Online Master of Public Health (MPH)
Public Health
Program Overview
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s online Master of Public Health program prepares working adults to lead across public health in 42 credit hours. You’ll build skills in community health assessment, data analysis, program evaluation, and health systems leadership — then apply them through a faculty-guided, 240-hour Applied Practice Experience with a real organization. UT has held CEPH accreditation for nearly 60 years and was the first MPH program outside a school of public health to earn it. Five concentrations, including the distinctive Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health pathways, let you specialize where it counts. Graduates join a network of more than 1,200 alumni working across local, state, and federal public health.
Program Requirements
Every student starts with the same seven core courses, taken alongside peers from all five concentrations. This shared foundation builds both skills and relationships across the program. Then you specialize, choosing one concentration that shapes your remaining coursework and APEx project. You can see a more detailed breakdown of program requirements within your selected concentration.
Core Required Courses
- PUBH 509 – Graduate Seminar in Public Health
- PUBH 510 – Environmental Health
- PUBH 520 – Health Systems, Policy and Leadership
- PUBH 530 – Biostatistics
- PUBH 537 – Fundamentals of Program Evaluation
- PUBH 540 – Epidemiology
- PUBH 552 – Assessment and Planning
In your final semesters, you complete a 240-hour Applied Practice Experience – the program’s hands-on capstone. Working with a faculty member, you’ll identify an organization or project that matches your interests and career goals. You will complete a concentration-focused project (e.g., program development/assessment, research project, policy or administration initiative) that showcases the skills you have learned while supporting a real community organization.
The APEx replaces a thesis and is completed either in-person or remotely — most students complete it while continuing to work full-time.
Career Paths in Public Health
More than 1,200 MPH alumni are making an impact across public health. Depending on your concentration and career goals, graduates work in settings such as:
- Local and state health departments
- Federal health agencies and initiatives
- Hospitals and healthcare systems
- Nonprofits and community organizations
- Research institutions and universities
- Food safety, agriculture, and environmental agencies
Admission Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution or international equivalent
- Minimum 3.0 GPA
- Transcript copies – official transcripts required after admission
- CV or resume
- Short answer questions in Application Status Portal
- 3 professional or academic references
- English certification test scores (if applicable)
- $60 application fee
- No GRE required
Request Information
Program Concentrations
Community Health Education
Learn to use appropriate educational strategies and methods to assess the needs of populations and both develop and evaluate health interventions aimed at community health and prevention. Gain skills needed to write program grants and conduct research related to population needs and health outcomes.
Continue Reading
Epidemiology (STEM Designated)
Leverage data and conduct qualitative and quantitative population research to identify and describe health patterns, investigate outbreaks, and determine disease origin among diverse groups of individuals.
Continue Reading
Health Policy & Management
Develop comprehensive skills in team leadership, financial management, human resources management, communications, program planning and administration, and facilitating change.
Continue Reading
Nutrition
Learn to assess community nutrition needs, identify service gaps, and develop and implement strategies to improve community health. Work closely with community partners to reduce health disparities and promote optimal health for everyone.
Continue Reading
Veterinary Public Health
Explore the link between animal, human, and environmental health to expand upon the veterinary knowledge and skills you gained during your professional education.
Continue ReadingFeatured Courses
No matter your chosen concentration, all students must take foundational courses to establish a core skill set.
Exploration of public health and healthcare systems, health policy formulation, and associated implications for management and leadership.
Application of descriptive and inferential statistical methods to analyze and interpret data for health-related problems and programs. EOC Certified
Introductory course on the different types of program evaluation, including formative research, process evaluation, monitoring of outcomes, impact assessment, and cost analysis. It covers experimental, quasi-experimental, and non-experimental study designs and their strengths and limitations.
The distribution and determinants of health-related outcomes in specific populations with application to control of health problems. Issues addressed include historical origins of discipline, hypothesis formulation, research design, data and error sources, measures of frequency and association, etiologic reasoning, and disease screening. EOC Certified
Featured Faculty
