Online Master's Degree in Public Health | University of West Florida

Program Details

Next Start Date: January 8

Credit Hours: 42

Course Length: 16 weeks

Estimated Program Length: 18-24 months

Accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health, University of West Florida’s online Public Health M.P.H. program provides students with a thorough curriculum that will help build success in the workforce.

Why Study Public Health at UWF?

The Master of Public Health from UWF is an affordable online program with competency-based, military-friendly curriculum that caters to world-class students from diverse backgrounds and career goals in population health. Graduates can enjoy lucrative careers in high demand. Working professionals can even balance their educational goals with work and family life through our asynchronous online coursework. You can also expect to work one-on-one with expert faculty by participating in their research and presenting findings at national conferences.

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M.P.H. Concentrations

The Department of Public Health offers three MPH concentrations: Generalist MPH; Health Promotion, Education and Behavior; and Global Health.

Generalist MPH

The Generalist MPH is intended for students and working professionals who desire a broad and general training in public health and population health science practice, including translational research. Our students include experienced clinicians from a broad range of health fields, including medicine, dentistry, nursing, social work, and other related fields. The program adheres to the Foundational Public Health competencies from the Council on Education for Public Health that integrate concepts for health equity, disease control, and prevention. We train students to assume leadership roles as members of multidisciplinary public health teams.

Health Promotion, Education and Behavior

Built on foundational public health competencies from the Council on Education for Public Health, the MPH in Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior concentration is geared towards students interested in health promotion and behavior change and includes certification through the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) exam. This concentration exposes students to current and emerging theories in social determinants of health and behavior working with diverse populations on a variety of health topics at all levels of the community including worksites, governmental, and non-organization agencies.

Global Health

The MPH in Global Health concentration is designed for public health students and professionals in low-to-middle income countries working in leadership positions, program implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and disease prevention and control. The proposed track is designed to respond to the unique workforce needs across different regions of the world. The program builds on the Core Public Health foundational from the Council on Education for Public Health that integrate concepts from epidemiology, social and behavioral sciences, health policy, environmental health, and biostatistics, and a suite of other required courses relevant to global health practice including program implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, leadership and communication.

What will you learn?

The UWF MPH is grounded in foundational core courses in environmental health, epidemiology, social and behavioral sciences, biostatistics and public health policy. These core courses provide you with concepts related to the history, structure, principles, theories and practice of public health. Graduates with an MPH degree are prepared to develop, implement and evaluate effective public health programs for disease prevention and wellness promotion within the communities they serve, with an understanding of their cultural, social, economic, ethical and legal impacts.

Students enrolled in the MPH program are required to complete a two-semester, 6 credit hour practicum in the field of public health under the guidance of a qualified mentor and MPH Faculty Internship Advisor. This practicum gives you the real-world experience you need to advance in your public health career. The MPH program accepts new admissions for Fall, Spring and Summer semesters.

By completing this degree, you will be able to:

Advance your career in public health
Understand and influence public health policy
Identify issues and problems in the public health of various communities
Gain hands-on experience in a public health internship or practicum

Courses

CEPH Accreditation

The MPH Program at UWF is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) until July 1, 2029. Read why CEPH accreditation matters here.

Courses & Requirements

The Master of Public Health requires a foundational core of 15 credit hours, including courses in social and behavioral sciences, epidemiology, environmental health and public health. Then, you will complete the required courses and electives in one of three concentrations: Generalist MPH, Global Health or Health Education, Promotion and Behavior. Complete your degree with an internship/practicum experience.

Foundational Core Courses (15 credit hours)

PHC 5410 - Social and Behavioral Sciences in Public Health
PHC 6000 - Epidemiology for Public Health Professionals
PHC 6300 - Environmental Health
PHC 5050 - Biostatistics for Public Health
PHC 6150 - Public Health Policy

General Practice Concentration Courses (15 credit hours)

PHC 5102 - Principles of Public Health
PHC 5123 - Biological Basis of Public Health
PHC 6251 - Disease Surveillance and Monitoring
PHC 6015 - Epidemiological Research Designs and Methods
PHC 6196 - Applied Data Analysis in Public Health

Electives (6 credit hours)
Choose 6 credit hours of coursework from the following in consultation with your academic advisor.

PHC 6005 - Urbanization and Population Health
PHC 6194 - GIS Applications in Public Health
PHC 5442 - Global Health
BSC 5459 - Bioinformatics and Data Science
HSC 6528 - Prevention of Infectious Diseases
HSC 5205 - Public Health Preparedness
BSC 5856 - Bioterrorism
MCB 5273 - Epidemiology of Infectious Disease

Choose one of the following:

PHC 6310 - Environmental Toxicology
PHC 5356 - Fundamentals of Industrial Hygiene
PHC 5351 - Occupational Safety and Health in the Health Care Environment
PHC 5355 - Fundamentals of Occupational Safety and Health

Global Health Concentration (21 credit hours)

PHC 5442 - Global Health
PHC 5102 - Principles of Public Health
PHC 6110 - Comparative Health Systems
PHC 6670 - Ethical Issues in Global Health
PHC 5108 - Monitoring and Evaluation in Global Health
PHC 6196 - Applied Data Analysis in Public Health
PHC 6676 - Public Health Response in Humanitarian Emergencies

Health Education, Promotion and Behavior Concentration Courses (18 credit hours)

PHC 5102 - Principles of Public Health
PHC 6015 - Epidemiological Research Designs and Methods
HSC 6037 - Philosophical Foundations of Health Education
HSC 6587 - Health Education Program Planning and Evaluation
HSC 6135 - Health Literacy and Cultural Competency
HSC 6667 - Social Marketing in Health Education

Electives (3 credit hours)
Choose 3 credit hours of coursework from the following in consultation with your academic advisor.

PHC 5123 - Biological Basis of Public Health
HSC 6226 - Current Issues in Worksite Wellness
HSC 6528 - Prevention of Infectious Diseases

Required MPH Practicum and Culminating Experience (6 credit hours):

PHC 6945 - Applied Public Health Practice
PHC 6946 - Public Health Integrative Learning Experience

To be considered for admission to the University of West Florida’s online Master of Public Health (MPH) program, applicants must hold an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution. Additional requirements include:

A minimum institutional undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the last 60 hours of coursework for the bachelor’s degree.
- Note: For applicants with an undergraduate GPA below the 3.0 minimum, the admissions committee may waive this requirement at their discretion.

How to Apply

To apply for admission, start by submitting a graduate application (including a $30 application fee) and securing acceptance to the University of West Florida. Be sure to review application deadlines. Additionally, you must:

Submit official transcripts confirming a bachelor’s degree from an institution whose accrediting agency is included on the list of UWF approved accrediting agencies
Submit at least one letter of recommendation
Submit a current resume or CV outlining public health experience
Submit a statement of purpose that conveys the applicant’s reasons for pursuing graduate study in public health and how admission into the program relates to the applicant’s professional aspirations. The statement of purpose must answer the following questions:
1. What personal and professional goals do you hope to meet through earning a master’s degree in public health, and why do you think the UWF MPH concentration you have chosen is a good fit for your goals?
2. What special knowledge, skills, and experiences would you bring to the chosen concentration, and how are these aligned with the mission of the Master of Public Health program as a whole? If you have had experiences that may have affected your academic performance, please provide an explanatory context.
3. Be careful to clearly articulate how your skillset and experiences align with the goals of the selected MPH concentration and show how these will impact your career trajectory in public health.
  Note: Your responses should be 1.5 to 2 double-spaced pages in Times New Roman, 12-point font, and use complete sentences.

Have questions about this program or the admissions process? Contact our graduate admissions team at gradadmissions@uwf.edu.

Full Course Descriptions Registration Requirements

Careers & Outcomes

Upon completion of our Master of Public Health, you can pursue a variety of careers within the field.

Job Titles

Epidemiologists
Health Educators and Community Health Workers
Emergency Management Directors
Public Health Specialists

Career Outlook

The median wage for epidemiologists is $78,520 per year
Employment of epidemiologists is projected to grow 27% from 2022 to 2032 (much faster than average)

Source: BLS, 2024

Tuition Rate Per Credit Hour

Public Health, M.P.H. Online Graduate Tuition
Component	Cost	Total*
In-state Tuition	$384.60 per credit hour	$16,153.20
Full Out-of-state Tuition	$1,044.24 per credit hour	$43,858.08
90% Out-of-state Tuition	$478.83 per credit hour	$20,110.86

Tuition waivers cover up to 90% of the non-resident portion of your tuition and are available to non-Florida residents (including international students) admitted to online campus programs and registered for online courses in active pursuit of that degree or certificate. You must pay all other assessed tuition and fees. The renewal of Online Campus Out-of-State Tuition Waivers is not automatic. Waiver requests must be submitted every semester and are not retroactive for previous semesters. Review Tuition Waiver Information to learn more.

Time to completion varies by student, depending on individual progress and credits transferred, if applicable. Fees are charged per semester unless otherwise noted.

Refer to UWF Cost of Attendance Estimates and Financial Literacy for more information on UWF costs and financial aid.

* Tuition and fees are subject to change.

Alabama, Military & Financial Aid

Alabama Differential Out-of-State Tuition

Residents of Alabama are eligible for Alabama Differential Tuition, a reduced out-of-state tuition rate. To verify residency status for tuition purposes, new undergraduate students should contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and new graduate students should contact the Graduate School. Current enrolled students should contact the Office of the Registrar. See more about Tuition Waivers.

Military & Veterans

The UWF Military & Veterans Resource Center (MVRC) serves as the campus advocate for military, dependents and veteran students. Contact the MVRC to learn more about the various military and veteran education assistance or tuition waiver opportunities and eligibility requirements.

UWF Financial Assistance

The University of West Florida offers various financial aid options for our online students, including loans, scholarships and grants for degree-seeking students. We provide eligible students with an alternative to paying the full amount of tuition at the beginning of each term in the form of an installment payment plan or a short-term loan. See more about Financial Aid and Education Funding Opportunities.