Similar to MPH programs across the country, Massachusetts’s programs have similar admission requirements such as academic prerequisites, GRE requirements, letters of recommendation, and relevant work experience. While you don’t need to have a public health major or a related undergraduate study, it may help your graduate studies to have taken health or social science-related academic prerequisite coursework (such as statistics, epidemiology, biology, etc.) in your undergraduate education. Many schools, such as Boston College and George Washington University, have 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.
Many MPH programs have GMAT or GRE required for entry, and most will require letters of recommendation from either a supervisor, professional colleague, or academic faculty member from your undergraduate institution. Most programs will 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 online programs allow you to begin your coursework year-round. Some schools, like Northeastern University, have rolling deadlines while others like Tufts University require applications to be submitted in the months prior to the semester starting (i.e., a spring deadline for a fall semester start).
Additionally, many schools prefer individuals to have some amount of work experience in the public health field. This can be volunteer experience, an internship, or a full-time or part-time job. Any applied practice experience in the public health field will be immensely helpful to reflect back on during your studies.
Below are tips for how to strengthen your application.
