Several accredited universities have created Master’s in Public Health degree programs in Florida to produce professionals who protect the well-being of its 20.612 million residents.
The United Health Foundation ranked Florida as the 24th healthiest state in 2016. Public health issues like low flu vaccination rates, limited home healthcare aid, and above-average binge drinking are still threatening. Environmental health is a particularly in-demand specialty since Florida’s 1,350 coastal miles are at risk of rising sea levels and red tide. The BLS shows that 512,580 Floridians work in healthcare professions for an annual mean wage of $74,820 overall. Top public health employers include Catholic Health Services, Broward Health Corporate, Florida Hospital Medical Group, and Magellan Health Services.
Check out the second half of MPH degrees in Florida (G-Z) for your professional training. (See also: Master’s in Public Health Degrees in Florida (A-F))
Nova Southeastern University
College of Osteopathic Medicine
Sitting atop a 314-acre campus in beautiful Fort Lauderdale near North Miami Beach, Nova Southeastern University is a private, nonprofit SACS-accredited institution with Carnegie’s Community Engagement classification that carries a $102.7 million endowment to serve 24,148 Sharks. Graded A- as America’s 91st “Most Diverse College” on Niche, NSU is ranked the 214th best national university and 287th top high school counselor pick by the U.S. News. The College of Osteopathic Medicine houses one of the Master’s in Public Health degree programs in Florida for applicants with a minimum 3.0 GPA.
Master of Public Health
Given seven-year CEPH approval in 2014, the Master of Public Health at Nova Southeastern begins with a face-to-face orientation before evening or online courses that nurture practitioners’ ability to address emerging diseases and environmental health concerns. The 42-credit generalist degree offers electives from school health to nutrition and all-hazards preparedness for $585 per credit. The curriculum integrates supervised field experience, a written comprehensive exam, and capstone project culminating in May. There’s also a 15-credit Graduate Certificate in Health Education available.
Accreditation
• Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)
Contact
3301 College Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314
(954) 262-1463
paulal@nova.edu
Rollins College
Hamilton Holt School
Opened as the Daytona Institute in 1880 by Lucy Cross, Rollins College is Florida’s oldest private, nonprofit liberal arts school endowed for $372.5 million to educate 3,207 Tars and employ 200 staff upon its 80-acre suburban campus along Lake Virginia in Winter Park. Called America’s 54th “Best Small College” on Niche, Rollins is ranked the second best Southern school, 23rd top value, and second most veteran-friendly university by the USNWR. The Hamilton Holt School offers an average class size of 17 for engaging, evening courses in 23 programs with 85 percent retention.
Master of Public Health
Presently costing $2,420 per four-credit course, Rollins’ Master of Public Health meets two evenings weekly to prepare working clinicians for broader responsibility in developing and implementing programs that positively impact community well-being. The 46-credit curriculum spans 24 to 36 months with CEPH-aligned courses like comparative health systems, disease prevention, and occupational health. The Center for Health Innovation helps students secure their 120-hour practicum placement and complete a master’s thesis or capstone project. Unlike some generalist Master’s in Public Health degree programs in Florida, there are global options from Sydney to Madrid.
Accreditation
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)
Contact
311 West Fairbanks Avenue
Winter Park, FL 32789
(407) 646-2232
jajohnson@rollins.edu
University of Florida
College of Public Health and Health Professions
Established under Governor Thomas Brown’s funding bill in 1853, the University of Florida is the senior land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant SUSF member that’s endowed for $1.46 billion and enrolling the United States’ eighth largest population at 54,854 Gators on 2,000 suburban acres in Gainesville. Applauded for America’s 11th “Best Student Life” on Niche, UF is ranked the 50th best national university and 14th top public college by the U.S. News. The CEPH-accredited College of Public Health and Health Professions also houses the nation’s 30th best graduate public health education.
Master of Public Health
Accepting applications until July 1st or November 1st yearly, UF’s Master of Public Health is one of the specialized Master’s in Public Health degree programs in Florida where students pick Biostatistics, Environmental Health, Epidemiology, Public Health Policy and Management, Public Health Practice, or Social and Behavioral Sciences tracks. The traditional, on-campus curriculum takes two years, but there’s also a 48-credit Online Option and 42-credit Accelerated Option for clinicians. Currently charging $550 per credit, the MPH requires 240+ internship hours for applied field projects.
Accreditation
• Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)
Contact
101 S. Newell Drive
P.O. Box 100185
Gainesville, FL 32611
(352) 273-6214
arch.mainous@phhp.ufl.edu
University of Miami
Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
Endowed for $844.6 million, the University of Miami is a private, nonsectarian RU/VH institution led by Chairman Richard D. Fain that’s enrolling 16,848 Hurricanes from nearly 150 countries upon its main 453-acre suburban campus in Coral Gables and its Medical Campus in Civic Center near Jackson Memorial Hospital. Lauded for America’s 44th “Best Professors” on Niche, Miami is ranked the 44th best national university and 27th best for vets school by the USNWR. The Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine was also placed as the nation’s 48th top medical research institute.
Master of Public Health
Miami’s Master of Public Health is a terminal, post-bachelor’s professional degree for graduates to acquire the competency to organize community health services for positive health outcomes in the Southeast and Latin America. The 45-credit major offers five focus areas: Biostatistics, Environment and Public Health, Epidemiology and Population Health Science, Health Services Policy and Research, or Prevention Science and Community Health. During the second year of the full-time program, students complete capstone field experience projects from Bangladesh to Nigeria and Argentina.
Accelerated MPH
The Miller School of Medicine lets healthcare practitioners, pre-med students, and licensed physicians enter the Accelerated MPH to complete the same, CEPH-accredited curriculum within just 12 months. Starting each June through May, the 45-credit degree involves on-campus intensives like medical biostatistics, health education, public health administration, and managerial epidemiology in a culturally diverse epicenter. Graduates with advanced degrees apply through SOPHAS without GRE or MCAT scores required. Clinicians could also add the Business Skills in Public Health or Global Health certificates.
M.S. in Public Health
An alternative to practice-oriented Master’s in Public Health degree programs in Florida is the M.S. in Public Health at Miami, which takes a research-intensive approach to instill the quantitative analysis skills graduates need for doctoral study and positions in academia. The 45-credit curriculum takes two years full-time with courses like clinical trials, statistical computing, and medical biostatistics. Post-grads work on thesis projects with 40 PhD-level faculty in state-of-the-art institutes, including Malaria and Dengue Control, HIV Prevention, and Cancer Epidemiology.
Juris Doctorate Joint Degree (JD/MPH)
The ABA-accredited School of Law helps public health graduates skip 18 credits by pursuing the 115-credit combined Juris Doctorate Joint Degree (JD/MPH) in three and a half years. The rigorous, on-campus option prepares public health attorneys for the Bar Exam with courses in health policy, elder law, therapeutic jurisprudence, health rights, international environmental law, and more. In addition to 150 public health practicum hours, students sharpen critical lawyering skills with clerkships at the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals, U.S. Claims Court, and others.
Master of Arts in International Administration Joint Degree (MAIA/MPH)
Another of the dual Master’s in Public Health degree programs in Florida is Miami’s 60-credit Master of Arts in International Administration Joint Degree (MAIA/MPH). This 2.5-year program offers two master’s for graduates seeking to globalize their public health practice with in-depth knowledge on world affairs, cultures, economic development, and health policies. Students complete a 200-hour internship component for their capstone with placements like the International Monetary Fund, Peace Corps, Unicef, and the WHO. There’s also a Master of Latin American Studies (MALAS) available.
Medical Doctorate Joint Degree (MD/MPH)
At the Palm Beach County campus, Miami’s Medical Doctorate Joint Degree (MD/MPH) stands out among the few U.S. programs fully integrating public health courses into medical school for completion in four years. The intensive, 211-credit curriculum fits MPH courses into evenings while students prepare the clinical skills proficiency for licensed physician practice. During the final two years, there are 80 weeks of clerkships in medical niches from surgery to primary care, obstetrics/gynecology, and psychiatry starting with Patient Safety Week.
4+1 BSPH/MPH Program
High-achieving undergrads holding a minimum cumulative “B” average could qualify for the 4+1 BSPH/MPH Program in their junior year to begin taking 600-level graduate courses as seniors. The five-year, 165-credit curriculum accelerates students’ pathway through health promotion, epidemiology, biological principles, medical biostatistics, community-based participatory research, and U.S. health systems. Majors can also join the Public Health Student Association, study abroad in Nepal, research in the Center of Excellence for Health Disparities, and intern at Coconut Grove Health Center.
Accreditation
• Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)
Contact
1120 NW 14th Street, Suite 912
P.O. Box 016069
Miami, FL 33136
(305) 243-6759
publichealth@med.miami.edu
University of North Florida
Brooks College of Health
Admitting 15,839 Ospreys with 50.8 percent acceptance, the University of North Florida is a public, co-educational SUSF member endowed for $94.88 million under President John Delaney for five colleges nestled upon 1,300 suburban acres on Jacksonville’s Southside just 10 miles from Ponte Vedra Beach. Crowned America’s 127th “Best College Campus” on Niche, UNF is ranked the 52nd best Southern university and 19th top public school by the U.S. News. The Brooks College of Health confers one of the Master’s in Public Health degree programs in Florida with funding like the Ackerman Community Health Scholarship.
Master of Public Health
Satisfying the NBPHE requirements to become Certified in Public Health, UNF’s Master of Public Health charges just $4,350 per semester for full-time, graduate students to credential themselves for planning, managing, and evaluating population health initiatives. Hybrid cohorts begin each Fall with evening courses once weekly and online assignments. The 45-credit curriculum builds on core disciplines with two concentrations: Epidemiology or Health Promotion and Health Education. The final two terms are devoted to internships at agencies like Duval County Health Department and Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
Accreditation
• Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)
Contact
1 UNF Drive
Building 39, Room 4033
Jacksonville, FL 32224
(904) 620-1831
MPHPD@unf.edu
University of South Florida
College of Public Health
Enrolling 48,793 Bulls with an annual budget of $1.5 billion, the University of South Florida is a public, space-grant RU/VH research institution chaired by John B. Ramil for 210+ academic programs on its sprawling 1,913-acre urban campus in Tampa and beyond. Graded A- as America’s 191st “Hardest College to Get Into” on Niche, USF is ranked the 159th best national university and 83rd top public school by the U.S. News. The College of Public Health was placed 16th nationally for one of the Master’s in Public Health degree programs in Florida.
Master of Public Health (M.P.H.)
Conducted on-campus or online, the Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) at South Florida is a 42-credit, professional degree that covers innovative approaches for improving population-based healthcare initiatives in multicultural populations. The CEPH-accredited curriculum is specialized with five main concentrations for Community and Family Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Environmental and Occupational Health, Global Health, or Health Policy and Management. Secondary concentrations like food safety and social marketing are also offered. Practicum is available at on-site institutes, such as The Chiles Center or The Harrell Center, and off-campus.
Accreditation
• Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)
Contact
3010 USF Banyon Circle
Tampa, FL 33612
(813) 974-3623
cjoudaan@health.usf.edu
University of West Florida
Usha Kundu, MD College of Health
Occupying a 1,600-acre, 35-building campus in Pensacola along Escambia Bay, the University of West Florida is a public, space-grant SUSF constituent and “Purple Heart University” founded in 1963 that’s now endowed for $55.9 million to educate 13,002 Argonauts. Declared America’s 99th “Most Conservative College” on Niche, UWF was ranked the 234rd best public university and 234rd top research institution by Forbes magazine. The Usha Kundu, MD College of Health accepts post-grads with a minimum GRE score of 150 (verbal) and 146 (quantitative) into another of the online Master’s in Public Health degree programs in Florida.
Master of Public Health
Adhering to Quality Matters and CEPH standards, UWF’s Master of Public Health is an online, competency-based graduate program that builds interdisciplinary knowledge for generalist practitioners to resolve medical concerns from the local to global levels. The 42-credit degree requires a minimum “B” average in courses like epidemiological study design, public health preparedness, social/behavioral health, and disease surveillance. Second-year students devote at least 180 clock hours to internships in their own communities before the proctored, 250-question final exam.
Accreditation
• Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)
Contact
Building 38, Room 135
11000 University Parkway
Pensacola, FL 32514
(850) 474-3191
publichealth@uwf.edu
Forbes ranked MPH programs as the United States’ sixth-best degree for jobs with employment rising quickly by 30.5 percent through 2020. Choosing a CEPH-accredited graduate school provides the greatest consumer protection that students will meet the field’s standards and have job marketability. Public health grads can excel as epidemiologists, biostatisticians, tropical disease specialists, healthcare policy advisors, industrial hygienists, nutritionists, federal environmentalists, NGO directors, and much more. Use our two lists of Master’s in Public Health degree programs in Florida as a guide to reaching your unique career goals.
