Masters in Public Health Requirements

Welcome to the next generation of public health leaders.

The Master of Public Health (MPH) programs represent a superior and diverse group of academic options for professional preparation. Offered through each of the School's six academic departments (Biostatistics, Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology, Health Policy and Management, Population and Family Health, and Sociomedical Sciences), students in all MPH programs are united by a group of required School-wide courses which achieve a common set of high-level core competencies.

Breaking New Ground

The innovative structure of the revamped MPH program enables engagement with world-class faculty and colleagues from across the globe. The Mailman School offers MPH programs for a wide range of applicants and in a number of different formats.

Program Schedule

A cross-cutting, innovative curriculum—and a cohort teaching model—underscores the full-time nature of the Columbia and Accelerated MPH programs. This vibrant, highly linked, evidence-based public health education focuses on core public health competencies, interdisciplinarity, building essential professional skills, and gaining leadership experience. Dynamic professional development activities, opportunities for synthesis, and active student engagement are threaded throughout.

Students spend full days Monday through Friday on campus engaging in coursework, seminars, collaborative free periods, and other activities. Classes run from early morning through early evening. Students will spend approximately six to seven hours on campus each day attending classes and engaging in required seminars, events, and programming. In addition, students meet regularly with small groups of peers to complete academic group projects. Note: HPM Global and HPM Accelerated students also have a Saturday class in the Fall semester.

During the first semester of the Columbia MPH and the Accelerated MPH, while engaging in the integrated core, students are strongly advised against extra-curricular work commitments. In second, third, and fourth semesters of the program, schedules are more flexible and students may engage in some part-time work.

In the second year, most students will maintain 12 credits or more of coursework per semester. If a student's program requirements are less than 12 credits in a given semester, students often supplement with school- or university-wide electives (the flat fee tuition model allows for this flexibility). 

Students in the Accelerated MPH program have a full-time, three-semester, flat fee model (Fall/Spring/Summer). Students in the Columbia MPH have a full-time, four-semester, flat fee model (Fall/Spring and then Fall/Spring), with the option of pursuing additional coursework in the summer at additional cost. 

Course Scheduling Preferences

By early August, students receive an email asking them to rank their interest in mostly morning classes versus mostly afternoon classes. Please note that while preferences will be considered in assigning class times, they cannot be guaranteed. All students should plan to be available for class at any time during the day for the fall semester, and heed the above information about the fall semester’s robust and busy schedule.

Tuition Model and Financial Aid

Columbia MPH students should consider their departmental curricular grids  for the Spring and Summer terms, as they are important components of the financial aid package for the Spring and Summer semesters. Consult program guides when selecting courses. Please contact Admissions and Financial Aid with any tuition or financial aid questions.