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.), 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 or the Master of Public Health degree. 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

Automatic Admission

1. 3.00 minimum cumulative GPA for undergraduate coursework with or working towards awarded degree.
2. Graduate coursework credit hours of 9 or more requires a 3.00 or better minimum cumulative GPA, which supersedes undergraduate GPA.
3. A completed program application, all undergraduate and graduate college transcripts, a current resume and valid identification

Conditional Admission

Applicants with an undergraduate overall GPA between 2.70 and 2.99 (and no applicable graduate coursework) will be required (in addition) to submit a Letter of Interest (500-700 words) stating their desire for admission and explaining how it aligns with their career goals. These applications will be evaluated by the MPH program for admission decisions.

If approved for conditional admission, students will have one term to achieve the required 3.00 GPA and are expected to maintain that GPA through both terms (one full semester). If conditions are met as stated, the student will be allowed to continue studies in the program. 

Required Majors (MUST be printed on transcripts):

• Public Health
• Community Health
• Exercise Science
• Health Education
• Nursing
• Nutrition
• Pharmacy
• Psychology
• Social Work
• Sociology
• Other*

*If an applicant does not/will not have an awarded degree from one of these Majors but otherwise meets the program requirements, they should select “Other” when applying. Applicant would not be eligible for Automatic Admission and would need to follow the guidelines for “Conditional Admission”.

Graduate overall GPA’s must meet the SIU Graduate School requirement of 3.00 or better for at least 9 credit hours of graduate coursework to be considered for admission.

All auto-admitted applications will be reviewed by the program for verification of stated program requirements. The program reserves the right to disallow admission if an applicant has not met all standards for admission to the program.

Non-Declared Status

“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).

Taking MPH courses as a non-declared graduate student does not auto-admit students into the MPH program. While students will receive credit for any courses taken that are required for the MPH degree, the Graduate School requirement of a maintained 3.0 GPA must be met in order to get into the program. Additionally, non-declared students must follow the same requirements/listed criteria as any applicant initially applying to the MPH program.

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 earned a grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 or better (A = 4.00) on the entire last undergraduate GPA earned at the time of application 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

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

Requirements for the Certificate in Public Health (either track) include:

• 3.0 GPA or higher in undergraduate work or 3.0 GPA or higher in 9 credit hours of graduate coursework. Graduate coursework overrides undergraduate coursework.
• Resume/CV
• One of the following declared majors on transcripts:
  - Public Health
  - Community Health
  - Exercise Science
  - Health Education
  - Nursing
  - Nutrition
  - Pharmacy
  - Psychology
  - Social Work
  - Sociology
  - Other*
  
  *If other, a letter of interest (500-700 word) stating desire to earn the certificate and how it aligns with career goals is required.

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.