Public Health Degrees Offered at University of Alabama at Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham appears in our ranking of the 10 Best MPH Degrees in the South
The School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a comprehensive program with degrees ranging from the bachelor’s to the doctoral level and more than 10 concentration options. Undergraduate students need 120 total credit hours to graduate and 45 hours in the major. These consist of nine public health core classes including Origins of Epidemics, Public Health Systems, and Biological Basis of Public Health. The remaining 18 hours are in one of three tracks, generalist, environmental health science, or global health studies. All students complete a capstone course featuring a service-learning experience and accompanying presentation. High-achieving students can take part in the Fast Track program which allows them to overlap their senior year with the first year of graduate school and complete both their bachelor’s and master of public health (MPH) degrees in five years.
At the master’s level, there are two programs, the MPH which focuses on practical applications of the field and the Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) which emphasizes research and academia. The MPH core consists of 20 credit hours featuring an introduction to each of the five areas of public health, biostatistics, environmental health, epidemiology, social and behavioral studies, and public policy, followed by the Integrative Experience class. The MS core varies in length depending on specialty but includes between three and seven statistics, data analytics, clinical study design, and research methods courses. The remainder of the classes for both degree types depends on individual choice of concentration. Specialty areas are divided between five departments, Biostatistics, Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology, Health Behavior, and Health Care Organization and Policy. UAB offers the MSPH in Outcomes Research entirely online along with seven MPH tracks including Health Behavior, Industrial Hygiene, and Maternal and Child Health Policy and Leadership.
There are also two different types of doctoral degrees available, the practical track leading to the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) and the research-based Ph.D. The three available concentrations at this level are Health Care Organization and Policy, Maternal and Child Health Policy, and Outcomes Research. In all programs across the board, UAB faculty encourage students to take part in volunteering and service-learning opportunities to better understand how the coursework directly applies to their communities. There is also an emphasis on analyzing new research and the importance of staying up-to-date with industry advancements.
About University of Alabama, Birmingham
Beginning in 1936 as an extension of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, the UAB facility slowly expanded over the next few decades, joining with the nearby medical school and adding facilities for an engineering department. In 1969, the university became one of three independent campuses that make up the University of Alabama System. Today, still located in downtown Birmingham, the school has a total enrollment of almost 20,000 students and employs more Alabamians statewide than any other organization. There are now over 120 areas of undergraduate study and 87 graduate degree programs in 12 different schools and colleges. UAB has the only accredited public health program in the state and receives over $14 million in government grants for research in this area. According to the U.S. News and World Report, the University of Alabama, Birmingham has the 19th best public health program in the United States, and Times Higher Education ranked it the 10th best young university in the world.
University of Alabama, Birmingham Accreditation Details
The University of Alabama, Birmingham has been regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) since 1897, and this status was last renewed in 2015. On a regular basis, the SACSCOC evaluates colleges and universities against quality standards in 14 categories including Transparency and Institutional Representation, Academic and Student Support Services, Educational Program Structure, and Content, and Administration and Organization. Institutions need to meet all standards to receive accreditation. This is an important benchmark because students must attend an accredited school in order to be eligible for federal financial aid as well as many private scholarships and grants. While the SACSCOC certifies the university as a whole, there are other associations that do the same for individual degrees or departments. At UAB, the public health programs are accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health, verifying that graduates are well prepared for professional life in the field.
University of Alabama, Birmingham Application Requirements
To apply for freshman admission, prospective students must submit the online application along with $30 fee, official transcripts, and ACT or SAT scores. While there are no published cutoff scores, the GPA average for the incoming 2018 class was 3.7 with ACT and SAT averages of 25 and 1210. Transfer applicants with at least 24 hours of transferable credit need a 2.0 GPA but do not need to submit ACT or SAT scores, and those with less than 24 hours must meet freshmen admission requirements. Graduate students must gain admission both to the UAB Graduate School and the School of Public Health. MPH and MS applicants need to submit official transcripts, a verbal GRE score of 147 with a quantitative score of 150, three letters of recommendation, a resume, and a statement of purpose. Doctoral program requirements are similar with a GRE score cutoff of 70%. Deadline for public health graduate school applications vary based on area of concentration.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Undergraduate tuition for on-campus public health programs is $421 per credit hour for Alabama residents with an out-of-state credit-hour cost of $971. Online undergraduate tuition is $505 per credit hour regardless of state of residency. Graduate campus-based students have tuition rates of $465 and $1061 for residents and non-residents, respectively, with the online programs costing $549 per credit hour. UAB offers four tiers of renewable scholarships to all students who meet ACT/SAT and GPA scores with awards up to full tuition and fees. There are also a variety of scholarships for graduate students, funded either through the university overall or the School of Public Health. Doctoral students can have a significant amount of their tuition waived by working in teaching and researching roles on campus. Advisers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham work with all students to help find appropriate funding solutions.