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

Transforming health for individuals, families, and communities to thrive

Whether you are embarking on the initial steps of your public health journey or are a seasoned professional aiming to enhance your expertise, OSPH is the school for you. Our comprehensive offerings include a full-time two-year M.P.H pathway and an extended three-year M.P.H. pathway, ensuring that individuals at varying stages of their careers have the ability to achieve their academic goals.

Students in our M.P.H. program:

  • Gain strong methodological skills through cross-cutting programs in quantitative and data sciences, health systems sciences, implementation science, and health promotion
  • Disseminate new methodologies and scientific knowledge to inform health care delivery and enhance community health
  • Learn to engage diverse stakeholders in health care systems and communities to identify and prioritize public health challenges and create and implement effective solutions
  • Educate these stakeholders to improve health at multiple levels, from individuals, families, and neighborhoods to employers, agencies, and health systems

M.P.H. Pathways

Program TypeTwo-Year PathThree-Year Path
Program Length 2 years, Starting in Fall Semester 3 years, Starting in Summer Semester
Program Classification Full-time (for graduate school, 9 or more hours per fall/spring semester and 6 hours per summer semester) Part-time (for graduate school, fewer than 9 hours per fall/spring semester and fewer than 6 hours per summer semester)
Location In-person at our Dallas campus In-person at our Dallas campus

The students in the two-year path and the three-year path receive the same M.P.H. degree. The three-year path has a lighter course load each semester over a three-year period. Students in the three-year path take all the same classes as the full-time students, collaborate with them, and are fully-integrated into the life of the school. The three-year path is a great option for students who would benefit from a lighter course load due to outside of school responsibilities. All students work closely with faculty, staff, and administrators to select a concentration and develop an individualized degree plan.

Concentrations

Concentrations are the foundation of our M.P.H. program, equipping the future public health workforce with innovative degree pathways. At the Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, you gain practical skills, preparing you to develop, use, interpret, and communicate scientific data. These skills are in high demand and careers in these domains remain among the fastest-growing and most rewarding professional opportunities in public health.

Students choose from one of four multidisciplinary options:

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Applied Epidemiology

The practice of public health is driven by scientific evidence obtained from a variety of sources. This evidence is generated by researchers working in interdisciplinary professional domains, including biostatisticians, epidemiologists, clinical and public health informaticians, computer scientists, health geographers, and health economists.

Students learn about:

  • Various types of data used in public health research and practice
  • How these data are collected, managed, analyzed, and reported
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Social & Behavioral Sciences

Students following this concentration build the skills necessary to drive transformative change in health and health equity. They design, implement, and evaluate evidence-based programs to empower individuals and communities with the agency needed to change health behaviors and transform the social and structural conditions shaping health and health equity.

Students in this concentration:

  • Promote the health of individuals, communities, and populations and achieve health equity via program design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation
  • Inform and advance theories and their application to public health practice using quantitative and qualitative data
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Health Economics, Systems, and Policy

Students in the Health Economics, Systems, and Policy concentration acquire knowledge and skills about the economics of health decisions, how health care is delivered, how health professionals work together to address public health needs, and how the health system can improve patient care and health care delivery.

In addition, they develop evidence-based platforms and frameworks to drive the necessary transformation for improved health care delivery and population health.

Students learn how to:

  • Conduct and understand health services and health policy research
  • Develop, implement, and evaluate health interventions and policies within the context of the health system
  • Assess population health from an economic perspective that acknowledges the role of community, family, social, and policy factors in health care choices
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Health Data Science

The Health Data Science concentration provides students with rigorous data-science knowledge and advanced computational skills to address contemporary public health challenges. Training covers programming, statistical modeling, analytics, and visualization, with a strong emphasis on reproducible, team-science approaches to public health practice and research. Graduates are prepared for careers that link data science to biomedical research, clinical care, and public health practice across health systems, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and industry.

Students will be able to:

Apply advanced statistical and analytic techniques and build practical data pipelines to solve real-world public health problems.
Communicate data-driven insights effectively to both technical and nontechnical audiences.

M.P.H. Individual Course Planner (2026-2028)

The Individual Course Planner outlines the full two-year course sequence for the M.P.H. program. A total of 45 credits is required to graduate. Select your concentration to see your complete plan, semester by semester. Courses shown in every concentration’s plan for a given semester are required of all M.P.H. students.

Course numbers without a letter suffix are in-person courses; a “W” suffix indicates an online course and an “H” suffix indicates a hybrid course. A “(W)” in the prerequisites column means either the in-person or online version of that course satisfies the prerequisite.

Please Note: The course plan below is designed for students following the full-time, two-year curriculum. Part-time students should schedule a meeting with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs to create an individualized course plan tailored to their needs and anticipated graduation timeline.

Elective Course Information

Elective course offerings vary by semester. A list of available electives for each upcoming term will be distributed by the Office of Academic Affairs along with enrollment and registration information.

Students may also use required courses from another concentration to satisfy elective credit requirements, provided there is no scheduling conflict with the required courses in their own concentration. Students considering this option are encouraged to consult with Academic Affairs to ensure their course selections align with degree requirements.

To remain enrolled in good standing in the school, a student must make satisfactory progress in the prescribed course of study and maintain at least a 2.5 GPA.

Full course descriptions are available in the O’Donnell School of Public Health catalog.

Practicum Requirement / Applied Practice Experience (APE)

All M.P.H. students complete three credit hours of a community service-learning experience toward their degree.

Students work with their advisors to connect with UT Southwestern mentors and community partners for experiences focused on community engagement and practice.

Integrative Learning Experience (ILE)

The ILE represents the culmination of the M.P.H. program in which students demonstrate mastery of the concepts taught throughout the entire program.

Students work with their advisors to choose foundational and concentration-specific aims that align with their professional and educational goals.

The ILE can take many forms, including:

  • Practice-based project
  • Essay-based comprehensive exam
  • Capstone course
  • Integrative seminar

All students produce a scholarly paper as part of the ILE requirement.

FAQs

  • Can I work full-time while in the program?

    Many students with flexible work schedules have successfully balanced their coursework with full-time jobs. However, the curriculum is rigorous and demands a significant amount of time. Some students with full-time jobs elect to follow the 3-year pathway for the MPH degree instead of the 2-year pathway.

  • Can I pursue the program online or in a hybrid format?

    The program is primarily delivered in person in Dallas, TX, on the student’s selected concentration. For example, the Generalist Public Health concentration can be completed almost entirely online, while the required courses for the Health Data Science concentration offer limited options for virtual participation.  

  • What financial aid or scholarships are available?

    Scholarships are available for full time students, and there is no separate application required for scholarships. Admitted applicants will receive notice of any scholarship awards shortly after their notification of acceptance to OSPH. There are currently 2 full scholarships and multiple partial scholarships available for MPH students in the program. Last year, 93% of full-time MPH students received scholarship assistance from the OSPH.

  • What is the typical class size and student-to-faculty ratio?

    The student-to-faculty ratio is less than 2-to-1. Most courses have about 10-15 students per course, while the largest course, “Seminar of Public Health Topics,” has about 50 students.

  • What is the profile of a successful applicant?

    The OSPH takes a holistic approach to reviewing each applicant, considering their unique potential to contribute to the field of public health. While the OSPH does not look for one “ideal” profile, all students are expected to be prepared for the rigor of a high-quality graduate-level program.

  • On average, how much will enrolling cost me?

    A total estimated cost of tuition, fees, housing, meals, transportation, and personal expenses may be found here.

  • What is your acceptance rate?

    The acceptance rate for the class enrolling in 2024-2025 was 46%

  • Are there any course prerequisites required for admission?

    While there are no formal course prerequisites for admission, the OSPH curriculum includes elements of statistics, R programming, qualitative and quantitative skills. We encourage students who may not have a background in these areas to familiarize themselves with these topics prior to beginning their studies at OSPH. This will help ensure a smooth and successful educational journey!

    Life at UTSW

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    Student Life
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    Apply or Get More Information

    Learn more about how to apply for an M.P.H. at UT Southwestern. 

     
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