Program Director: Kathleen C. Brown, PhD, MPH
Now You can Earn an MPH Degree Completely Online!
Click here to learn more about our new distance education program.
The MPH curriculum consists of 42 semester credit hours and is a nonthesis professional preparation degree program. To meet the educational needs of working students, the MPH degree can be earned on a part-time basis with most classes offered during late afternoons and evenings. Based on the experience of other part-time students, the degree program typically can be completed in two to three years.
Mission
The Graduate Public Health program at UT provides quality education and leadership to promote health in human populations through interdisciplinary instruction, research, and community service.
Vision
The MPH program is recognized for its empowerment of students pursuing public health careers which focus on community health improvement.
Program Values
- Respect—To engage in experiences that obligate a person to take responsibility for the public’s good, to recognize human dignity, and to value the worth of individual and collective behaviors
- Holistic Consideration—To emphasize a socio-ecological systems approach for understanding and promoting optimal health and well-being of individuals, families and communities
- Excellence—To commit to the highest quality in teaching-learning and in practice.
- Collaboration—To advocate networking, partnering, consensus building, and participatory approaches for improving population health
- Diversity—To recognize the benefits of diverse ethnic and cultural perspectives and prepare culturally competent public health professionals
- Equity—To promote equality of opportunity for individuals, families, and communities
Accreditation was first achieved in 1969 with the MPH program becoming the first outside a school of public health to receive this recognition. Since 1969, the program has been successful in securing extensions of accreditation through a self-study and review process that requires approximately two years to complete.
Program accreditation offers substantial value to students, alumni, faculty and the university because of the distinction offered. This recognition of quality, consistent with that of other accredited MPH programs, indicates that the professional preparation offered at UT has met the criteria defined by the council. These criteria have become more rigorous over time, requiring extensive documentation.
Our 2016 CEPH Self-Study Report is now available. Contact Associate Professor Kathleen Brown if you have any questions.
The Department of Public Health fosters working relationships between academicians and practitioners to participate in leadership development. In 1995, these efforts were formalized by co-establishing the East Tennessee Public Health and Preventive Medicine Forum. Other member organizations are: the Knox County Health Department, the East Tennessee Regional Office of the Tennessee Department of Health, the UT Department of Family Medicine, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine, and the UT College of Nursing.
Since 1985, the MPH program has been an institutional member of the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR), formerly the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine. Within the APTR organization is a council of graduate programs in public health. The council includes more than eighty MPH programs which are located outside schools of public health. Directors of MPH programs assemble as a council twice each year to exchange information and work on mutual issues of interest.
Foundation MPH Competencies and Courses
- Foundational Competencies
- Foundation Courses (must be completed by all MPH students regardless of concentration)
Available Concentrations
The MPH program currently offers four concentrations. Please use the links below for an in-depth description or each concentration.
- Community Health Education (CHE)
– in person and online
- Epidemiology (EPI) – in person only
- Health Policy and Management (HPM) – in person and online
- Veterinary Public Health (VPH) – in person and online
Dual MPH Degrees
The Department of Public Health is proud to offer dual degrees with the University of Tennessee College of Law and the Department of Nutrition. Click here for more information on each of our dual degrees.
MPH Program Requirements for Admission
- A cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0, as well as a 3.0 GPA for any previously taken graduate level courses.
- GRE requirement temporarily suspended due to COVID-19. Official GRE scores—The MPH program does not specify minimum scores. Official scores can be obtained from the nonprofit Educational Testing Service (ETS) for up to five years following the date the exam was taken.
- Admission to the University of Tennessee Graduate School. An application that has been fully completed by the appropriate deadline.
Application Deadlines *
- February 1—Summer admission
- April 1—Fall admission
- October 1—Spring admission**
*These dates are for domestic applicants only. International applicants should visit Graduate Admissions for current international deadlines.
** Only new, part-time students are accepted for spring admission. No full-time students will be admitted for spring entry to the MPH program.
Minors
Two graduate minors are available to MPH students: the epidemiology minor and the Intercollegiate Graduate Statistics program (a statistics minor). Click here for a for more information about those programs.
MPH Memos Newsletter
Our program newsletter is released six times each academic year (three during fall semester and three during the spring semester). Read the latest edition and archives here.