Preparing to Apply to a UM SPH Graduate Program

All UM SPH students and alumni share a passion for improving human well-being and have displayed an ability to achieve great things academically and professionally.

Applications to SPH programs are evaluated in five primary areas: Purpose, Academics, Practical Experience, Test Scores, and Recommendations. The weight given to each area depends upon the program being applied to and the year in which the application is made.

Statement of Purpose

This statement should be a concise, well-written essay about your educational background and reasons for pursuing a graduate degree in public health, specifically the area of study you wish to follow. You should give information about your background as it pertains to your academic and professional goals and the motivating influences that stimulated interest in your specific discipline. Also, discuss your career goals and objectives and indicate how an advanced degree will help to achieve your educational and career objectives.

NOTE: Applicants to the Health Management and Policy programs are required to complete the HMP Supplementary Questions instead of the Statement of Purpose.

Academics

While there are requirements particular to each SPH program, applicants in general should possess:

a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution, with substantial knowledge in a discipline relevant to public health (either through study or experience);
or a graduate degree from an accredited institution in a discipline relevant to public health; or a combination of these.

Programs in Environmental Health Sciences and Epidemiology require that applicants have a solid background in the natural sciences, particularly biology and including physiology and microbiology. Health Behavior and Health Education and Health Management and Policy programs prefer students with a solid background in the social sciences, including sociology, anthropology, political science, psychology, or economics; or a combination of both a natural sciences and social sciences background. Applicants to a Biostatistics program have specific mathematical prerequisites.

Practical Experience

Work or volunteer experience can also display an applicant's commitment to and aptitude for a career in public health. Prospective applicants looking for opportunities to gain experiences may be interested in the following websites:

Comnet (Database with jobs and volunteer opportunities in non-profits of SE Michigan)
National Institutes of Health
Center for Disease Control
U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services
Idealist (Worldwide database of job
and volunteer opportunities in
non-profits)

Test Scores

Scores on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) are required of most degree-program applicants. While some programs do not have a score cutoff, SPH students' scores typically fall in the top 50th percentile of test takers in both the verbal and quantitative sections.

Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate satisfactory proficiency in English language. More information.

Recommendations

We require 3 letters of recommendation from either academic (i.e. a professor) or professional (i.e. a supervisor) sources. We do not accept personal references.

Undergraduate students, graduate students, working professionals, and others considering applying to an SPH program are invited to

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students discussing posters
Current students at UM SPH discussing their summer field experience at the annual 3-department poster day.