University of Illinois – Chicago Public Health Degrees
The University of Illinois – Chicago appears in our ranking of the 10 Best MPH Degrees in the Midwest.
Bachelor of Arts in Public Health
The Bachelor of Arts in Public Health offered at the University of Illinois at Chicago prepares students for careers in clinics, governmental agencies and the private sector. The program provides entry-level instruction in the area of public health and covers such areas as health systems, policies, epidemiology and other areas related to public health with a global focus. In addition to general university courses, the following may be required as part of the undergraduate degree in public health:
- Critical Thinking in Public Health I & II
- Ecologies of Health and Modern Life
- Health Equity and Health Disparities
- Health Literacy
- Health Systems, Health Policy
- Historical and Contemporary Public Health Challenges I & II
- Local Citizenship and Community Health Initiatives
- Public Health and Global Citizenship
- Using the Public Health Toolbox
Students must also complete 22 credit hours in electives, a project in public health and an internship.
Master of Science in Public Health
The Master of Science in Public Health prepares students for leadership roles in the area of public health. The program is between 48 and 52 credit hours. Students may concentrate their studies in the following areas:
- Cancer Epidemiology
- Epidemiology
- Industrial Hygiene
- Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology
- Occupational Safety
Courses that may be required for the program include:
- Biostatistical Consulting
- Biostatistical Investigations
- Biostatistics Methods I & II with labs
- Categorical Data Analysis
- Design of Clinical Trials
- Introduction to Probability
- Longitudinal Data Analysis
- Statistical Theory
- Survival Analysis
Students must also complete eight hours of electives as well as any additional courses required for their concentration.
Ph.D. in Public Health
The Ph.D. in Public Health prepares students for careers in academics or to conduct in-depth research in the field of public health. Students may choose to concentrate their studies in Cancer Epidemiology or Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology. The program provides an advanced understanding of public health. It focuses on the research aspect of keeping a community, region or nation healthy. Courses that may be required for the program include:
- Advanced Cancer Epidemiology
- Advanced Concepts in Community Health Sciences
- Advanced Statistical Inference
- Advanced Survival Analysis
- Advanced Quantitative Methods in Epidemiology
- Bayesian Methods
- Biostatistics I & II
- Biostatistics Research Seminar
- Cancer Epidemiology
- Computational Statistics
- Current Epidemiologic Literature
- Design of Clinical Trials
- Epidemiologic Computing
- Epidemiology of Chronic Disease
- Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases
- Epidemiology Research Seminar
- Foundations of Public Health Inquiry
- Generalized Linear Models
- Genetics in Epidemiology
- Intermediate Epidemiologic Methods
- Introduction to Epidemiology: Principles and Methods
- Large Sample Theory
- Linear Models
- Logistic Regression and Survival Analysis
- Missing Data
- Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology
- Risk Assessment in Environmental and Occupational Health
About University of Illinois – Chicago
The University of Illinois – Chicago began as several private health colleges in the late 19th century. These were the Chicago College of Pharmacy, which opened in 1859, the College of Physicians and Surgeons which opened in 1882 and the Columbian College of Dentistry which began in 1891.
The University of Illinois was charted as a land-grant institution in Urbana in 1867 and, in 1896, the three Chicago-based health colleges joined the University as the Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmacy. Expansion in medical education and research lead to the college being merged into the Chicago Professional Colleges of the University of Illinois. In 1961, they became the University of Illinois at the Medical Center.
At the end of World War II, a temporary two-year branch campus, known as the Chicago Undergraduate Division, opened on Navy Pier and was designed to accommodate veterans who were studying on the G.I. Bill. The school was not a junior college, instead allowing students to complete the first two years of study and then transfer to Urbana to complete their degree. Many of those who attended Chicago were the first in their family to attend college as well as working adults with families who commuted from home.
In 1961, Mayor Richard J. Daley offered the Harrison and Halsted site for a four-year university which became known as University of Illinois at Chicago Circle. In 1982, the Medical Center and Circle Campus consolidated to form the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Today, the University of Illinois at Chicago is an acclaimed research institution and is the largest in the Chicago area with more than 30,000 students enrolled. US News & World Report ranks the school in the top 200 national universities.
University of Illinois – Chicago Accreditation Details
The University of Illinois at Chicago is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Accreditation indicates that the University has the resources to meet its goals and objectives. As part of the accreditation process, the University undergoes periodic evaluation to confirm they continue to offer programs of the highest quality. Any areas identified as needing improvement during the review are addressed by the school as soon as possible. In addition, programs throughout the University are accredited by the following agencies:
- Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics
- Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education
- Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
- Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management
- Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
- Council on Education for Public Health
- Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET
University of Illinois – Chicago Application Requirements
In order to apply for the undergraduate degree in public health, students must have completed academic writing in order to apply. They must complete an application and provide official high school transcripts as well as official ACT and SAT scores.
Applicants to the Master of Science in Public Health or the Ph.D. in Public Health should hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in biological, physical or social sciences. Applicants who wish to concentrate their studies in Environmental and Occupational Health must have completed a full year of general chemistry, a semester of organic chemistry, two semesters of calculus and one in human psychology. Those who wish to concentrate their degree in Industrial Hygiene must have completed college-level math, biology, physics as well as general and organic chemistry. Those with relevant work experience may substitute that for some coursework on a case-by-case basis.
In addition to those prerequisites, applicants for both degree programs must have a GPA of at least 3.0 in all undergraduate work and must provide official GRE scores. Three letters of recommendation are required as well as a personal statement.
University of Illinois – Chicago Tuition and Financial Aid
Full-time undergraduate tuition for Public Health degrees is $16,870 per year for Illinois residents and $30,562 per year for non-residents. Graduate tuition is $5,380 per semester for residents and $11,950 for non-residents.
Financial aid is available and undergraduates receive almost $183 million in financial aid each year. Students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order to qualify. The FAFSA must be renewed on an annual basis. Financial aid packets may be in the form of grants, scholarships, work-study or loans.
Graduate students may be offered internal assistance, which includes assistantships, fellowships, scholarships, tuition waivers, and other awards. They may also be offered external funding offered by nonprofit organizations, corporations, and professional associations.
The University of Illinois at Chicago offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in public health that prepare graduates for leadership roles in the industry.