MPH

Program Contacts

Location

UT Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health - Austin Campus
1836 San Jacinto Blvd, Suite 510, Austin, TX 78701
Main Phone: (512) 482-6160

Overview

The MD/MPH program prepares the medical student for a career in academia and/or in specialized areas of medicine, including clinical research, by providing additional coursework that is not taught as part of a traditional Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) curriculum. The Master of Public Health (MPH) is a professional degree that is designed to prepare students for Graduate Medical Education (GME), including residency and fellowship and to foster skills related to research design and implementation. Some residency programs, including Preventive Medicine, require an MPH degree as part of their GME curriculum. The MD/MPH will enhance opportunities for GME, including residency and fellowship. Individuals with MD/MPH degrees are highly sought out for leadership roles within academic and research settings.

MD/MPH students have the unique opportunity to expand their peer groups to include traditional public health students seeking a master (MPH or MS) or doctoral (PhD or DrPH) degree within the core public health disciplines of Epidemiology and Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences. In addition to the MD/MPH, the Austin campus offers a 4+1 degree option and dual degree options with the LBJ School of Public Affairs and Steve Hicks School of Social Work.

Curriculum

The Public Health Core Courses are designed to meet the MPH Foundational Competencies set forth by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).

• PHM 1110L  Health Promotion & Behavioral Sciences in Public Health

• PHM 1690L Introduction to Biostatistics in Public Health

• PHM 2110L Public Health Ecology & the Human Environment

• PHM 2612L Epidemiology I

• PHM 3715L Management & Policy Concepts in Public Health

• PHM 5015 Introduction to Qualitative Research in Public Health

• Advanced Public Health Coursework (9 credit hours)*

• Integrative Learning Experience (3 credit hours)**

• PH 9997 Practicum (3 credit hours)

*Advanced Public Health Coursework: Customized MPH students are required to select advanced public health coursework from a list of preapproved courses; students are required to fulfill five unique competencies through their selected coursework as indicated on the list of Approved Advanced Public Health Coursework. Please see the table on page 2 of the degree planner here:

Practicum

• The practicum is an applied learning experience where you will design and implement a public health project in a real-world setting

  • Experiences can be pursued in-person or virtually, both domestically and internationally.

  • A practicum site must be in a non-academic setting unless the setting is externally facing or primarily focused on community engagement.

  • Practicum experiences may take place at a student’s current place of employment as long as the experience is outside the scope of their current position (e.g., working with a different department, office, or team).

  • Additional approvals are required for international practicum opportunities

  • Each practicum requires a preceptor (site supervisor) who oversees the experience at the host organization, and a UTHealth Houston School of Public Health faculty mentor to approve, oversee, and grade the practicum.

  • For more information, please see the detailed MPH Practicum guide here:

Integrative Learning Experience

• The ILE is where students integrate key public health competencies into a high-quality written work that aligns with their academic and professional aspirations.

• Students should partner with a faculty advisor, enroll in their section of the course, and use a permission number provided by the faculty for registration.

• Complete and submit the MPH Independent Integrative Learning Experience Approval Form with your faculty member to the Office of Academic Affairs and Student Services before the semester starts. This form details the competencies addressed, the type of written product, and your synthesis statement.

• Students planning to complete a departmental integrated learning experience must meet the prerequisites through the Advanced Public Health Coursework selected above. In addition, students must integrate two MPH Foundational Competencies and two MPH Public Health Competencies covered in your selected Advanced Public Health Coursework . Alternatively, students may complete an independent integrated learning experience with faculty. Students who elect this option must complete an Independent Integrated Learning Experience form with the faculty member prior to enrolling in the course.

• For more information, please see the detailed ILE guide here:

Degree Requirements

This program is only for third-year Dell Medical School students who are accepted into the MPH dual degree program. 

The School of Public Health MPH degree requires completion of 45 credit hours of coursework. Through the MD/MPH dual degree program agreement, UT DMS students may apply the equivalent of 12 credit hours of UTDMS coursework towards the MPH degree. This reduces the third-year course load to 33 credit hours. 

• 16 credits worth of required MPH Core courses

• 1 credit MPH Ethics course

Tuition and Fees

There are no additional tuition or fees associated with this dual degree. Students will continue paying their regular medical school tuition to UT DMS. DMS will transfer the tuition to the School of Public Health on behalf of the student. Students should not receive any invoices from the SPH directly. 

Application Instructions

1. Visit the Schools of Public Health Application Service to complete the online application (SOPHAS.org).  See SOPHAS Help Center.

2. You can find the MPH/MD application by selecting University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health and choosing MPH/MD Customized for the Austin Campus/ MD - Dell Medical School option. 

3. Regularly check the Status of Documents Received through SOPHAS. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

4. Once SOPHAS certifies your application as complete, the UTSPH Academic Affairs committee will review it in the order received. Notification of admittance will arrive by regular mail and e-mail.

5. After you are admitted, you will need to complete an information release form and submit it electronically to your DMS third-year coordinator. Since UT School of Public Health is technically an outside entity (UT System, but not part of UT Austin), we need an information release form signed by you in order to share information with them.

Transcripts

To order a Dell Med Transcript, please fill out this form. Be sure to give yourself time for the request to be processed and the transcript mailed and received by SOPHAS. This can take several weeks.

Admissions Letters

The UT School of Public Health requires that you submit a copy of the admissions letter you received when you were admitted to Dell Medical School. If you do not have a copy of this in your personal files, please email Dell Med Admissions.

Orientation

MD/MPH students spend one day doing orientation activities the week before classes start. When known, the date will be listed in the DMS MS3 calendar.

Registering for Classes

MD/MPH students will be able to register for classes in the School of Public Health registration system. 

Graduation

If you are in the Spring semester of your MD/MPH degree, you may receive an email from a listserv that thinks you will automatically graduate in the semester you finish your MPH coursework. This is logical for most, but not for DMS students.

One of the courses that is considered part of the shared MD/MPH coursework is offered during MS4, so DMS students wait to complete the MPH Intent to Graduate Form until the winter of their MS4 year. MD/MPH students graduate with both degrees in the same semester. Please make sure to keep the lines of email communication open with the School of Public Health, as they will send you graduation-relevant information.

Intent to Graduate forms will become available on December 1.  Students will need to make sure all holds are cleared.

Information about graduation, including how to apply can be found here: https://uthtmc.sharepoint.com/sites/SPH-mySPH/SitePages/Graduation-Requirements.aspx

MPH Transcripts

DMS students should go to this website to order MPH transcripts: https://www.uth.edu/registrar/current-students/student-information/transcript-requests.htm

If you encounter any issues ordering your MPH transcript, please contact Tosa Nixon (Tosa.Nixon@uth.tmc.edu).