Public Health and Population Health | 2025-2026 Graduate Catalog | SIU

The School of Human Sciences offers graduate programs leading to a Ph.D. in Population Health, a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.), a concurrent M.P.H./Ph.D. in Population Health open to persons with a previous master's degree in a field other than public health, an M.P.H./M.D. (must first be admitted to the SIU School of Medicine), and a Graduate Certificate in Public Health with two track options. Persons interested in pursuing any of these degrees should initially consult the Director of Graduate Studies regarding appropriate courses and assignment to an advisor.

Application/Admission

Requirements for admission to the Ph.D. in Population Health or the M.P.H. program are:

1. Completion and submission of Graduate School admission application; a nonrefundable $65 application fee must be submitted with the application for those applying for the Ph.D. in Population Health degree, the Master of Public Health degree, or the concurrent M.P.H./Ph.D. program. Applicants must pay this fee by credit card.
2. Submission of three letters of recommendation to the School of Human Sciences Director at Human.Sciences@siu.edu (for Ph.D. only).
3. Submission of all official transcripts for previous undergraduate and graduate work.
4. Submission of supplemental essays (for Ph.D. only).
5. Submission of a CV/resume.

Whereas applications are reviewed continuously throughout the year, actual admissions for the M.P.H. program occur 5 times per year, while the Ph.D. in Population Health admissions occur only for the fall semester. Some exceptions to this timeframe can occur under special circumstances. Contact the School of Human Sciences Director for more information at Human.Sciences@siu.edu.

Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) in Public Health

Applicants for the online Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree program must have an undergraduate grade point average of 2.7 or better (A = 4.0) on the entire last undergraduate GPA earned at the time of application to be admitted in good standing.

“Nondeclared” hours from the MPH program can be counted towards the degree. The M.P.H. program offers 5 admission points (eg., SP1, SP2, Summer, Fall1, Fall2).

Degree Requirements

A student must complete a minimum of 42 credit hours consisting of at least the following courses:

• PH 505: Foundations of Public Health Knowledge (3 CH)
• PH 506: Communicating Public Health (3 CH)
• PH 507: MPH Experiential Learning Seminar (1 CH)
• PH 508: Leadership in Public Health (2 CH)
• PH 512: Public Health Program Planning (3 CH)
• PH 513: Public Health Analytics I (3 CH)
• PH 514: Public Health Analytics II (3 CH)
• PH 525: Applied Theoretical Foundations of Public Health (3 CH)
• PH 526: Evidence-based Research and Evaluation in Public Health (3 CH)
• PH 532: Public Health Administration: Principles and Practices (3 CH)
• PH 583: U.S. Health Systems: Organization, Delivery, and Policy (3 CH)
• PH 593: Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health (3 CH)
• PH 598: Grant Writing in Public Health (3 CH)
• PH 599A: MPH Applied Practical Experience (APE) Seminar (1 CH)
• PH 599B: MPH Applied Practical Experience (APE) (2 CH)
• PH 599C: MPH Integrative Learning Experience (ILE) (3 CH)

M.P.H./M.D. Concurrent Degrees

Applicants may apply for a concurrent degree in Medicine and Public Health (must first be admitted to the SIU School of Medicine). Applicants for the Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree must have a 2.7 undergraduate grade point average (A = 4.0) to be admitted in good standing. MPH/MD students must start in the summer.

Concurrent Degree Requirements

For the medical degree, all students must complete all requirements outlined by the SIU School of Medicine. For the M.P.H. degree, a student must complete a minimum of 42 credit hours with the following courses being required during the first year:

• PH 505: Foundations of Public Health Knowledge (3 CH)
• PH 506: Communicating Public Health (3 CH)
• PH 507: MPH Experiential Learning Seminar (1 CH)
• PH 508: Leadership in Public Health (2 CH)
• PH 512: Public Health Program Planning (3 CH)
• PH 513: Public Health Analytics I (3 CH)
• PH 514: Public Health Analytics II (3 CH)
• PH 525: Applied Theoretical Foundations of Public Health (3 CH)
• PH 526: Evidence-based Research and Evaluation in Public Health (3 CH)
• PH 532: Public Health Administration: Principles and Practices (3 CH)
• PH 583: U.S. Health Systems: Organization, Delivery, and Policy (3 CH)
• PH 593: Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health (3 CH)
• PH 598: Grant Writing in Public Health (3 CH)

In addition, the student must complete the following courses during the fifth year:

• PH 599A: MPH Applied Practical Experience (APE) Seminar (1 CH)
• PH 599B: MPH Applied Practical Experience (APE) (2 CH)
• PH 599C: MPH Integrative Learning Experience (ILE) (3 CH)
  Required:
  • Population Health Leadership, 1 week/hour, SIU-SOM
  • Clinical Epidemiology, 2 weeks/hours, SIU-SOM
  • Emerging Trends in Public Health, 1 week/hour, SIU-SOM
  • Clinical Rotations
• Optional:
  
  • All Hazards Preparedness and Response, 1 week/hour, SIU-SOM
  • Cancer Health Disparities,1 week/hour, SIU-SOM
  • Advancing Health Equity in Clinical Practice, 1 week/hour, SIU-SOM
  • Parenting and Child Health, 2 weeks/hours, SIU-SOM
  • Health Policy Government Relations, 1 week/hour, SIU-SOM
  • Social Life of Food, 1 week/hour, SIU-SOM
  • Social Innovation in Medicine, 1 week/hour, SIU-SOM
  • Addressing Health Disparities: Improving the Health of Populations, 2 weeks/hours, SIU-SOM

M.P.H./Ph.D. Concurrent Degrees

Persons with a previous master's degree (in a non-public health field) may apply for the concurrent M.P.H. (Public Health)/Ph.D. (Population Health) program. Students will earn the M.P.H. degree as well as a Ph.D. in Population Health. The selection and sequencing of coursework enables students to complete both degrees in a timely manner.

In addition to the current admission criteria for the M.P.H., students who are interested in applying to the Concurrent M.P.H./Ph.D. program must have the following:

• GPA overall 3.5 as undergraduate or 3.6 as graduate level
• Undergraduate degree in public health (or closely-related field) and five years health-related work experience OR a graduate degree in health education (or closely-related field) and three years health-related work experience

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Population Health

The Ph.D. in Population Health in the School of Human Sciences at SIUC is distinguished by its interdisciplinary approach to graduate education. The program will prepare professional leaders in academic, clinical, professional and research settings. The doctoral program will also prepare graduates to develop and implement innovative solutions to population health issues. The Population Health Ph.D. comprises foundational courses, research/scholarly or practice innovation courses, directed mentorship, and dissertation/professional product development exemplifying transition to career independence.

Doctoral students will identify a primary area of emphasis within the School of Human Sciences and a secondary area of emphasis, which is used to inform the program of study and research experience. Each student’s primary and secondary areas of emphasis will be identified in consultation with their dissertation chair/advisor during their first semester.

Degree Requirements

Core (22 CH)        

• PH 603: PhD Seminar (a minimum of 3 credit hours – one credit per semester)
• PH 533B: Research Methods (4 CH) or equivalent
• PH 598: Grant Writing or equivalent (3 CH)
• PH 513: Public Health Analytics I (3 CH)
• PH 514: Public Health Analytics II (3 CH)
• 6 additional credit hours of statistics or qualitative data analysis

Primary Emphasis Area

• 9 credit hours of coursework

Secondary Emphasis Area

• 6 credit hours of coursework

Dissertation (24 CH)

• Original research based on emphasis areas [requires the submission (not necessarily publication) of 3 articles to respected peer-reviewed journals beyond what is required for the comprehensive exam; the final dissertation product will include 5 chapters, where chapter 1 includes an introduction to the three papers, chapters 2-4 include three distinct research projects, and chapter 5 includes a summarization/discussion of the three papers).

Additional Requirements

Preliminary/Comprehensive Examinations – competency based (complete 4 of the options below):

• CTE teaching micro credential completion
• Present (orally or via a poster) original research at a national conference
• Grant application, ideally suited for the student’s dissertation (submitted to a federal [e.g., NIH, NSF,  DoD], state [e.g., IDPH, IDHS], foundation [e.g., RWJF], or internal [e.g., SIU] source)
• Manuscript peer-review (journal editor-in-chief letter verification)
• Service to the university and profession (service on at least 1 school, college, or university level committee and proof of membership in a professional organization)
• Leadership certificate

Inquiries regarding application should be directed to the director of doctoral studies for Population Health.

Certificate in Gerontology

The School of Human Sciences offers a Certificate in Gerontology interdisciplinary program. PH 440, Health Issues in Aging, is a Certificate requirement for the certificate program. For more information on this Certificate program, please see the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Programs tab.

Certificate in Public Health

The School of Human Sciences offers two tracks leading to a Certificate (post-baccalaureate) in Public Health requiring 15 credit hours in the following MPH courses:

Epidemiology/Biostatistics Track:

• PH 505: Foundations Public Health Knowledge (3 CH)
• PH 513: Public Health Analytics I (3 CH)
• PH 514: Public Health Analytics II (3 CH)
• PH 526: Evidence-based Research Evaluation Public Health (3 CH)
• PH 593: Principles Epidemiology in Public Health (3 CH)

Community Health Track:

• PH 505: Foundations Public Health Knowledge (3 CH)
• PH 512: Public Health Program Planning (3 CH)
• PH 525: Applied Theoretical Foundations Public Health (3 CH)
• PH 526: Evidence-based Research Evaluation Public Health (3 CH)
• PH 593: Principles Epidemiology in Public Health (3 CH)

For more information on this certificate program, please see the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Programs tab.