How to Earn an MPH in Arizona: Top Schools and Career Paths

A Master of Public Health (MPH) degree is a more comprehensive study into the public health world. There is ample flexibility in the world of MPH degrees: they can be completed full or part-time, during the day or exclusively in the evenings, online, in-person or hybrid, in as little as one year and as long as five, and with dozens of different focus areas. Equipped with an MPH degree, there are endless outcomes for potential public health career paths. You could work for a hospital, government, non-profit organization, or for-profit entity. You could become a consultant, public health nurse, epidemiologist, hospital administrator, and much more. 

Given Arizona’s specific health issues, there is a great need for health promotion specialists, epidemiologists, and health policy experts in the state. Below, we will dive into more detail regarding Arizona’s specific public health needs, opportunities, and accredited MPH programs.

Arizona has unique public health needs given the state’s population, climate, and geographical landscape. The state has large rural and tribal populations that face disparate health outcomes compared to the rest of Arizona’s population⁴. The environment and warming climate present unique issues that are felt even more acutely by these populations^4,7. Given these unique state-level needs, Arizona is a ripe place to study public health. According to a study completed in 2025, the healthcare industry in Arizona has grown at an average rate of 2.9% annually over the past decade, almost twice the amount of the national average¹¹.

As Arizona’s public health workforce grows, there is a parallel growing demand for public health professionals from state-based employers. An Arizona-based foundation, the Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation, projects that the state will need almost 133,000 new health care workers over the next ten years, but will produce just shy of 57,000, leaving a massive gap of 76,000 employees¹¹. If you are interested in pursuing a career in public health in Arizona, now is the best time to do so.

Similar to public health programs across the country, Arizona’s accredited MPH programs have similar admission requirements such as academic prerequisites (like GPA and having a bachelor’s degree), letters of recommendation, and a statement of purpose. While you don’t need to have a public health bachelor degree or a related undergraduate study (such as an epidemiology degree), it may help your graduate studies to have taken health or social science-related academic prerequisite coursework (such as statistics or biology, etc.) in your undergraduate education. Many public health schools, such as the University of Arizona’s Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health offer undergraduate degrees that specialize in public health studies. However, if the majority of your undergraduate coursework was in a field like computer science or business administration, you will still be welcomed by your future MPH program. 

Some public health programs have GRE required for entry; however, many programs have dropped the GRE requirement in recent years. The University of Arizona does not require this exam for entry into the program. We have a separate article detailing additional MPH programs that do not require a GRE. 

Most schools will require letters of recommendation from either a supervisor, professional colleague, or academic faculty member from your undergraduate institution. Most programs will also require individuals to submit a personal statement, which is like a cover letter that’s geared towards receiving an education at the specific institution you are applying to. Many programs have a fall start date (August or September), but some MPH online programs allow you to begin your coursework year-round. The University of Arizona’s Online MPH program allows students to start in either the fall, spring, or summer, while Northern Arizona University requires all applications to be submitted by January 15th.

Below are tips for how to strengthen your application.

Finally, as much as a school is vetting students to ensure they are a good fit for the program, you should also be vetting the school to ensure it’s the right fit for you. Reach out to alumni and faculty of the program to talk about their experiences. Request information online if you have any questions, and interact with admissions offices to gain additional insight that isn’t posted on the website. You will be spending much of your time over the next couple of years in the program, so make sure it’s a great fit for you too.

Arizona offers various traditional on-campus programs, like Northern Arizona University’s MPH in Health Promotion. This public health program, with an emphasis on indigenous health, requires students to live near campus and attend in-person classes with the rest of their cohort. Arizona is also home to many online MPH programs, such as University of Arizona’s MPH online program and Arizona State University’s MPH online program. These programs are great for their flexibility and adaptability to your unique lifestyle. 

We have experienced a more significant shift to online learning over the past few years. There are many pros and cons to consider for online learning; they are advantageous for individuals who are working full- or part-time, have families, or simply don’t want to live near campus. However, virtual learning can have its challenges, as it may be difficult to fully engage and feel supported by your cohort, network, and establish meaningful connections in the field. If you are looking to complete your MPH degree online, we recommend considering the following tips.

The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, is an independent agency tasked with accrediting public health programs in the United States. The accreditation process takes about three years and there are currently over 260 unique, accredited public health degree and joint degree programs in the country. This process consists of site visits and numerous other procedures to ensure the program is legitimate and meets qualifying criteria. In addition to accrediting programs, CEPH also publishes basic information about program history, curriculum, concentration area, and links to the official program website. 

If you do a quick search on CEPH’s website, you’ll see that there is an abundance of unique MPH programs. Click on these program’s websites and examine the curriculum offerings. Many will have similar core public health courses, but some MPH programs offer unique focuses on specialties such as health promotion, indigenous health, health informatics, and healthcare administration. You can also filter to review only MPH online programs. If you have a specific public health interest, click on the Concentration tab and filter by your interest to see which schools tailor their curriculum to your specific interest. Open the different programs up in separate windows to compare their curriculums to see which is the best fit for you.

You will find that not all MPH programs are accredited by CEPH. While pursuing a non-accredited MPH program may not impact your job prospects, it can limit future certification options. If you are interested in becoming a Certified Health Education Specialist, for example, you will need to have obtained a master’s degree from a CEPH accredited institution. This is not necessarily a deal breaker if you don’t see yourself pursuing this type of certification or a terminal degree in the future, but something to keep in mind when comparing public health programs.