Master's of Public Health

New Student Admission Requirements

• Completed application for admission, 
• Hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a 3.00 or higher GPA (on a 4.00 scale), 
• Submit official transcripts from all institutions of higher education previously attended. Ferris graduates need not submit transcripts for coursework completed at Ferris.
• Submit a current, professional resume or curriculum vitae. 
• Submit a personal statement of interest in public health. 
• Request three (3) professional references from individuals familiar with academic or professional backgrounds and can provide an assessment of the applicant’s current work quality and ability to complete graduate education successfully. 
• Submit Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or Graduate Record Examinations (GRE, Code 1222) test scores taken within the last three (3) years. Waiver of test requirements will be considered if the applicant completed a bachelor’s degree with a GPA greater than 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale), has completed a previous master’s or terminal degree, or holds health-related certification(s) (submit a copy of certification).
• Have successful completion of a college-level mathematics course with a grade of C or higher, equivalent to MATH 115 or higher. 
• Have successful completion of a basic statistics course with a grade of C or higher; equivalent to COHP 350 or higher, including college-level social and natural science courses with a grade of C or higher in courses, such as biology, chemistry, physics, and social science elective courses. 
• International students whose first (native) language is not English need to have English proficiency test scores sent directly from the testing agency to demonstrate meeting the Ferris standards for English proficiency (e.g., TOEFL, IELTS, and Duolingo).

Application Deadline: July 15 for Fall semester, November 15 for Spring semester, and March 15 for Summer semester.

Provisional admission may be granted to students who do not meet admission requirements. If provisional admission is granted, complete nine (9) credit hours of graduate coursework with a 3.00 GPA (on a 4.00 scale) to satisfy admission requirements and clear any remaining deficiencies in their admission requirements.

These requirements also apply to Transfer Students.

Public Health Concepts

This course will provide the student with the opportunity to explore the organizational structure, history, law, ethics, essential services, global programs, and the future of public health. Students will engage in discussions, projects and presentations related to the learning outcomes.

Biostatistics in Public Health

This course will provide the graduate student with the opportunity to apply the principles of biostatistics in the context of multiple public health applications. Students will have the opportunity to use public health Information software statistical packages to achieve learning outcomes.

Health Behavior and Health Promotion

This course will provide the graduate student with the opportunity to explore the theories of health behavior and health education and promotion. The interventions and strategies to successfully promote health behaviors through communication and collaboration will be explored within a sociocultural, diversity, and regional perspective as they pertain to public health.

Health Communication and Mass Media

This course is designed for graduate students to gain knowledge and experience in the use of mass media in health communication. It will include two extremely important subjects for today’s for-profit and nonprofit organizations alike – risk communication and social marketing. Much of what you will learn is applicable to many fields (e.g., communicating in a crisis situation or changing consumer behavior). Traditional media and the evolving web-based and mobile media, as well as media ethics, will be explored through case studies and practical exercises.

Environmental Health Sciences

This course will provide the graduate student with the opportunity to examine the environmental concepts of air quality, water quality, food hygiene, sanitation, vector-borne diseases, solid waste management, hazardous materials management, hazard identification and response, occupational health and safety, and legal issues related to environmental and occupational health.

Cultural Diversity and Competency

This course is designed to provide the graduate student with the opportunity to explore the complex concepts of how cultural diversity can impact the delivery of public health services. Students will also have the opportunity to gain the skills necessary to provide culturally competent public health services that strive for access to all populations. Emerging public health issues, public health professional ethics, health informatics, communication, and their applications in practice settings will be discussed.

Epidemiology in Public Health

This course will provide the graduate student with the opportunity to apply epidemiological methods including study design, legal/ethical aspects, and public health information software programs. Applications of methods will include screening, disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, and community needs assessment. Student presentations will focus on special topics such as infectious disease and chronic conditions.

Chronic Disease Epidemiology

This course introduces the graduate student to the foundations of chronic disease epidemiology, including disease background and risk factor assessment for many of the most common chronic diseases in the United States and other developed countries. The focus of this course is to provide the student with the opportunity to apply epidemiological methods, including study design and ethical aspects, in the investigation of chronic diseases. Student projects will focus on specific chronic disease topics.

Health Services Admin and Management

This course will provide the graduate student with the opportunity to analyze the management principles of personnel administration, budgeting, financing, and continuous quality improvement as they pertain to public health. Planning and evaluation principles, grant writing, public health economics, public health policy, and data sources will also be examined for their application to the administrative roles in public health.