Public Health Programs Offered at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities appears in our ranking of the Top 10 MPH in Health Policy and Management Degrees Online.
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities offers a number of public health programs that include 4 + 1 options. To earn a bachelor’s degree and a graduate degree, it usually takes six full years or longer. Students can now earn both their degrees in only five years. They usually take some graduate courses while in the bachelor’s program. The university offers a 4 + 1 program in environmental health that allows students to focus on environmental health risks and factors within the public health field.
Most of the programs offered by the university through its School of Public Health are only open to graduate students. This school has a Master of Public Health (MPH) with several concentrations, including community health promotion and biostatistics. Other concentrations include public health nutrition, public health administration and policy, and epidemiology. The maternal and child health program offers a standard track for all types of students and an executive track for students with professional health care experience. Executives can also enroll in a public health administration and policy program.
Some similar programs award students a Master of Science in a field such as environmental health, biostatistics, clinical research or public health services research, administration, and policy. These programs look at the same fields that the MPH program does but lets students focus closely on a related topic. The research, administration and policy program looks at the administration and management of health care organizations, while the environmental health program looks at how the environment can impact an individual’s health or the health of a group. The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities also offers dual degree programs in public health and law, nursing, medicine, business, dentistry, pharmacy, public policy, social work, veterinary medicine or urban and regional planning.
The school also offers Executive (Working Professionals) & Distance Degrees for students who are only able to commit to online learning.
About the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is the main school in the University of Minnesota system and the first one established. Founded in 1851, it has two campuses in the Twin Cities area: one in St. Paul and the other in Minneapolis. Those campuses are so close that many students take classes on both as they work on their degrees. As a Public Ivy university, it offers opportunities and programs for students that are usually only available at Ivy League schools. Some of the names that the university uses include UMN, Minnesota and the U.
UMN has a strong reputation for its research programs and for the funding it receives every year, which provides faculty members and students with money for their projects. U.S. News and World Report ranks UMN as the 76th best university in the United States but also ranked it as high as 41 on a list of the best schools in the world. Both the UMN graduate school and undergraduate class rank among the nation’s best. With an enrollment of more than 51,000 students, Minnesota is also one of the world’s largest schools.
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Accreditation Details
Both the MPH and administration programs offered by UMN have accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). This organization grants accreditation to programs that fully prepare students for the field. In addition to program accreditation, UMN also has institutional accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCACS).
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Application Requirements
UMN uses different factors when looking at the applications submitted by prospective undergrads. It wants to see good grades and test scores as well as interests outside of school. Incoming freshmen must complete the Minnesota core curriculum, which includes two years of a foreign language and four years of math and English. The university requires official test scores and transcripts. It will look at the student’s academic performance while in high school and during his or her senior year. Students can use the UMN online application to apply.
Graduate students applying to UMN must meet the School of Public Health requirements and the requirements of the university’s graduate school. They need to take courses on microbiology, physiology and health care. UMN will only accept applications submitted through the SOPHAS website, which allows students to apply to more than one public health program. Students applying to a certificate or undergraduate program can use the express application on that site. Grad students need to meet the minimum requirements, which include:
- A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited school
- A cumulative college GPA of 3.0 or higher
- Three letters of recommendation
- Official transcripts
They will also need to submit a resume and a statement of purpose. This statement will explain their reasons for studying public health at UMN and what the program will do for them. UMN also asks for a GRE score and recommends that students score at least 3.5 on the writing portion and 300 on the combined verbal and quantitative sections.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Students in the MPH program pay $980 per credit hour as long as they are a Minnesota resident. All nonresidents pay $1,287 per credit hour. Students pay between $41,600 and $61,800 to complete their degrees through the university. The MS programs ask residents to pay $1,422 per credit hour as a part-time student or $8,532 a semester as a full-time student. Nonresidents pay either $2,201 per credit hour as a part-time student or $13,200 a semester as a full-time student. Undergrads in a 4 + 1 public health program pay $14,760 a year as a Minnesota resident. Students from South Dakota, Wisconsin and Manitoba pay the same rate. All nonresident undergrads pay $30,438 a year.
To offset the cost of its programs, the School of Public Health offers many types of financial aid. Scholarships are among the most common type. The university offers scholarships for both graduate students and undergrads enrolling in any of its public health programs. Though some only go to military students, others provide funding to minority students and those who show more need on the FAFSA. Students can use the FAFSA as a way to get state and federal aid such as a Pell grant or a federal loan. The federal government gives subsidized loans to undergrads and unsubsidized loans to graduate students. All public health students enrolling in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities can get different types of financial aid.