The MPH Program requires 45 credits. Full-time students complete the program over two academic years.

Yes, part time students tend to complete the program in three to five years pending course load. VCU policy is that a master’s degree must be completed in six academic years.

VCU's MPH Program has been fully accredited since 1996 by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), which accredits schools of public health and graduate public health programs outside schools of public health. A listing of CEPH-accredited MPH programs and schools of public health is available on the CEPH website.

At least one open house event is usually held in the fall for the MPH and Epidemiology PhD programs. Prospective students may arrange one-on-one visits by emailing the department.

Tuition and fees depend on individual needs for housing, meals, etc. Please visit VCU’s Understanding Tuition and Fees webpage.

The MPH Program rarely has funding to provide for students. If it is available, it is usually limited and highly competitive. The MPH Program helps students find part-time employment and assistantships by promoting opportunities from potential employers at VCU and professional public health organizations in the area. The majority of full-time MPH students work part-time, primarily in positions they have found through the MPH Program

See the VCU Graduate School policy for transfer credit. Note that courses not previously applied toward another degree may be accepted for transfer credit consideration. The transfer course(s) must be of graduate level, relevant to the field of public health, and be approved by the graduate program. Students who have been accepted into the program and who wish to transfer in courses must send a written request to the Graduate Programs Administrator. The request must include an official copy of a transcript and a copy of the syllabus for each course being submitted for transfer consideration.

Yes, VCU coursework that is relevant to program requirements and was completed prior to matriculation may be considered for transfer. The curriculum of each graduate program has a specific sequence, and students should not take numerous courses prior to matriculation as courses taken out of sequence may negatively impact student progression of learning once in the program. Courses taken in other disciplines at VCU may be considered for transfer, as well. All courses considered for transfer credit may not have been part of the requirements for a previously awarded degree. All transfer course(s) must be of graduate level, relevant to the field of public health, and must be approved by the graduate program.

Some MPH program courses are offered online or in a hybrid format, but the MPH program is not a fully online program. An on-campus presence is required.

The Department of Epidemiology posts an orientation Canvas page in the summer that provides information to get students started on registration and preparation for the fall semester. If you are unsure of which courses you should take, it is acceptable to wait to register until you have attended the Program's Orientation session, which is scheduled in August, before classes begin. Our graduate programs typically give registration priority to our students to ensure their registration in required courses. Consult VCU's Schedule of Classes for listing of course offerings by semester and VCU Courses A-Z for course descriptions by offering department.

To take a course in a graduate public health program, you must apply to VCU to become a non-degree-seeking student. Prospective students should follow the instructions for becoming a non-degree-seeking student. Once that application process has been completed, contact program administration for guidance in course selection.

All students in the MPH Program must complete an applied experience known as the Public Health Internship (PHI), which is a 3-credit-hour experience in a professional public health setting. Students work a minimum of 180 contact hours in a setting such as a local or state health department office, a non-profit organization such as the American Cancer Society, March of Dimes, or an appropriate private enterprise. Through the internship, students gain valuable practical experience in the professional public health work environment.

Since the purpose of the Public Health Internship is to expose students to everyday experience in a professional setting, pay is neither required nor expected. However, some internship sites are willing to pay student interns.

The MPH Program is a professional degree program, so students do not complete a thesis, but a final project that is an integrated learning experience known as the MPH Capstone Project. Students are required to synthesize the literature, apply theory, evaluate data, and integrate knowledge gained and principles in situations that approximate some aspect of professional practice. With this mentored experience, students are able to both broaden their skills and hone their proficiency in a specific area of public health. The major product of this culminating experience is expected to vary depending on the student’s concentration and the educational goals of the student, but could include one of the following:

• Manuscript suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal
• Comprehensive disease-related report
• Policy analysis report
• Needs assessment for a specific population
• Development, implementation, and analysis of target population surveys
• Program evaluation
• Organization, development, and assessment of content of public health training or informational conferences

For the MSW/MPH program, apply to both programs at the same time. Note that MSW/MPH students do not enter the MPH curriculum fully until the second year of study. Therefore, it is possible for applicants to apply to both programs simultaneously or apply to the MPH Program during the first semester of the MSW Program.

For the MD/MPH and PharmD/MPH programs, students should already be enrolled in either medical or pharmacy school. For these programs, students do not enter the MPH curriculum until after their third year of clinical study. Students therefore wait to apply to the MPH program until their third year in medical or second year in pharmacy school. Administrators in each school will notify students of dual degree program options and when they should apply to these programs

Applications are in two stages: a primary application through the SOPHAS (The Centralized Application Service for Public Health programs) website, and a supplemental application to VCU Graduate Admissions (the secondary application requires a $70 fee to VCU). Both applications must be received for an applicant to be considered by the Admissions Committee. Once an applicant submits the SOPHAS application, VCU will send instructions on how to complete the secondary supplemental application.

Admission requirements are available in the VCU Graduate Bulletin and are the same for each MPH degree concentration:

• Applied public health concentration 
• Epidemiology concentration
• Cancer Health Equity Science concentration

Students must have an undergraduate degree from an accredited, four-year institution, with a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Recommended is undergraduate study that includes courses in the biological sciences and statistics/biostatistics. While these are not absolutely required, applicants who have taken such courses and performed well in them (i.e., grade of B or higher) will likely be more competitive than applicants who lack this background. One or more courses in research methods or epidemiology is also beneficial, as is experience with applications used for data analysis such as SPSS, SAS, STATA, etc.

We prefer that MPH Program applicants have a minimum of one calendar year of work or applied experience after earning the undergraduate degree. It is ideal, but not required, for this experience to be related to health in general and public health specifically. Volunteer work relevant to the health field such as for mission trips, AmeriCorps, summers abroad doing community service, or in a local organization may be included as experience.

No, the GRE is not required for admission to the MPH Program.

Applications typically open in SOPHAS by late August of each year. Pay attention to the application deadlines listed in SOPHAS for each degree program. Applications must be complete (contain all required elements, including official transcripts and letters of recommendation) to be considered for admission.

The deadline for applications is the same for both domestic and international applications and is listed in SOPHAS for each program.

Consult the application portal in SOPHAS for the current year's application deadline.

During the review process, some applicants may be assigned to a wait list according to merit and the competitiveness of the applicant pool. If students who are offered admission into the program decline the invitation, then wait-listed students may be notified as these vacancies occur. Notification of wait-listed students will occur in the latter portion of April into early May.

Incomplete applications will not be considered and will receive a status of "rejected." SOPHAS offers applicants the option to continue an incomplete application to the next academic year. Applications that are submitted by the deadline but have outstanding elements (e.g., waiting for official transcripts or letters of recommendation) will be monitored by the program and reviewed once the application is complete, depending on timing of application completion and available space in the program for the academic year.

Our admissions committee begins meeting in February, and decisions are sent out on a rolling basis beginning in March. Timing for an admissions decision depends upon the submission of the application and how long it takes for all elements to be complete (e.g., receipt of official transcripts or letters of recommendation). No decision can be made until a complete application is received. Applications are screened and grouped for committee review as they become complete; the admissions committee meets multiple times during the spring semester to review applications.

There is only one level of acceptance, which is full acceptance. Full acceptance is unconditional acceptance and is the highest level of acceptance granted by the University.

Yes, you may submit your application without materials such as transcripts or letters of recommendation, but follow the instructions on the SOPHAS website. Submitting the application “on-line” starts the admissions process, but you should be sure to follow up as soon as possible with the rest of the application materials, since the process cannot be finalized and your application cannot be fully reviewed until we receive your application fees and all required supporting documents.

All supporting documents are submitted through SOPHAS, according to directions provided on the SOPHAS website. Do not send application materials to any VCU address unless specifically directed to so by a program administrator.

Yes. Admitted students must inform the program of their intent to matriculate by April 15 unless otherwise instructed. Students who do not reply by that date will forfeit their place in the program.

Due to the sequencing of courses in our graduate curricula, we admit students only in the fall.

To be effective, the letters must show that the referee can explain why your background prepares you for a career in public health and that you will be able to perform well under the rigors of graduate study. Therefore, letters of reference from current or past professors are the best choice. For the MPH program, at least one letter, and preferably two, should be from an academic reference. If you have asked for a reference from someone you have worked with in a job, a letter from a supervisor is more appropriate than a letter from a colleague. In addition, a letter from a health professional would be more appropriate than a letter from a business professional. However, if you do not have professional references from the general health field, a reference from a past supervisor that addresses your performance on the job and can assess qualities like responsibility, level of maturity, and other elements that will lend to success in graduate school, is entirely appropriate.

Since lectures, laboratory instructions, and written and oral examinations are conducted in English, students must be proficient in the language. Guidelines for international students are available.

The PhD program is typically completed over 4 years of full-time study.

VCU’s PhD in Epidemiology program is fully funded for four years contingent on satisfactory academic progress. PhD students receive funding for tuition and a stipend for working 20 hours a week in their faculty advisor’s research program.

Matching prospective students with faculty research programs is an important element of our admissions process. Please see our faculty research programs to learn about research programs within the Department of Epidemiology and to determine if your interests align with those of one or more of our faculty members.

The PhD in Epidemiology Program is accredited through the overall University accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

The PhD Program accepts primarily full-time students and will occasionally consider applicants who wish to have a part-time student status.

At least one open house event is usually held in the fall for the MPH and Epidemiology PhD programs. Prospective students may arrange one on one visits by emailing the department.

See the VCU Graduate School policy for transfer credit. Note that courses not previously applied toward another degree may be accepted for transfer credit consideration. The transfer course(s) must be of graduate level, relevant to the field of public health, and be approved by the graduate program. Students who have been accepted into the program and who wish to transfer in courses must send a written request to the Graduate Program Administrator. The request must include an official copy of a transcript and a copy of the syllabus for each course being submitted for transfer consideration.

Yes, VCU coursework completed prior to matriculation may be considered for transfer. The curriculum of each graduate program has a specific sequence and students should not take numerous courses prior to matriculation as courses taken out of sequence may negatively impact their progression of learning once in the program. Courses taken in other disciplines at VCU may be considered for transfer, as well. All courses considered for transfer credit may not have been part of the requirements for a previously awarded degree. All transfer course(s) must be of graduate level, relevant to the field of public health, and must be approved by the graduate program.

PhD courses are almost exclusively offered face-to-face.

The Department of Epidemiology posts an orientation Canvas page in the summer that provides information to get students started on registration and preparation for the fall semester. If you are unsure of which courses you should take, it is acceptable to wait to register until you have attended the Program's Orientation session, which is scheduled in August, before classes begin. Our graduate programs typically give registration priority to our students to ensure their registration in required courses. Consult VCU's Schedule of Classes for listing of course offerings by semester and VCU Courses A-Z for course descriptions by offering department.

To take a course in a graduate public health program, you must apply to VCU to become a non-degree-seeking student. Prospective students may find instructions for becoming a non-degree-seeking student.

Applications are in two stages: a primary application through the SOPHAS (the centralized application service for public health) website. and a secondary, supplemental application to VCU Graduate Admissions (the secondary application requires a $70 fee to VCU). Both applications must be received for an applicant to be considered by the Admissions Committee. Once an applicant submits the SOPHAS application, VCU will send instructions on how to complete the secondary supplemental application.

Admission requirements are available in the VCU Graduate Bulletin.

Applications typically open in SOPHAS by late August of each year. Pay attention to the application deadlines listed in SOPHAS for each degree program. Applications must be complete (contain all required elements, including official transcripts and letters of recommendation) to be considered for admission.

The deadline for applications is the same for both domestic and international applications and is listed in SOPHAS for each program.

Consult the application portal in SOPHAS for the current year's application deadline.

Incomplete applications will not be considered and will receive a status of "rejected." SOPHAS offers applicants the option to continue an incomplete application to the next academic year. Applications that are submitted by the deadline but have outstanding elements (e.g., waiting for official transcripts or letters of recommendation) will be monitored by the program and reviewed once the application is complete, depending on timing of application completion and available space in the program for the academic year.

Due to the sequencing of courses in our graduate curricula, we admit students only in the fall.

Our admissions committee begins meeting in February, and decisions are sent out on a rolling basis beginning in March. Timing for an admissions decision depends upon the submission of the application and how long it takes for all elements to be complete (e.g., receipt of official transcripts or letters of recommendation). No decision can be made until a complete application is received. Applications are screened and grouped for committee review as they become complete; the admissions committee typically meets several times during the spring semester.

Competitive PhD applicants will be invited to a first-round phone or video interview with the Graduate Programs Director and potential advisor. Following the first-round interview, competitive students would then be invited to an on-campus (or zoom) second round interview with other faculty members and current PhD students. Admissions offers would follow a successful interview process.

There is only one level of acceptance, which is full acceptance. Full acceptance is unconditional acceptance and is the highest level of acceptance granted by the University.

For the PhD in Epidemiology Program: Students should respond with a decision by the deadline indicated in their offer of admission letter, usually 30 days from receipt of the formal offer of admission.

Yes, you may submit your application without materials such as transcripts or letters of recommendation, but follow the instructions on the SOPHAS website. Submitting the application online starts the admissions process, but you should be sure to follow up as soon as possible with the rest of the application materials, since the process cannot be finalized and your application cannot be fully reviewed until we receive your application fees and all required supporting documents.

All supporting documents are submitted through SOPHAS, according to directions provided on the SOPHAS website. Do not send application materials to any VCU address unless specifically directed to so by a program administrator

For the Epidemiology PhD program, scores at the 75th percentile or higher are preferred. The admissions committee will review each application as a whole, taking all elements into consideration, but applicants with scores at or above the 75th percentile will be more competitive.

Yes, GRE test scores are only accepted within five years of the test date.

Submit GRE scores through SOPHAS using the VCU SOPHAS GRE code: 7543.

Since lectures, laboratory instructions, and written and oral examinations are conducted in English, students must be proficient in the language. Guidelines for international students are available.