Interested students may apply to this combined bachelor’s + master’s degree program during their Junior year at DePaul. Students from any undergraduate major with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 can apply.
The advantage to this program is that students can take graduate level courses in their Senior year that also apply to their bachelor’s degree requirements. Once students earn their bachelor’s they will receive the alumni Double Demon Scholarship for the remainder of their graduate coursework. The combined bachelor’s + master’s degree program structure allows for a seamless transition into graduate school.
The MPH curriculum will be completed in its entirety and is unaltered by this program. A complete listing of MPH courses and their descriptions can be found in the DePaul University Catalog.
Once accepted, students are encouraged to work with their undergraduate academic advisor and a faculty advisor from the MPH program to plan course scheduling by term. In their Senior year students will take the following graduate courses
- Community Health Practice Concentration: MPH 501: Introduction to Public Health (Fall), MPH 511: Health Behavior Theory (Winter), and MPH 522: Program Design and Grant Writing (Spring)
- Social Epidemiology Concentration: MPH 501: Introduction to Public Health (Fall), MPH 511: Health Behavior Theory (Winter), and MPH 530: Social Epidemiology (Spring)
Students must still apply for undergraduate degree conferral in their Senior year. Before students can have graduate standing, they must receive their bachelor’s degree.
If the student is admitted and has completed some MPH coursework, but decides not to enter the MPH program, the completed MPH courses will still count toward the undergraduate degree requirements.
Students must earn at least a B- in their MPH courses for those to count toward the MPH degree requirements.
Admission Requirements
Students earning a bachelor’s degree from DePaul University must apply during their Junior year (>= 88 credit hours) and have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.50.
The application deadline is April 1 of the year prior to undergraduate degree conferral.
Students applying to this program are required to submit the following:
- A completed Graduate Combined Degree Online Application that includes responses to the following questions:
- Your previous applied public health experience (250 words)
- Your reasons for seeking an MPH degree in community health practice or social epidemiology (250 words)
- Your reasons for seeking an MPH degree from DePaul University (150 words)
- Where you see yourself professionally in five years and a description of the type of work you will be doing (250 words)
- What is unique about you that the admission committee should know (150 words)
- Current résumé or curriculum vitae
- Applicants may be asked to provide additional materials or to interview should the admissions committee require it.