Best MPH Programs in New Jersey (On-Campus & Online Options)

New Jersey is a strong place to pursue an MPH program. The state has their unique public health needs given the dense population and rural vs non-rural health equity and access disparities. The state is also facing specific health concerns surrounding the opioid crisis and air pollution. In addition to this, New Jersey is located between Pennsylvania and New York, in prime location between two of the biggest cities in the country - Philadelphia and New York City.

This proximate location leads to strategic internships and employment advantages, opening up the door to thousands of public health opportunities at your fingertips. In addition to the neighboring states, New Jersey has a robust healthcare infrastructure, with a plethora of teaching hospitals such as RWJBarnabas Health, nonprofit organizations such as Camden Coalition, and local public health departments. The diversity of New Jersey’s landscape leads to diverse MPH training, with multilingual outreach, cultural competency, and unique specializations available.

If you are interested in pursuing a career in public health in New Jersey, now is a great time to do so.

There are various formats to choose from when completing your MPH degree. New Jersey offers on-campus, online, and hybrid MPH delivery formats.

On-Campus MPH Programs - there are many benefits to in-person learning including the immersive experience of face-to-face faculty membership, research opportunities, and the ability to participate in student organizations. Fully on-campus MPH programs are great for recent undergraduates or career changers that can commit to attending their graduate school program in-person. Rutgers University in New Brunswick and Montclair State University both offer great in-person MPH programs. 

Online MPH Programs - we have experienced a more significant shift to online learning over the past few years. Fairleigh Dickinson University and William Paterson University both offer fully online MPH degrees. 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, to network, and to establish meaningful connections in the field. If you are looking to complete your MPH degree online, we recommend considering the following tips. 

• Participate in discussions — make sure you are staying engaged in your virtual classroom and online discussion boards to maximize your learning while in the program. 

• Utilize your access to university resources — you will likely only have access to university resources while you’re in grad school, so make sure you’re utilizing any professional development and networking opportunities, office hours with professors, and other services your school may offer.

• Do research on the alumni network — it will likely be more difficult to network remotely, so make sure your school promotes networking opportunities that are accessible to you.

• Connect with peers — online learning can feel lonely. Make sure you are going out of your way to connect with peers, faculty, and staff at the school to feel supported and engaged in your learning. 

Hybrid MPH Programs - hybrid MPH programs are the best of both worlds. They incorporate remote lectures with in-person engagement, so they are best for students needing some flexibility in their graduate school experience. Stockton University offers a great hybrid MPH program in New Jersey.

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 dual degree programs in the country. This process consists of site visits and numerous other procedures to ensure the graduate program is legitimate and meets qualifying criteria. In addition to accrediting programs, CEPH also publishes basic information about program history, format (online vs. in-person), curriculum, concentration area, and has links to the official program website.

If you do a quick search on CEPH’s website, you’ll see that there are an abundance of unique public health MPH programs. Click on these program’s websites and examine the curriculum offerings. Many will have similar core public health courses and MPH elective offerings, but some MPH programs offer unique focuses on specialties such as health promotion, occupational health, behavioral science, public health policy, and healthcare management. You can also filter to view 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. Program links will be embedded within CEPH, so follow along to the schools website or request information to learn more.

Honorable Mention: New York Medical College, right across the river from west New Jersey, offers an MPH degree program that has over 50 practicum site placements for students. The program is tailored for working professionals, with a mix of online, late afternoon, and on-campus evening classes to cater to your individual needs.

Additional Honorable Mention: Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health is ranked the #1 Master of Public Health program in the country according to US News and World Report. The Bloomberg School offers a fully online MPH degree program that can be completed either full-time or part-time, with flexibility to transition between online and in-person learning.

After deciding to pursue a graduate public health education, your next question may be what are the prerequisites for enrolling in a public health program? Similar to public health programs across the country, programs in New Jersey have similar MPH degree requirements such as standard prerequisites (like GPA and having a bachelor’s degree), transcripts, resume/CV, 2-3 letters of recommendation, and a statement of purpose. While it’s not a requirement to have a related higher education degree, admissions officers may prefer individuals with a background in topics like biology, psychology, social work, nursing, pre-med, and public policy.

Many public health schools, such as California State University, University of New England, National University, and Ohio University offer undergraduate degrees that specialize in public health studies. However, if the majority of your undergraduate coursework was in a field like business administration or computer science, you will still be welcomed by your future public health degree program. Using your personal statement (more on this below) to explain your interest, especially if your undergraduate degree didn’t relate to public health or social sciences, is a great way to stand out from the crowd of applicants.

Some public health programs have GRE required for entry; however, many programs have dropped the GRE requirement in recent years. Boston University’s Online MPH program, along with many others, do 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 graduate 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. Master of Public Health programs are widely accepting of career changes and people pursuing the degree further into their public health career, so don’t let any pictures of young 20-something year olds deter you from applying.

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. Look up the contact information for alumni and faculty of the program to talk about their experiences. Request more 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.

Now that you have seen many programs laid out, you may be wondering what is the average cost of an MPH program in New Jersey? It’s important to find an affordable MPH program that meets your needs. Whether that means exploring exclusively online MPH programs, looking in-state vs. out-of-state, or inquiring about different funding options, it’s important to consider tuition as a factor when making your decision. 

As seen from the programs highlighted above, public health tuition ranges from school to school, public versus private university, and in-state versus out-of-state. In addition to the cost per credit (as listed above) there are additional typical costs associated with attending graduate school, such as books, taxes and fees, and practicum costs. Explore your prospective school’s websites to read more about their specific breakdown of tuition costs. 

Wherever you end up pursuing your graduate degree, we don’t want continuing education to break the bank, so it’s important to take finances and scholarships into consideration when looking at graduate schools.

There are abundant health needs in New Jersey so there are a plethora of public health careers for MPH graduates. You could become an epidemiologist, biostatistician, environmental health scientist, community health educator, and more. You could start your career in policy, advocacy, health management, or global health. If you are asking, what career paths are available for MPH graduates? look no further - this is the place to explore that exact question. If you are looking to stay in New Jersey after graduating, you have many options for career opportunities.

You could go into city or state government and work for the New Jersey Department of Health. You could work for a local non-profit organization or non-governmental organization running health communications. If you want to work in health care operations or improving community-level health behaviors, you could look into RWJBarnabas Health and Hackensack Meridian Health. There are endless opportunities, so if you are interested in pursuing a career in public health in New Jersey, now is a great time to do so.