Admissions

Qualifications for Admissions

Applicants are admitted from a wide variety of academic backgrounds, including social and behavioral sciences (e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology), the humanities, basic sciences (e.g., biology, nursing), and mathematics. There is no single appropriate undergraduate major, but applicants should meet prerequisites by the time of admission.

Who should apply?

Individuals who want skills to:

• Influence policy and public opinion on health issues
• Develop and evaluate innovative community-based programs to prevent disease and injury
• Work with communities, health departments, and non-profit organizations and policymakers to create healthy living and working environments
• Work on issues related to specific population, including youth and disadvantaged populations

Individuals who:

• Have a variety of backgrounds, including those trained in basic sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and the humanities
• Want an M.P.H. degree
• Plan to pursue a Ph.D. degree in social and behavioral epidemiology at the University of Minnesota
• Have met the prerequisites listed below before admission

Prerequisites for Admission

• Baccalaureate degree or higher from an accredited college or university
• College-level courses in the following areas:
• Social and behavioral sciences (at least 3 coureses)
• Quantitative methods/statistics (1 course)         
• One year of paid or volunteer experience in a public health, social service, or community setting

Preferences for Admission

• Strong personal statement indicating why applicant is interested in pursuing a community health education degree
• Compatibility of interests with program faculty
• GPA of 3.0
• Combined GRE (verbal, quantitative) score of 1,000 and analytical writing score of 3.5
• TOEFL score of 600/250/100 for international applicants
• Strong reference letters

View complete admissions statistics (PDF)

Application Deadline

•  Priority: Dec. 15
•  Final: April 15

Applications received by the priority deadline will be given first consideration for School and major awarded funding. 

Admissions Decisions:

•  Application reviews begin mid-December
• Applicants notified about decision approximately six weeks after completed application is received

More about the Application for Admissions process