MPH Program Overview

As an accredited program from the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), the Master of Public Health program at Florida State University establishes itself as an innovative program that focuses on providing the best education for our future public health professionals. The MPH degree is a professional, terminal graduate degree intended to prepare students for a lifelong career in Public Health.

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Concentration

With a concentration in Health Policy, students will learn a transferable skill set to analyze and affect policy, reduce health inequities in the U.S. and abroad, and improve the health of communities. You will also be trained to analyze data, influence public policy, study and monitor threats to public health, and/or conduct health research.

Tracks

We accept applicants for both full-time and part-time* tracks.

The average completion time depends on the student’s track and the number of credits taken each semester.

For the full-time track, which entails students taking nine (9) credit hours per fall and spring semester and six (6) in the summer semester, students typically graduate within two (2) years.

For the part-time* track, which entails students taking six (6) credit hours per semester, students typically graduate within three (3) to four (4) years.

*The MPH program is a classroom-based program with limited distance-learning options. However, the program offers most of our core classes after 5:00 PM Monday – Thursday to accommodate students who work full-time. The program cannot promise classes to be offered outside of traditional work hours. The student’s sole responsibility is to work with their place of employment to adjust their schedule to meet class times.

Why Master of Public Health Degree

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that epidemiologists’ 2020 U.S. median wages were $74,560, and Medical and Health Services Managers are reported at $104,280.

Employment of epidemiologists and medical and health services managers is projected to grow 30 percent from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations.

Attend FSU’s MPH Program

Students choose to pursue a Master of Public Health degree because they want to make a difference with their life’s work. We hope you consider our program to help prepare you to reach this goal.

Consider our program to prepare you for your future! Tallahassee is friendly, highly livable, and rich with internships, job possibilities, and extracurricular opportunities.

Joint Master of Science in Planning and Master of Public Health Graduate Pathway (MPH/MSP) Requirements

In order to better prepare students for overlapping careers in Planning and Public Health, a Joint Graduate Pathway has been created through which a student may earn the degrees of Master of Public Health (MPH) and Master of Science in Planning (MSP).

Florida State University is one of only a handful of universities offering a Joint Graduate Pathway in planning and public health. This pathway reflects the recent resurgence of interest in what civic stakeholders, local communities, and global society are doing to ensure that urban and urbanizing landscapes are healthy and desirable places for today’s world.

Significant improvements in health can result from improving places and the planning processes that shape them and changing our personal and collective lifestyles rather than simply investing further in the health (sick) care system. The city and the communities where people live and work provide a valuable focus for these concerns because more than half the world’s population now lives in urban areas

Students will complete requirements for the MPH and MSP with a total of sixty-six credit hours. For MSP capstone, students choose between a research paper, thesis, or studio. For the MPH capstone, students take PHC 5151, which has a combined content of urban regional planning and public health. Some courses overlap, reducing total credit requirements.

All students complete a ten-week, full-time (or 400-hour) internship in a planning or public health-related agency or organization. The internship should have planning or public health policy-related content.  Typically, the training is completed during the summer between the first and second years of study. Many students, however, fulfill this requirement through part-time employment during the school year. Students are not limited to the local area alone for a position. The student’s advisor, MSP, and MPH program directors must approve internships.

Students complete all requirements for the MSP and MPH degrees. The four years it would take to earn these degrees if pursued separately is reduced to three years through the cross-counting of selected courses. In addition, some courses overlap, reducing total credit requirements.

Students would need to apply to both degree programs separately and, if admitted to both, would be in the joint graduate pathway.