Admissions Requirements

Approximately 30 new students are expected to enter the MPH program each fall semester. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis; therefore students are strongly encouraged to submit their applications early. We will attempt to make admissions decisions within a month of when you submit your application.

For best consideration for a graduate assistantship, please apply by Feb 1. For best consideration for our MPH program, please apply by March 1. A completed application must include all of the documents listed below and you must have have paid your application fee. The absence if any of these items means that your application is incomplete and unable to be reviewed.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The Department Admissions Committee does not have established GPA minimum levels, but comprehensively considers all materials to estimate the likelihood of the applicant successfully completing graduate studies in the MPH program. Generally these students are strong in one or more other areas:

• high undergraduate GPA
• relevant work or volunteer experience
• particularly strong letters of recommendation.

Our MPH students have undergraduate degrees with a variety of majors including: psychology, biology, nursing, business, physical education, nutrition, exercise science and sociology.

Applicants with a first language other than English must also submit scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) above 550 (213 on the computer-based test) as specified by the UNCG Graduate School Bulletin. As an alternative, students may submit scores from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) if the TOEFL test is not available.

Applications are reviewed holistically and students with deficiencies in one area can be admitted with extremely strong ratings in other areas.

• Graduate School Application. (International Application available on UNCG Graduate School Website)
• Undergraduate transcripts
• Graduate transcripts (if applicable)
• TOEFL/IELTS scores (if appropriate)
• Resume
• A one-page statement of professional goals as related to the MPH Program in Community Health Education. Please provide us with a one-page (single-spaced, one-inch margins, 12pt font) statement of interest in this program and how it will help advance your personal and career goals. In that statement of interest, please consider the following questions. Although you need not answer them point by point, you should be sure to cover these themes within your statement.
  • Explain how you became interested in pursuing a career in public health generally, and in community health education specifically. Consider including how volunteer, educational, work, and/or personal experiences have led to this decision.
  • What specific areas of public health and community health education are you interested in?
  • What is your vision for your future career in public health or community health education? (e.g., statements associated with your anticipated ideal situation, such as a program director at a community-based organization, or the lead health educator at a county health department)
  • Why UNCG? Explain why you are interested in the MPH program in Community Health Education at UNCG.
• Three letters of recommendation. Your reference providers are required to write a letter on your behalf in addition to filling out the required form. We also recommend that at least one of your letters of recommendation come from a professor/course instructor.