Graduate Field
Public Health and Planetary Health
Program Description
Cornell University offers a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree through the Graduate School.
Concentrations
- Emergency preparedness & management
- Environment, climate & health
- Food systems & health
- Infectious disease epidemiology
Academic Standards
M.P.H. program is made up of two types of courses: core and concentration. All students take core courses at the same time, in a prescribed sequence. All concentration cohorts take their concentration courses at the same time, in a prescribed sequence. All students must complete at least one applied practice experience. The entire program takes two academic years to complete (50 credits of in-person study). Alternative course of study pathways exist for students matriculated into the accelerated or part-time programs.
Core courses
Students must take at least 30 credits of required core courses, reflecting the program’s commitment to broad, generalizable professional public health training. A number of these courses are community engaged where students work on real-world projects with and for community and government partners.
Concentration courses
Students must take 12 credits of required concentration-specific courses, reflecting the program’s commitment to development of expertise in one focused area of public health. As a part of this, students complete one capstone course that focuses on integrative learning and competence application that results in a high-quality written document that is of benefit to the field of public health.
Applied Practice
Students must complete a series of co-curricular activities related to on or more applied practice experiences where students engage in extra-curricular project work under the supervision of a public health mentor, and develop products of benefit to the field of public health.
Electives
Elective courses offer students an opportunity to expand their public health knowledge, skills, and competence in complementary areas of public health.
Program Information
- Program Mode of Delivery: In Person
- Program Location: Ithaca, NY
- Minimum Credits for Degree: 50; 42 for accelerated
Program Requirements
Core Courses
Concentration Area Requirements
Must complete 1 Concentration Area
Emergency Preparedness & Management
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| VTPEH 6131 | Disaster Policy and Politics | 3 |
| VTPEH 6132 | Public Health Emergency Management | 3 |
| VTPEH 6133 | Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication | 3 |
| VTPEH 6134 | Vulnerability Analysis and Hazard Mitigation | 3 |
Environment, Climate & Health
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| VTPEH 6141 | Planetary Health | 3 |
| VTPEH 6142 | Health, Wellbeing, and The Environment | 3 |
| VTPEH 6143 | Health Impact Assessment | 3 |
| VTPEH 6144 | Leading Change for Health Equity, Sustainability, and Justice | 3 |
Food Systems and Health
Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| VTPEH 6111 | Infectious Disease and Health | 3 |
| VTPEH 6113 | Advanced Epidemiologic Methods | 3 |
| VTPEH 6115 | Pandemic Prevention Preparedness and Response | 3 |
| VTPEH 6116 | Infectious Disease Epidemiology Applications 1 | 3 |
Applied Practice & Integrative Learning
Must complete Applied Practice & Integrative Learning courses.
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| VTPEH 6192 | Public Health Leadership & Ethics | 1 |
| VTPEH 6194 | Applied Public Health Practice | 1 |
Graduate School Milestones
Students must:
- Achieve at least a C in each course. Failure to achieve a C will require repeating the course until a C is achieved.
- Be assessed as competent in each competency area. If competence is not achieved, student must work with M.P.H. faculty or designee to build and demonstrate competence anew. In some cases, achieving competence may require repeating the course.
- Complete one or more Applied Practice Experience under the supervision of a public health practitioner.
- Develop and submit a portfolio of work to document competence.
- Complete an integrative learning capstone resulting in a high-quality written document that has value to the field of public health.
If sufficient concern exists at the end of the first or second semester about student performance and/or competence mastery, students will meet with Program leadership about the appropriateness of continuing to the next phase of the program.
Other Requirements
To receive the Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree, candidates must successfully: complete all curricular requirements, achieve a grade of C or above in each course, demonstrate competence in all defined areas in their portfolio, pay all fees, and be recommended for graduation by the faculty of the program.
University Graduation Requirements
Requirements for All Students
In order to receive a Cornell degree, a student must satisfy academic and non-academic requirements.
Academic Requirements
A student’s college determines degree requirements such as residency, number of credits, distribution of credits, and grade averages. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of the specific major, degree, distribution, college, and graduation requirements for completing their chosen program of study. See the individual requirements listed by each college or school or contact the college registrar’s office for more information.
Non-academic Requirements
Conduct Matters. Students must satisfy any outstanding sanctions, penalties or remedies imposed or agreed to under the Student Code of Conduct (Code) or Policy 6.4. Where a formal complaint under the Code or Policy 6.4 is pending, the University will withhold awarding a degree otherwise earned until the adjudication process set forth in those procedures is complete, including the satisfaction of any sanctions, penalties or remedies imposed.
Financial Obligations. Outstanding financial obligations will not impact the awarding of a degree otherwise earned or a student’s ability to access their official transcript. However, the University may withhold issuing a diploma until any outstanding financial obligations owing to the University are satisfied.
Admissions
Application Requirements and Deadlines
Application Deadlines
Fall, May 17 (standard program); Summer, April 1 (accelerated program)
Requirements Summary
Application Requirements
- Official transcripts
- Resume
- Personal statement that includes what you have experienced in your education, work, or life that is pushing you toward public health
- Statement of intent that describes why you want to pursue your M.P.H. at Cornell and how our curriculum, faculty, and One Health approach will help you achieve your professional goals
- Three letters of reference
- Cornell Graduate School quick application
- English language proficiency requirement for all applicants
Additional International Student Requirements
Additional Accelerated Program Requirements
-
A documented advanced health-related degree (M.D., D.V.M., R.N., etc.) or substantial professional public health experience
Admissions Contact Information
Email: cornellmph@cornell.edu
Phone: 607-253-4390
Website: https://publichealth.cornell.edu
