Public Health (MPH)
Master's
PROGRAM SNAPSHOT
Solve public health challenges. Improve access to care. Make a healthier world possible.
Why Study Public Health at Winona State?
What makes a community healthy? It takes more than doctors and hospitals.
People also need safe places to live, access to healthy food, reliable health information, and support to prevent disease.
Public health professionals work behind the scenes and alongside communities to make these things possible.
With a Master of Public Health (MPH) from Winona State, you’ll learn how to solve health challenges, shape public health programs, and improve access to care.
You’ll explore how data, research, and public policy can help communities thrive—from your own neighborhood to communities around the world.
At Winona State, you’ll connect what you learn to real-world problems through applied projects and practical experience.
You’ll take fully online classes and gain 200 hours of supervised practicum experience.
You’ll also learn how to work with people from different backgrounds, advocate for communities that face barriers to care, and lead with fairness and respect.
Whether you want to prevent disease, improve healthcare systems, or influence public health policy, the MPH program will help you turn your passion for helping people into action.
This online master’s degree is available through Winona State’s Health, Exercise, & Rehabilitative Sciences (HERS) Department.
What Will You Learn as a Public Health Student?
As a Master of Public Health (MPH) student at Winona State, you’ll learn how to use research, data, and community partnerships to solve public health problems.
You’ll also:
Use epidemiology (the study of how diseases and health conditions affect populations) to understand health trends and develop evidence-based solutions.
Analyze numbers, research findings, and community feedback to understand health problems and recommend ways to address them.
Explore how public health policies and programs can better serve people who face barriers to health care and other resources.
Apply ethical decision-making, cultural humility, and human rights principles when working with individuals, organizations, and communities.
Strengthen your communication and teamwork skills as you collaborate with healthcare professionals, researchers, and community organizations.
Learn how to assess public health programs, measure results, and recommend improvements.
The MPH curriculum aligns with Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) standards by emphasizing global health perspectives, evidence-based practice, health equity, interdisciplinary collaboration, and competency-based skill development.
Program Highlights
Coursework is delivered entirely online, making this program great for anyone who wants to fit their education into their personal and professional lives.
With asynchronous classes, you can complete your assignments anytime, anywhere. This means you can take your career to the next level at your own pace.
You’ll complete 200 hours of supervised applied practice and put your skills to work in settings like health departments, hospitals, community health centers, non-profit organizations, and research institutions.
Master of Public Health (MPH) students will benefit from Winona State’s location near the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, plus the region’s wider network of healthcare, research, and public health organizations.
You can complete this practicum experience at any time during the MPH program, and you can do it fully online. Or you can do it in person—your choice!
Even better, the Health, Exercise, & Rehabilitative Sciences (HERS) Department secures and assigns your practicum experience, so you don’t have to find your own placement.
Throughout this program, you’ll complete a variety of projects to build an impressive portfolio for future employers.
Like determining county-wide cancer risk by analyzing nitrate levels in community water supplies. Or creating public health program plans for community partners and developing policy briefs to advocate for better health outcomes.
You’ll also practice writing systematic reviews and meta-analyses, grant writing, and writing research project proposals for university ethical review.
Your education should fit your goals. Master of Public Health (MPH) students can work through the program at their own pace.
Whether that means taking one class at a time or completing your degree in just 11 months, the online MPH offers you flexibility as you prepare for your next career step.
Undergraduate students may also pursue a 4+1 pathway, where they earn both a bachelor’s degree in Public Health and the MPH in only 5 years. This option saves you time and money.
Careers & Outcomes
Whether you’re interested in stopping disease outbreaks, making health care more effective, or improving health around the world, Winona State’s Master of Public Health (MPH) can help you turn big ideas into meaningful change.
Picture yourself as a public health professional, and learn about possible job titles, employers, and salaries with this degree:
Salaries
Program Admission
To be admitted into the Master of Public Health (MPH) program, you must meet the following admissions criteria.
Once you meet these requirements, then you can apply to the MPH through Winona State’s School of Graduate Studies.
Admissions Criteria
To apply for this program, you must:
- have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited higher learning institution.
- have a GPA of at least 3.0 from all previous institutions.
- include all application materials.
International students are not eligible to apply for this program.
Application Materials
Your program application should include the following items.
Provide a current resume.
Your resume should include an overview of your education, work history, leadership experience, scholarships, honors and awards, volunteer service activities, and other relevant information.
Upload 2 letters of recommendation from academic or public health professionals.
Your references should be from people who can comment competently on your background and suitability for public health graduate study.
Your personal statement should:
- introduce yourself to the selection committee.
- explain why you want to seek an advanced degree in Public Health at Winona State and why you believe you’d be a successful applicant.
- describe your post-graduation career goals and/or plans.
Your personal statement can be no more than 3 double-spaced pages using 12-point font.
Include unofficial transcripts from all previously attended colleges and universities.
If you have non-U.S. transcripts, you must submit an official course-by-course evaluation from ECE or WES. You can order these evaluations directly through the CAS application portal.
Once you’re admitted, you will need to submit all official transcripts later.
Application Process
Master of Public Health (MPH) applicants should complete the general GradCAS application.
To begin taking MPH classes during Fall 2027, submit your application before Aug. 16, 2027.
Learn more about how to apply to Winona State’s School of Graduate Studies.
