Graduate Certificate in Public Health

The Graduate Certificate in Public Health is designed for both working professionals who would like to expand their knowledge of public health, and graduate students currently enrolled in other academic programs. The Graduate Certificate in Public Health curriculum includes courses that address the public health core knowledge areas. The 18-credit certificate can be completed in one academic year. The Graduate Certificate in Public Health is taught fully online, with synchronous and asynchronous classes. Please see the Graduate Certificate in Public Health - v. Fall 2024 for more information.

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Admission Requirements

For Admission into the Public Health (PH) Certificate Program, applicants must satisfy the following criteria: 

1. The student must apply to and meet all criteria for admission to the Graduate School.
2. Have a cumulative undergraduate grade point of at least 3.0 in upper-division (3000-4000 level) courses. All applicants must submit official college transcripts to the ISU Graduate School.
3. Completion of college algebra, statistics, or an upper-division math course is highly recommended.
4. Submit one letter of recommendation from a non-relative individual familiar with applicant's academic or professional abilities (no personal references).
5. Answer four questions about why you want to attend ISU, pursue the Graduate Certificate in Public Health, your experience with rural or agricultural communities, and what you are looking for in a public health graduate program in a proctored environment.
6. International students who have not graduated from an accredited college or university in the United States, and whose native language is not English, must achieve satisfactory scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Satisfactory TOEFL requirements for classified admission are described in the Idaho State University Graduate Catalog under "Admission of International Students." In addition, international student applicants who have not graduated from an accredited college or university in the United States must take the GRE and are required to score in the 40th percentile on at least one area of the GRE, but no lower than the 20th percentile on the other sections.

General Requirements

Students pursuing the Graduate Certificate in Public Health must complete a minimum of 18 credits of coursework with a GPA of 3.0 or better.

The Graduate Certificate in Public Health is six classes from the MPH curriculum (18 credits of the required 42 credits for an MPH). As such, with another 24 (or 18 credits if you have other graduate-level courses that you can transfer in as electives) you could obtain an MPH. Students desiring to enroll in the MPH program while completing courses for the Graduate Certificate in Public Health must apply to the MPH program prior to completing all 18 credits of coursework, and prior to applying to graduate with the Graduate Certificate in Public Health. Admission or completion of the certificate does not guarantee admission into the MPH program. Students who complete and are awarded the Graduate Certificate in Public Health may transfer up to 12 credits from the certificate program into the MPH program (vs up to 18 credits if you are accepted into the MPH program prior to completing the Graduate Certificate in Public Health). Courses completed in the certificate program must have a grade of B- or above to transfer into the MPH program.