Graduate Catalog 2023-2024

Public Health, Master of Public Health (152)

Department website: https://www.wku.edu/publichealth/mph/mph.php


Program Coordinator

Xiuhua Ding, xiuhua.ding@wku.edu, (270) 745-3618

The Master of Public Health (MPH) is a professional practice degree that prepares students for a wide range of health professions. The 42 credit-hour program, accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), is offered on WKU’s campus and in a fully online format. Beyond the required core courses, MPH students work in partnership with their advisor to select electives and tailor a program that meets their professional and academic goals related to public health. The MPH program is competency-based and focuses on applied and integrative learning.  Students are required to successfully complete and defend a capstone project, which could include a thesis, prior to graduation.

Joint Undergraduate Master's Program (JUMP)

This degree offers a Joint Undergraduate Master's Program (JUMP) which provides academically outstanding students the opportunity to complete both an undergraduate and graduate degree in an accelerated timeframe. Contact the graduate program coordinator for additional information.

Program Admission

In addition to the criteria set forth by the graduate school, applicants must meet one the following criteria to be fully admitted into the MPH program:

  • GRE minimums of 145 verbal, 148 quantitative, and 3.0 analytical writing score;  OR
  • cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least 3.2 on 4.0 scale from a regionally-accredited US institution of higher education; OR
  • current enrollment in a regionally-accredited US medical school or doctoral program; OR
  • graduation from a regionally-accredited US medical school, master's, or doctoral program; OR
  • cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 on 4.0 scale from a regionally-accredited US institution of higher education and a minimum of three years of professional public health experience.  

Applicants who do not meet any of these criteria may be admitted conditionally into the MPH program.

All Applicants must submit the following:

  1. Written personal statement. 
  2. Resume or Curriculum Vitae
  3. Contact information for at least two professional references

Graduate School Admission

Please refer to the admission section of this catalog for Graduate School admission requirements.

Program Requirements (42 hours)

Required Core
PH 520Biostatistics for Public Health3
or PH 620 Advanced Biostatistics
PH 575Program Planning in Public Health Practice3
PH 578Health Inequities3
PH 580Public Health Foundations and Practice3
PH 581Applied Methods in Public Health Practice/Field Epidemiology3
PH 582Epidemiology3
PH 584Principles of Environmental Health3
PH 548Community Organizing in Public Health3
PH 587Health Behavior Theory3
PH 591Health Program Evaluation3
Electives
Advisor approved electives12
Total Hours42