PUBLIC HEALTH, MSPH

School of Public Health

Dean: Paul C. Erwin, MD, DrPH
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs: Erika (Ela) Austin, PhD, MPH
Associate Dean for Public Health Practice: Lisa McCormick, DrPH

Associate Dean for Research: Paul Muntner, PhD

Assistant Dean for Accreditation: Kelley Swatzell, DrPH, MPH
?Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education: Amy Hutson Chatham, PhD, MSPH

Website: www.uab.edu/soph

Primary Email: soph@uab.edu

About the School of Public Health

Schools of public health were established to develop leaders and scientists who could bring academic rigor to the discipline of "assuring conditions in which people can be healthy." Once the major challenges related to sanitation and clean water, vaccine-preventable diseases, and other communicable diseases were identified, public health as an academic discipline began to examine the larger issues of where and how we live, work, and play, and the influence these have on whether families, communities, and populations can live healthy lives.

The great challenges before us now are understanding the root causes – known as social determinants of health – that shape our capacity as individuals, families, communities, and populations to become and remain healthy. We are just beginning to grasp how these determinants impact our environment, which in turn affects gene expression and individual susceptibilities to both communicable and non-communicable diseases.

Our School engages with local leaders in Birmingham to address homicide as a public health crisis, supports community efforts to address the decades-long environmental injustices related to environmental contamination in north Birmingham, works with communities in the Black Belt of rural Alabama to understand the disparities in the development of hypertension, and develops novel methods of stemming the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Opportunities abound for students to explore connections between public health and other academic disciplines across the UAB campus. We offer practical and meaningful internship experiences through partnerships with state and local governmental agencies, local businesses and industry, and a global network of governmental and non-governmental organizations. Students in the UAB School of Public Health have life-changing opportunities to BE SOMEBODY and MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Come join us!

Admission Requirements

Our graduate programs in Biostatistics, Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology, Health Behavior, and Health Care Organization & Policy offer students intellectual tools to address complex problems with a global perspective. Whether you are looking for a highly-rated program that provides the opportunity to work next to leading researchers or you are a graduate student looking for information related to your studies, we have everything you need. Click the applicable link below for information related to your particular need.

The UAB Graduate School’s standard fee is $50 for domestic applicants and $60 for international applicants.

The cost for a SOPHAS application is $140 for the first school or program to which you apply. Any additional schools or programs to which you choose to apply will cost $50 per designation, even if you submit those schools or programs later in the application cycle. Still have questions? Send an email to soph@uab.edu or contact us by phone at (205) 934-4993.

All students admitted through SOPHAS must also complete a supplemental application. See our website for further information on program availability, where to apply, and when to apply.

Accelerated Learning Opportunities

Public Health offers both Fast-Track and Accelerated Bachelor's/Masters (ABM) options for high-achieving undergraduate students.

The Fast Track Master of Public Health Program allows motivated undergraduate students to begin coursework for a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree while still completing their undergraduate degree requirements. We welcome students from?any major?to consider the Fast Track MPH program and will provide academic advising to assist students in planning their graduate coursework, which students can begin once they have completed 60 undergraduate credit hours (including 36 at UAB).

The Accelerated Bachelor's to Master of Public Health Program allows motivated undergraduate students to begin coursework for a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree while still completing their undergraduate degree requirements. We welcome students from any major to consider the ABM program and will provide academic advising to assist students in planning their graduate coursework, which students can begin once they have completed 60 undergraduate credit hours (including 36 at UAB). As a major benefit of this program, up to 12 hours of graduate credit can be counted toward (shared) with the undergraduate degree, saving students time and money.

Maintaining Status in ABM

To maintain status in ABM, the student must:

maintain a 3.25 GPA average in undergraduate courses
receive a B (or better) in the MPH courses taken while still an undergraduate student
maintain full-time student status at UAB

Early Acceptance

Early Acceptance Programs are designed for academically superior high-school students. They allow high-achieving students to be conditionally admitted into a graduate program at the same time they are admitted to an undergraduate program. Students who were admitted to the Early Acceptance Program may enroll in the MPH program when eligible provided they maintain a 3.5 UAB undergraduate GPA.