There have been tremendous advances in healthcare and public health in the last several decades, both here in the US and around the world. As healthcare and public health are becoming more advanced, there is more concentration on disease and illness prevention, rather than only treating the sickness after it happens.
It is for that reason that public health is being focused on so much in the 21st century. If we are able to prevent many diseases from ever happening, we can extend people’s lives and also reduce healthcare costs around the country and world.
For people who want to help to make a difference in public health in the US and around the world, you should consider earning a Master’s Degree in Public Health (MPH), with a focus in Global Public Health or a related field.
What Public Health Workers Do
Our modern, interconnected world offers many amazing benefits – with the ability to travel the entfire globe in mere hours. However, there are more opportunities for infectious diseases and toxic threats to be spread very quickly. In fact, infectious diseases according to the World Health Organization are now able to spread faster than any time in world history. See 50 amazing things you can do with a public health degree.
WHO estimates that that more than two billion airline passengers traveled the globe in 2006, and this means that an epidemic in any part of the world can become a serious threat thousands of miles away very rapidly.
As a global public health professional, you would have the opportunity to prevent the outbreak and spread of many old and new diseases. Some of the diseases you are familiar with include malaria, yellow fever and cholera.
However, there are at least 40 new diseases that we did not know only 40 years ago. Further, more than 1100 epidemics have been identified in the last five years. Some of the global health problems you could deal with include:
- Foodborne illnesses
- Accidental or deliberate outbreaks
- Environmental diseases
- Radionuclear accidents
The demand for this type of public health professional should only rise in the coming years, with a 13% increase in demand by 2024 for health educators in public health, and 6% growth increase for epidemiologists.
Earn Your MPH without Taking the GRE
To work in the exciting field of global public health and to make a big difference in the lives of many people, you can earn your MPH degree online. There are today many highly touted online MPH programs in global public health and related specialities that you can earn without having to take the GRE examination. This will spare you considerable time and expense.
Click request information to learn about tuition and financial aid, courses & curriculum, admissions and starting dates.
Overview of a Master’s in Public Health
If you have done much studying about online MPH degrees, you know that there are several basic areas that you can focus on. While global public health is usually its own speciality, you can be assured that you will need to develop public health skills in the other public health disciplines as well. As you are reviewing different online MPH degree options, you will likely see descriptions of these major MPH concentrations:
- Global public health: This type of public health degree will provide you with the skills and knowledge to be an accomplished public health professional in any international or domestic public health organization. Students learn the most important public health skills in international research, analytic techniques, developments of proposals and grants, international management, how to implement science-based solutions in different cultures, and the overall history of how global responses have been developed for many public health problems.
- Biostatistics: A biostatistics speciality will make you an expert in how to apply advanced, quantitative methods to many public health issues. You will learn how to utilize statistical procedures to analyze and design new studies in public health, and learn how global public health issues happen in certain at risk populations. You will work with other global public health professionals as you collect this data to determine the best public health solutions.
- Environmental health: You will focus your studies on the exposure of at-risk populations to toxic chemicals and agents that harm human health. There are many public health professionals who study this field as well as global health, and later work in colleges and universities.
- Epidemiology: Conduct advanced global public health research to figure out what causes common human diseases in certain parts of the world and how to stop them from happening. You will have to master several types of epidemiological research. You also will study how major global diseases break out and spread – from cholera to TB to HIV/AIDs.
- Behavior and social science: This public health specialty is heavily focused in the global arena, as you will learn about the key aspects of behavioral and social science that help to influence how to identify and form solutions for major public health issues.
The Importance of Accreditation
In your evaluation of MPH programs in global health and other areas, you should be sure that your university and program have the proper accreditations. Why is this so important? You want to have confidence that the university and the MPH program have to meet high-quality standards.
This tells you that you are spending time and money on a worthy degree program. Further, it tells your employer that you have the skills and knowledge to be an effective global public health professional.
You should remember that there are two types of accreditation to be thinking about. One is the general accreditation for the university that you should see from one of the US Department of Education regional accreditation agencies below:
- Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges
- Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
- New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC-CIHE) Commission on Institutions of Higher Education
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
- WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
Online MPH Program Options
Keeping the above guidelines at the top of your mind, we recommend that you consider these online MPH programs:
University of New England
The University of New England has a 46-credit hour program that can be taken entirely online. This program will prepare you to be a public health leader, possessing the skills and knowledge to prevent serious injury and diseases in at-risk communities.
This is a 100% distance education public health degree format that is a good fit for those who want to earn their degree while still working. This program can be accessed by anyone, anywhere who has a broadband Internet connection.
This program has been designed to include extensive preparation to be completed outside of class, such as readings, class projects and writing white papers. It also features lectures, discussions led by instructors and program assessments, all in a recorded or archived format.
Required courses include:
- Public Health Policy and Management
- Principles of Epidemiology
- Biostatistics
- Introduction to Environmental Health
- Social and Behavioral Health
Some of the available electives are:
- Health Literacy and Plain Language
- Health Economics
- Community Assessment
- Health Informatics
- The Obesity Epidemic: A Public Health Perspective
- Program Planning and Evaluation
- Global Health
Details
- University Type: Non-profit
- Campus Location: Portland, Maine; online
- Accreditation: CEPH
- Tuition: Inquire
- Degrees Offered: MPH
- GMAT/GRE Required: No
- Financial Aid Offered: Grants, loans, work study, internal and external scholarships
- Other Information: This program
University of Southern California
The MPH in Global Health from the University of Southern California is a solid choice for those who want to earn their degree online, with a strong focus on epidemiology and biostatistics.
This program is two years long for full time students, and will offer you the education that you need to develop your global public health skills. USC is ranked as the #23 university in the country according to US News and World Report. Your program curriculum includes these areas:
- Biostatistics
- Epidemiology
- Environmental Health
- Public Health Administration
- Social and Behavioral Theory
- Research Methods
More information about this MPH program:
- Campus: Los Angeles CA; online
- Type: Non-Profit
- Accreditation: Western Association of Colleges and Schools, CEPH
- Tuition: Inquire for current prices
- GRE/GMAT Required: GRE can be waived
- Minimum Time Commitment: 24 months
- On Campus Requirements: No
- Programs Offered: Master of Public Health in Global Public Health
George Washington University
The online Master of Public Health from Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University stresses national and global health practice and also interdisciplinary instruction on public health. The focus of the public health curriculum is on building the student’s core public health skills through using case studies and materials from US public health settings.
You will be able to tailor your MPH program to your own skills and career goals, whether you want to work in your local community or on a national or global level. Your coursework in this two year, online program will stress:
- Epidemiology
- Biostatistics
- Cultural competency
- Health communication
- Leadership
- Public health professionalism
- Public health biology
This program also allows some students to take an intensive, 12 month MPH program that will require you to take 12 hours per quarter. Students who choose this aggressive degree schedule must go to school full time and not be employed for the year.
There is another intensive, 18 month option where you take 8 credit hours per quarter. You should not be working more than part time while enrolled in this program.
More information about this MPH program:
- Campus: Washington DC; online
- Type: Non-Profit
- Accreditation: Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), CEPH
- Tuition: Inquire for current
- GRE/GMAT Required: No
- Minimum Time Commitment: 24 months
- On Campus Requirements: No
- Programs Offered: Master of Public Health
University of Reno
The online MPH program will ready you to become a highly effective and skilled public health professional. This graduate degree program features a total of 45 credit hours that include a standard, core curriculum and courses in several concentrations:
- Epidemiology
- Social and Behavioral Health
- Biostatistics
- Health Administration and Policy
The concentration in epidemiology looks at the most vital science that underlies public health, and also the study of what determines good health, disease, injury and severe disability in various populations. The progressive curriculum assists student to gain the skills needed to excel in demanding careers in analytic and descriptive epidemiology.
The social and behavioral health concentration is suited to students who are passionate about health promotion and education, as well as preventing and reducing health disparities over the entire lifetime. Social and behavioral health experts offer practical solutions to public health issues via sound public health policy, interventions and services.
The biostatistics component delves into the area of statistics that lead to appropriate interpretation of health sciences data. Biostatisticians use advanced theories of mathematics to use study data to make informed inferences about the causations and associations that are observed in the specific study population.
Details
- University Type: Non-profit
- Campus Location: Reno, Nevada online
- Accreditation: CEPH
- Tuition: Inquire
- Degrees Offered: MPH
- GMAT/GRE Required: No
- Financial Aid Offered: Grants, loans, work study, internal and external scholarships
- Other Information: This program may be completed entirely online with no residency requirement; most students graduate in 24 months
University of Arizona
The online Master of Public Health
Details
- University Type: Non-profit
- Campus Location: Reno, Nevada online
- Accreditation: CEPH
- Tuition: Inquire
- Degrees Offered: MPH
- GMAT/GRE Required: No
- Financial Aid Offered: Grants, loans, work study, internal and external scholarships
- Other Information: This program may be completed entirely online with no residency requirement; most students graduate in 24 months
University of North Carolina
If you want to earn a global health MPH degree to fit your needs for a career in public health, you should consider this highly regarded University of North Carolina program.
This two year full time program is offered by the Gillings School of Global Public Health. It provides working public health professionals around the world with the needed skills and knowledge to help to solve the most pressing and difficult public health issues on a global scale. This program will provide you with advanced skills in the following disciplines:
- Leadership: You will learn how to apply new leadership models in global health settings that will improve public health for people everywhere.
- Public health: You will master vital tools and solutions for complicated public health problems for both domestic and international community members.
- Practice: You will learn how to apply public health knowledge and experiences in a way that will improve global population health.
Your core curriculum includes the following:
- Introduction to global public health
- Principles of global public health leadership
- Epidemiology
- Biostatistics
- Practicum where you practice what you have learned over the two year program
- Master’s thesis at the end of the program
More information:
- Campus: Chapel Hill NC; online
- Type: Non-Profit
- Accreditation: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), CEPH
- Tuition: Inquire for current
- GRE/GMAT Required: No
- Minimum Time Commitment: 24 months
- On Campus Requirements: No
- Programs Offered: Master of Public Health in Global Public Health
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst offers a high quality online MPH degree that is designed for current public health professionals who want to earn their advanced degree. This is a general MPH program, so the student has the chance to custom design their degree according to their career goals.
The program consists of 42 credits, and the core classes include these:
- Biostatistics Introduction
- Environmental Health Practices
- Application of Social and Behavioral Theory
- Introduction to the US Health Care system
- Principles of Epidemiology
All students also must take three research based classes and do a 200 hour practicum. At the end of the two year program, you also need to complete a capstone project.
This program also offers an MPH that is specifically on nutrition and public health.
More information about this MPH program:
- Campus: Amherst MA; online
- Type: Non-Profit
- Accreditation: New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC-CIHE) Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, CEPH
- Tuition: Inquire for current
- GRE/GMAT Required: No
- Minimum Time Commitment: 24 months
- On Campus Requirements: No
- Programs Offered: Master of Public Health, Master of Public Health in Nutrition
Creighton University
Creighton University offers an online Master’s of Public Health that will give you the skills and strategies that will help you to be able to create public health programs that protect the needs of at risk populations. This program is especially designed to provide you with the experience and skills to protect public health in rural and urban communities.
The two year program has two concentrations you can choose: Health Policy and Ethics, and Public Health Services Administration.
This university is taught by some of the best public health faculty in the country, and is 100% online. You will take one course online for each eight week session, with most students finishing in two to three years. Also, no on site residency or practicum is required. Instead, you will do your practicum in your own area under the supervision of a public health professional.
More information about this MPH program:
- Campus: Omaha NE; online
- Type: Non-Profit
- Accreditation: Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), CEPH
- Tuition: Inquire for current
- GRE/GMAT Required: No
- Minimum Time Commitment: 24 months
- On Campus Requirements: No
- Programs Offered: Master of Public Health
By earning an online MPH degree in global public health, you will be able to enjoy strong job demand and also a good salary. The two above MPH programs are highly recommended and will give you the skills you will need to succeed in your public health career.
Additional Listing Details for Online MPH Programs with No GRE
| School Name | Credit Cost | CEPH | Min Time | GPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Southern California | $1,666 | Yes | 24 Months | 3.0 |
| Milken Institute School of Public Health | $1,500 | Yes | 12 Months | 3.0 |
| Simmons College Master of Public Health | $1,374 | No | 21 Months | 3.0 |
| Loyola University Chicago | $930 | Yes | 24 Months | 2.7 |
| University of New England | $670 | Yes | 18 months | 3.0 |
| Benedictine University | $650 | Yes | 24 months | 3.0 |
| West Coast University | $625 | No | 12 Months | 3.0 |
| Liberty University | $510 | No | 24 Months | 2.5 |
| University of South Florida | $425 | Yes | 24 Months | 3.0 |
| University of Reno | $290 | Yes | 18 Months | 3.0 |
