School of Public Health

At the Yale School of Public Health, we foster the supportive environment students need to succeed, the dedicated assistance to help students achieve their professional goals and a network of relationships to last a lifetime. YSPH values a strong sense of community with our optimal class size of just 220 students per year and low student to faculty ratio of 3:1. We allows students to have a complete Yale experience by providing access to courses, research centers and extracurricular activities across the university.

The MPH curriculum designed to give our students the breadth of skills and perspectives essential to careers in public health is comprised of: 20 course units (2 years), the MPH core curriculum, the Professional Skills Seminar and an Introduction to Ethics and Public Health, Departmental Courses, Electives, the Summer Internship, and a master’s thesis or capstone course.

Here at YSPH, we also believe that Global Health is Public Health. This means that it is not just one department of study but rather an important theme that is woven throughout the program. 

Public health research and practice is a critical part of the educational experience for Yale School of Public Health students, opening the door to a wide variety of public health careers. Our MPH students have practice and applied learning opportunities that include the intensive summer internship and practice-based courses. In addition, all students complete a capstone course or master’s thesis within their department. Outside of the classroom, many students delve into public health research through their work with faculty, the 24 research centers at YSPH and the vast array of programs throughout the Yale campus. 

At Yale, we strive to ensure the highest possible return on the investment our students make in us. With 95% of our students employed 6 months post-graduation in 50 states and 71 countries, the Yale MPH sets students up for future professional and academic success. Our 6,200+ alumni have benefited from individualized career guidance, a network of public health professionals, recruitment opportunities and an intensive professional skills development program. Post-graduation, students work in a variety of fields including research, non-profits, government and business. 

The Master of Science (M.S.) degree program in Public Health is designed with an emphasis on mastering skills in Biostatistics, Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases, or Health Informatics. The program focuses on the theory and application of statistical methodology in biomedical science, the foundations behind clinical research in epidemiology and the practice of informatics across clinical and public health domains. Unless stated otherwise, students can enroll full time or part time.

The doctoral program (PhD) provides scholars with the disciplinary background and skills to contribute to and develop our understanding of better ways to measure, maintain and improve the public’s health. Students master the research tools in their discipline and engage in a highly focused area of research while being exposed to a broad view of public health. They are encouraged to conduct interdisciplinary research either domestically or abroad. We have over 24 research centers in such fields as AIDS, climate change, aging, cancer, statistical genomics, global health and infectious disease. Students must attend classes on-site and be full-time students. Graduates go on to positions in academia, industry, pharmaceuticals and consulting as well as nonprofit organizations.