Public Health, MPH
The Graduate Public Health program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, provides quality education and leadership to promote health in human populations through interdisciplinary instruction, research, and community service. The MPH program is recognized for its empowerment of students pursuing public health careers that focus on community health improvement.
Program overview
The Master of Public Health (MPH) at UT is a 42-credit-hour, non-thesis professional degree housed in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences. The program can be completed part-time, typically in two to three years, with many classes offered during late afternoons and evenings. It is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) — a distinction UT first earned in 1969, making it the first MPH program outside a school of public health to receive that recognition.
Why study Public Health?
Public health operates at the scale of populations, not just individuals. The field is interdisciplinary, drawing on epidemiology, policy, behavioral science, environmental health, and social justice. Pandemics, climate-driven disease, mental health crises, and widening health inequities demand people trained to respond at scale.
Where medicine treats the sick, public health prevents illness before it starts. Vaccines, clean water, seatbelt laws, and smoke-free spaces are interventions that have saved more lives than almost any clinical advance in history.
Studying public health equips you to think systemically: to ask why certain communities get sicker, die younger, or lack access to care, and to design solutions that address root causes rather than symptoms.
Concentrations
Community Health Education – in person and online
Community health educators use multidisciplinary theories along with behavioral and organizational change principles to plan, implement, and evaluate interventions that enable individuals, groups, and communities to achieve personal, environmental, and social health.
Epidemiology – in person and online, STEM Designated
Epidemiology is the core science of public health. It is the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related outcomes in specified populations, with application to the control of health problems.
Health Policy and Management – in person and online
Health administrators manage an array of human, capital, and material resources and provide leadership within a guiding framework of established organizational goals to achieve positive outcomes related to health.
Public Health Nutrition – in person and online
Public health nutrition is about getting things done, collaborating, and becoming a leader. This concentration prepares graduates to address nutrition-related determinants of health through evidence-based interventions and evaluations, policy advocacy and development, systems and environmental change, and community engagement.
Veterinary Public Health – in person and online
The MPH with a veterinary public health (VPH) concentration involves collaboration in public health professional preparation between the College of Veterinary Medicine and the MPH program in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences.
What can you do with an MPH in Public Health after graduation?
Global Health
Join organizations like WHO, UNICEF, or NGOs addressing infectious diseases, maternal health, nutrition, and health systems in low-resource settings.
Government & Policy
Work at the CDC, state health departments, or local agencies in epidemiology, emergency preparedness, or health policy. Shape the regulations and programs that affect millions.
Healthcare Systems
Move into hospital administration, health equity programs, or quality improvement — bridging clinical care and population-level thinking.
Community Health Settings
Work with local health departments, advocacy groups, and nonprofit organizations to make lasting changes within communities.
Research & Academia
Work at universities or research institutes, conducting studies on disease patterns, health behaviors, or intervention effectiveness. Many MPH grads go on to doctoral programs.
Featured Courses
Health Systems, Policy and Leadership
Exploration of public health and healthcare systems, health policy formulation, and associated implications for management and leadership.
Epidemiology
The distribution and determinants of health-related outcomes in specified populations with application to control of health problems.
Research Methods in Health
Research design, basic quantitative and qualitative research techniques, and ethical considerations. Development of research skills, data collection instruments, and problem identification for research topic.
Environmental Health
Study of the environmental factors (natural, anthropogenic or combination) on human health and the integrity of the ecosystem.
Applied Practice Experience (APEx)
MPH students complete an Applied Practice Experience (APEx), similar to an internship, to apply classroom learning, develop practical skills, and demonstrate public health competency attainment.
The APEx is a 240-hour (minimum) work experience enabling graduate students to develop and demonstrate public health competencies while contributing to projects that benefit the organization.
The APEx site is selected by students based on their career and educational goals. The Applied Practice Experience typically occurs during the last semester in order to serve as a springboard for the MPH graduates’ next steps. The university’s Center for Career Development & Academic Exploration provides extensive job search and career resources for students and alumni.
The APEx contributes an important professional preparation dimension to the MPH program. MPH candidates have the opportunity to actively integrate theory and concepts with practical experience in a variety of locations and settings. Graduate students have competed successfully for placements in highly visible settings, including federal agencies. The involvement of practicing health professionals in the education of MPH students is a recognized strength of the MPH program. See examples of APEx in Action.
Faculty are dedicated to public health outreach and strongly believe in the value of experiential-based graduate education. Through the individualized APEx, students benefit by developing their skills and competencies outside the classroom setting; and the precepting agencies receive the benefits of the interns’ enthusiasm, knowledge, and expanding skills.
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