Guides to public health education
Choosing a program
How to Choose an MPH Program
A practical framework for comparing Master of Public Health programs, covering accreditation, concentrations, practice experience, format, cost and outcomes, based on CEPH criteria and ASPPH tools, with questions to put to each school.
Updated November 1, 2026
Online MPH Practicums and Campus Requirements
Why an online MPH can still require a practicum, how a practicum differs from a campus visit, what CEPH criteria say about applied practice and distance education, and the questions to ask any online or hybrid program before enrolling.
Updated November 1, 2026
Public Health vs Healthcare Administration
How public health degrees such as the MPH differ from healthcare administration degrees such as the MHA, with ASPPH and Bureau of Labor Statistics descriptions, where the two overlap, and how to tell what a health policy and management track really teaches.
Updated November 1, 2026
What Can You Study in Public Health?
An overview of the areas of study, degree levels and core content of US public health education, based on ASPPH and CEPH descriptions, with notes on how program names and concentrations vary by school.
Updated November 1, 2026
Understanding Public Health Accreditation
What CEPH accreditation covers, how it differs from a university's institutional accreditation, why applicant status is not accreditation, and how to verify a school or program on CEPH's own lists before you apply.
Updated November 1, 2026
Degrees and awards
BA vs BS in Public Health
What the BA, BS and BSPH titles can and cannot tell you about an undergraduate public health major, using ASPPH and CEPH descriptions, and how to compare programs by curriculum, accreditation status and career and graduate-school fit.
Updated November 1, 2026
DrPH vs PhD in Public Health
A comparison of the Doctor of Public Health and the PhD in public health, using ASPPH and CEPH descriptions of purpose, applied practice and minimum coursework, plus the questions to ask any doctoral program about funding, length and outcomes.
Updated November 1, 2026
MPH vs MSPH
How the Master of Public Health differs from academic master's degrees such as the MS, MHS and MSPH, what ASPPH and CEPH say about each, and which questions to ask a program whose degree title does not make its purpose clear.
Updated November 1, 2026
Admissions
MPH Programs Without GRE Requirements
How to read GRE policies on MPH program pages, the difference between not required, optional, waiver available and not published, and a verification routine so you do not rely on an outdated or ambiguous statement.
Updated November 1, 2026
Applying Through SOPHAS
What SOPHAS, the centralized public health application service run through ASPPH, is, which parts of an application it handles, what still depends on each program, and how to organize deadlines, transcripts and test scores across several schools.
Updated November 1, 2026
Tuition and funding
Public Health Tuition and Funding
How to compare the real cost of a public health degree and sort funding into types, including scholarships, assistantships, employer support, loans and loan forgiveness, with a clear distinction between competitive and guaranteed funding.
Updated November 1, 2026
Careers and further study
Public Health Careers and Further Study
What Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows for several public health related occupations, how CHES and MCHES certification fits in, where CDC fellowships and doctoral study come in, and why a public health degree is not a clinical license.
Updated November 1, 2026