Top-Ranked Public Health Training at UCLA
University of California Los Angeles appears in our ranking of the 10 Best MPH Degrees in the West.
Founded in 1961, the Jonathan & Karin Fielding School of Public Health led by Dr. Ron Brookmeyer starts a 62-unit, on-campus Master of Public Health each Fall for Biostatistics, Community Health Sciences, Environmental Health, Epidemiology, and Health Policy tracks with 400 internship hours. Chaired by Dr. Sudipto Banerjee, the M.S. in Biostatistics builds a 58-unit, CEPH-accredited curriculum of intensive 500-level courses like Survival Analysis with hands-on Biobehavioral Assessment Research Center practice. The M.S. in Epidemiology develops a 56-unit, thesis-optional degree where University of California Los Angeles grads can enter the Fogarty HIV/AIDS Training Program, engage in the Bixby Center on Reproductive Health, travel abroad from Kenya to Kazakhstan, and join PHSA.
At the Center for Health Services, the University of California Los Angeles offers a 74-unit, CAHME-accredited M.S. in Health Policy & Management headed by Dr. Jack Needleman with six full-time quarters of courses from Research Design to Organizational Financing for 100 percent job placement. Directed by Dr. Michael Jerrett, the Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences is a five-year, NIEHS-funded program with a Molecular Toxicology option that involves Global Health Fellows projects, dissertation research in the Center for Environmental Genomics, internships at Kaiser Permanente, and qualifying exams.
Other available offerings include the M.S. in Community Health Sciences, Executive MPH, Ph.D. in Biostatistics, Ph.D. in Epidemiology, Dual MPH/MPP in Public Policy, and Dual MPH/JD in Law.
About the University of California Los Angeles
The University of California Los Angeles originated on August 29, 1882, when the Legislature approved the opening of a California State Normal School extension for SoCal residents. In 1887, it was formally renamed the Los Angeles State Normal School. In Spring 1919, Governor William D. Stephens signed Assembly Bill 626 to make it the University of California’s Southern Branch. In 1923, the College of Letters & Science started admitting juniors and seniors. Two years later, the Bachelor of Arts was earned by 124 coeds. In 1926, it established a private medical center. One decade later, the University of California Los Angeles was born and authorized for associate to doctoral education. In 1956, the West’s first open-heart surgery was conducted at UCLA Health. In 1962, UCLA researchers discovered nerve transplantation methods. In 1998, UCLA professor Louis J. Ignarro won the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Endowed for $4.2 billion, the University of California Los Angeles now employs 7,388 faculty teaching 44,947 Bruins from 138 countries across 13 colleges online or at the 419-acre Westwood campus with 1,000+ clubs like the Epidemiology Student Association. In 2014, UCLA received the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award. In 2017, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center accepted the Vizient Rising Star Award. UCLA Health accepted the 2018 AHA Get With the Guidelines Heart Failure Gold Plus Award too. The U.S. News & World Report declared UC-Los Angeles the 19th best university, fifth best medical school, and 11th top public health college. On Niche, UCLA boasts America’s second best campus, fourth best student life, and 47th hardest admission. The Wall Street Journal named UCLA 17th globally. Forbes picked UCLA as the 28th best research institution and fourth top value.
University of California Los Angeles Accreditation Details
On June 18, 2010, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Senior College and University Commission notified the University of California, Los Angeles, that the Level VI accreditation status was successfully reaffirmed through 2020 under Chancellor Gene Block, PhD, who earned the National Institutes of Health’s Research Career Development Award. Located 361 miles up Interstate 5 in Alameda, this elite eight-territory Pacific Region accreditor is recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) to evaluate all of UCLA’s 337 degrees. Further, the Jonathan & Karin Fielding School was accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) through July 1, 2021. The M.S. in Health Policy & Management is also approved by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Management Education (CAHME).
University of California Los Angeles Application Requirements
Getting into the University of California Los Angeles is classified “very selective” by Peterson’s since only 15,970 of the 113,761 Fall 2017 applicants were okayed for 14 percent acceptance. Post-grad Bruins seeking the Master of Public Health must have culminated a regionally accredited, four-year bachelor’s degree. The M.S. in Biostatistics considers two years of college-level calculus prerequisite. The M.S. in Environmental Health Sciences strongly prefers STEM majors, such as biology, engineering, and chemistry, with one statistics course. M.S. in Health Policy & Management cohorts should have at least 24 months of clinical experience. The Executive MPH is reserved for individuals with three or more years of health care employment. Cumulative GPAs of 3.0 and better in the last 90 quarter units are mandated. Lower grades are only considered with strong GRE results. Admitted post-grads generally land in the 80th GRE percentile. Foreign students also need a minimum 560 TOEFL pBT or 7.0 IELTS mark.
The Jonathan & Karin Fielding School of Public Health has a priority deadline of December 1st. The MPH for Health Professionals has a February 1st priority and April 1st standard deadline. Prospective students are considered until July 29th for late admissions. The Public Health Scholars Training Program reviews candidates from November 1st to March 1st. Accordingly, complete the SOPHAS and UCLA Application online for $105 ($125 if international). Forward official bachelor’s/master’s transcripts to 650 Charles E. Young Drive South in Los Angeles, CA 90095. Send testing results with GRE code 4225 or TOEFL code 5688. Attach supplemental materials like the statement of purpose, three recommendation letters, writing sample, resume or CV, and foreign visa. Contact (310) 825-6381 or garciana@ph.ucla.edu with questions.
Tuition and Financial Aid
For 2019-20, the University of California Los Angeles is charging full-time MPH tuition of $3,814 each quarter. Non-resident supplemental tuition is $4,082 by quarter. Post-grads pay the $376 services fee, $22 union fee, $38 Ackerman/Kerckhoff seismic fee, and $12 student association fee. The Professional Degree Supplemental Tuition (PDST) adds $2,552 each quarter. Unless waived, health insurance is $1,439 extra. Quarter MPH totals are $8,238 in-state and $12,472 out-of-state. Academic M.S. or Ph.D. options nix the PDST add-on for $5,838 to $10,872 each quarter. Note living at the Westwood campus’ housing like Weyburn Terrace Apartments costs $15,816 for room and board. UCLA also budgets $1,450 for books and $4,128 for indirect expenses annually.
According to the NCES College Navigator, the Financial Aid Office in Murphy Hall Room 1125 connects 60 percent of full-time UCLA Bruins to tuition assistance averaging $18,913 each for $349.6 million combined. Graduate funds include the Rose & Sam Gilbert Fellowship, Gordon Hein Memorial Scholarship, Kasper & Siroon Hovannisian Fellowship, Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship, Presidential Fellowship for Undocumented Students, Paulson Scholarship, Will Rogers Memorial Fellowship, Charles Scott Fellowship, UC-HBCU Initiative Fellowship, Malcolm Stacey Memorial Scholarship, and Werner Scott Fellowship. The Fielding Fellowship gifts up to $40,000 annually to five MPH or M.S. majors based on academic merit. The $15,000 Anne Sullivan Reher Livio Award selects public health students committed to serving the homeless population. Federal resources like the Direct Unsubsidized and Grad Plus loans require FAFSA applications coded 001315. The California Association of Healthcare Leaders also has a $1,000 scholarship available from April 1st to June 1st.
Find out more about the University of California Los Angeles at the Jonathan & Karin Fielding School of Public Health website.