courses
BSTT 401
Biostatistics II
HPA 465
Health Information and Decision Support Systems
HPA 481
Development of Public Health Surveillance Information Systems
Selective Courses
A minimum of 16 hours from among the following:
HPA 480
Health Related Database Design and Analysis
HPA 483
Management of Communication Systems for Public Health Informatics Applications
HPA 485
Legal and Ethical Issues in Public Health Informatics
HPA 486
Survey of Public Health Information Systems
HPA 488
Public Health Information Systems Evaluation and Project Management
HPA 563
Web-Based Public Health Information Systems
HPA 564
Geographic Information System Application in Public Health
HPA 565
Datamining Applications in Public Health
Elective Courses
A minimum of 6 hours from among the following:
BHIS 509
Informatics for the Clinical Investigator
BHIS 527
Knowledge Management in Healthcare Organizations
BHIS 528
Consumer Health Informatics
HPA 444
Strategic Planning and Budgeting/Finance
HPA 445
Organizational Leadership in Public Health
HPA 455
Geographic Information Systems Integrative Project
HPA 486
Survey of Public Health Information Systems
Students are strongly encouraged to complete at least one course recommended by the Director of Graduate Studies which provides a broad introduction to public health.

Interdepartmental Concentrations

Students earning a graduate degree in this department may complement their courses by enrolling in select concentrations after consulting with their graduate advisor. Interdepartmental concentrations available for this degree include: