Master's Programs Prerequisites by Department

Graduate Admissions at a Glance

REVISEd STANDARDIZED TEST INFORMATION

Michigan Public Health does not require and does not review GRE or other standardized test scores for admission to any master's or doctoral programs. Applications will be reviewed holistically based on required application components. Please contact our admissions staff at sph-inquiries@umich.edu if you have questions.

BIOSTATISTICS

Biostatistics develops and applies statistical designs and analytics methods for biomedical research to turn data into knowledge. With the emergence of big data, biostatistics expertise is in even greater demand than before.

  • Advanced calculus or real analysis
  • Computing: e.g. R, Python, C++
  • 3 semesters of calculus
  • 1 semester of linear algebra
  • 1 semester of intro statistics
RECOMMENDED COURSES REQUIRED COURSES

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES

Environmental Health Sciences pursue prevention and protection in a world where more than 10,000 people die from environmental and occupational exposures each day. Our faculty and students do cutting-edge research to understand how the environment impacts human health and how to educate the public about best practices and policy improvements at local and global levels.

HELPFUL EXPERIENCES RECOMMENDED COURSES REQUIRED COURSES
  • Background in science, policy, health, or engineering
  • Professional experience in environmental healthor related field
  • Lab or research experience for applicants pursuing MS or PhD
  • Biology
  • General Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Calculus
  • General Physics
  • MPH Environmental Health Sciences (EHS) and Environment, Sustainability, and Health (ESH): Chemistry and biology
  • MPH Industrial Hygiene (IH): Biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, calculus, physics
  • MPH Environmental Health Promotion and Policy (EHPP): Biology
  • All MS and PhD Degrees: Biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, calculus, physics

EPIDEMIOLOGY

Epidemiology pursues the reduction of disease in human populations through research, education, and service. Epidemiology is a broad scientific discipline that examines the distribution of diseases across populations, ascertains the determinants of those diseases, and develops disease prevention strategies.

HELPFUL EXPERIENCES RECOMMENDED COURSES
  • Strong interest in health and quantitative science
  • Volunteer, internship, or other professional  experience in epidemiology, public health, health care, health advocacy
  • Research experience and applied data analysis 
  • Strong communication skills
  • International experience or demonstrated interest in global health (GHE track)
    Lab experience (HME track)
  • Recommended courses for MPH degree: Biology/Life Sciences, Calculus I or Advanced Algebra , Statistics
  • Recommended courses for Computational Epidemiology and Systems Modeling MS degree: Calculus, Linear Algebra, Statistics, and/or Programming

HEALTH BEHAVIOR AND HEALTH EDUCATION

The Department of Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan School of Public Health is committed to developing agents of transformative change. Through our competency-based curriculum, comprehensive research experiences, innovative partnerships, and hands-on field experiences, our students explore the factors that influence behavior and health.

In local and global communities, students work to turn theory and research into practice, applying their knowledge to develop evidence-based interventions, communicate and motivate people about health, and reshape policies that improve community health, prevent disease, achieve health equity, and empower populations.

EXPERIENCES RECOMMENDED COURSES

Communication/writing skills, volunteer, internship, or professional work, especially with a focus on promoting health equity

College Algebra or Statistics

HEALTH MANAGEMENT AND POLICY

Health Management and Policy pursues more cost-effective health delivery systems and better public policy to increase health access and equity. As populations expand and health systems become more complex, our top-ranked program will take you beyond business and analytical models to understand the human side of health care so you can create working environments and policy that serve the entire community.

EXPERIENCES RECOMMENDED COURSES
Leadership skills and Volunteer, internship, or professional work Public Health, Statistics, Microeconomics, and Financial accounting

NUTRITIONAL SCIENCES

Nutritional Sciences pursues new knowledge about diet and human nutrition to improve public health and advance our understanding of contemporary nutrition issues. There is growing national and global interest in nutritional sciences, with intensifying research and scholarship related to topics like obesity, chronic disease risks, food safety and security, global hunger and undernutrition, and the environmental and health impacts of agriculture.

EXPERIENCES REQUIRED COURSES
  • Relevant volunteer and/or professional experience in the field of nutrition preferred
  • Research experience for applicants pursuing MS or PhD
  • Prerequisites for all NS degrees: one semester (no lab) of inorganic or general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, and human physiology or anatomy and physiology (calculus or statistics is required for MS/PhD, but is not required for MPH).
  • Additional prerequisites for dietetics concentration: One semester of each: microbiology, english and psychology or sociology or anthropology

POPULATION AND HEALTH SCIENCES (FULLY ONLINE MPH)

Population and Health Sciences pursues solutions to complex public health issues through a community lens. Our scope is broad, including topics such as chronic and infectious diseases, obesity and food insecurity, health care quality and costs, climate change and environmental determinants of health, and socioeconomic inequalities and their impact on health.

EXPERIENCES RECOMMENDED COURSES
  • At least one year of professional experience in any field*
  • Volunteer or work experience (or clearly articulated interest) in a public health-related field
*The majority of our students have 3+ years of professional experience and continue to work full-time while enrolled 		 Biology, Chemistry, Algebra, and Statistics (or professional experience using similar quantitative skills.)