What is a master of public health degree?

By: Jhoni Jackson, Edited by: Gabriela Pérez Jordán

Published: January 15, 2025

A master of public health (MPH) degree could help you land a career that creates positive changes in community health. This broad field includes research, data analysis, and policy management.

Read on to learn more about the expertise you can gain by earning your MPH degree.

What is an MPH degree?

MPH degree programs are founded on the five core disciplines of public health: epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health sciences, health policy management, and social and behavioral sciences.

Graduates leave MPH programs prepared for high-level roles in fields such as community health, public health data science, nutrition and dietetics, and healthcare administration. As diseases emerge, governments and healthcare organizations need MPH graduates to collect and understand data and respond to emergencies.

Explore MPH specializations

There are many public health specializations to choose from. Below, you'll find information on several popular areas of study.

• Epidemiology: Explore the science of public health research, including quantitative and qualitative research, analysis of community health status, public health surveillance systems, determinants of health-related events, and the application of epidemiologic principles.
• Global health: Understand national and global health ethics as well as social justice. Students learn qualitative and quantitative research methods, scientific writing, and program design and management.
• Health informatics: Leverage technology and data science to improve healthcare outcomes. Technical courses cover clinical research, statistics, natural language processing, deep learning, and biostatistics.
• Leadership in practice: Become a leader who can identify and address systemic inequities and challenges in local and global public health.
• Nutrition and dietetics: Examine human nutrition, food science, and the science and practice of public health. This track can prepare graduates to take the Commission of Dietetic Registration (CDR) exam to become registered dieticians.
• Women, youth, and child health: Study the specific needs of underserved populations. Courses cover policy advocacy, systemic disparities, health systems, and methodological and analytical skills, such as biostatistics and epidemiology.

Note that most MPH programs also require practicum hours in addition to coursework. Many programs also require students to complete a capstone or thesis project.

What's the difference between an MPH, MS, and an MHA?

The content of the master of public health (MPH), master of science in public health (MSPH), and master of healthcare administration (MHA) programs overlap greatly. However, several critical differences exist among the advanced-level courses required to earn these degrees.

Learn more about coursework and career outcomes for each below.

• MPH: An MPH program can provide students with a well-rounded public health education that includes biostatistics, environmental health science, social and behavioral sciences, epidemiology, and health and policy management. Students can also choose a concentration, such as global health or public health data science.

• MSPH: MSPH programs focus heavily on research, such as biostatistics, epidemiology, and health informatics. Many graduates pursue research careers in academia, public advocacy organizations, and government healthcare agencies, while others continue studying to earn doctoral or medical degrees.

• MHA: MHA programs approach healthcare from a business perspective, with coursework that covers healthcare management, policy, law, and finance. Graduates often become consultants, managers, and executives in hospitals, biopharmaceutical companies, government agencies, and residential care facilities.

Should I get an online MPH degree?

An online MPH degree can prepare you for a variety of careers in public health. Depending on your area of concentration, you could graduate with the credentials to apply for leadership roles in fields like epidemiology, healthcare administration, nutrition, and health education.

Through an online MPH degree, you can:

• Study on your terms: Completing your MPH online means you won't have to relocate to take classes. Additionally, many virtual courses are available to complete anytime, so you may be able to set your own schedule.

• Gain real-life experience: Most programs require practicum hours, which you can include on your résumé upon completion.
• Train for fast-growing careers: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job growth for careers that public health graduates tend to pursue is significantly higher than average, including for data scientists (36%), epidemiologists (19%), and community health workers (13%).
• Become a public health leader: Graduates work to improve healthcare through advocacy, education, research, and program and policy design and implementation.