Public Health, M.P.H.
Graduate Degree
Program Overview

Marshall University’s M.P.H. program was established to meet the public health graduate education needs of the region, and in particular, to train students to address health disparities through education, research and outreach activities.

The mission of the Marshall University M.P.H. program is to prepare a competent public health workforce, promote scholarly activities, and reduce the burden of health disparities particularly in West Virginia and the Appalachian region. Through education, research, community engagement and health promotion, our M.P.H. program envisions an Appalachia, particularly the West Virginia population, without health disparities and with a well-trained public health workforce. Our small class sizes in the M.P.H. program facilitate individual attention and mentoring to foster a rich learning environment.

As an M.P.H. student, Marshall will enable you to:

  • Become prepared for the public health workforce and to address the burden of diseases and health disparities in West Virginia and the Appalachian region.
  • Engage communities in advancing public health through workforce development, service, health promotion and partnerships particularly in West Virginia and Appalachia.
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Program Highlights
Academic Tracks

Marshall University is a top-ranked public research university offering comprehensive Public Health training at the graduate level through the following programs:

  • Master of Public Health (M.P.H.)
  • Accelerated M.P.H.

Our M.P.H. program prepares students in the broad areas of public health and also gives students like you the opportunity to choose from concentrations in Global and Community Health, and Research, Evaluation and Policy.

Global and Community Health Concentration

This concentration provides training particularly suited to our regions in West Virginia, where urbanization is limited, median income and educational status are low, and care delivery challenges pose substantial obstacles to improving health status. The M.P.H. program and GCH concentration build on the university’s notable achievements in primary and rural care, focusing on the training of critically needed community health professionals who are skilled in risk assessment, education, intervention and program management in communities facing high disease burdens and limited resources.

Research, Evaluation and Policy Concentration

This concentration is designed to provide public health practitioners with advanced training in research methods, biostatistics, quantitative and qualitative analysis, program evaluation and health policy development.

Accelerated Program Options

Accelerated Graduate Degree (AGD) in Public Health

An Accelerated Graduate Degree with the B.S. in Health Sciences will allow Health Sciences students to take a full semester load of M.P.H. courses in their final year. Twelve credit hours of undergraduate electives taken in the senior year of the B.S. in Health Sciences will be replaced with 12 credits from the first year of the M.P.H. program. Specifically, the M.P.H. courses for the senior year of the B.S. will include:

Fall Semester of Senior Year of BS in Health Sciences
PH 601 Intro Public Health 1
PH 602 Public Health Biology 2
PH 611 Epidemiology 3
Spring Semester
PH 686 Health Information Technology 3
PH 693 Law and Ethics 3
Total Credit Hours 12

Further information may be found in the section on Accelerated Graduate Degree programs in “Academic Regulations and Requirements.”

Career Opportunities
Employment in healthcare occupations is projected to grow 18 percent through 2026, much faster than the average for all occupations, adding about 2.4 million new jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Healthcare occupations are projected to add more jobs than any other occupational groups. This projected growth is mainly due to an aging population, leading to greater demand for healthcare services. Overall employment of health educators and community health workers is projected to grow 16 percent through 2026, much faster than the average for all occupations, according to the BLS. Growth will be driven by efforts to improve health outcomes and to reduce healthcare costs by teaching people healthy behaviors and explaining how to use available healthcare services. The media pay in 2018 was $46,080 per year.
  • Infection Preventionist
  • Behavioral Public Health Inspector
  • Disease Ecologist
  • Hazardous Waste Inspector
  • Public Health Administrator
  • Tropical Disease Specialist
  • Assistant Professor
  • Research Analyst