• Application Opens: Aug. 1, 2023
• Early Action Deadline: Nov. 1, 2023, with decisions by Dec. 15, 2023 (Applications submitted by the Early Action Deadline will receive priority consideration when scholarships are awarded.)
• Regular Decision Deadline 1: Feb. 1, 2024, with decisions by March 15, 2024
• Regular Decision Deadline 2: May 1, 2024, with decisions by June 15, 2024
• Application Closes: June 1, 2024 (Applications submitted after the Regular Decision Deadline 2 will be reviewed on a rolling basis if space is available in the program. Please contact the School of Public Health recruiter at publichealth@samford.edu if this applies to you.)
• Entry Month: August 2024

• Possess a master's degree from a college or university with institutional accreditation
• Applicants must have a Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA), Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH), Master of Social Work (MSW), Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), Master of Science in Nutrition (MS) or other relevant master's degree
• Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
• Applicants wishing to pursue the Population Health Analytics and Decision-Making concentration should have completed a statistics class with a grade of C or higher from a college or university that holds institutional accreditation
• Submit a GRE score taken within five years preceding the application. This requirement can be waived if the student has a minimum of five years of public health experience. Results from the GMAT, MCAT, DAT or PCAT are also accepted.
  (A link to the GRE Waiver Form is located on the Admission Requirements page of the application. To be considered for a GRE waiver, submit your resume and a paragraph on how your work experience relates to public health.)
• Submit three letters of reference through the application system – the three required references should be from 1) current or previous professor, 2) work supervisor and 3) professional colleague. Letters of recommendation must be on letterhead, signed by the letter writer, and include his/her contact phone number and email address.
• Submit a resume or curriculum vitae (CV)
• Submit a personal statement no more than two pages in length, single-spaced. Applicants should demonstrate a clear understanding of public health, based on experience and personal and professional interests. Applicants should also address their career goals.
• Complete all sections of the application
• Applicants may be required to interview (virtually) with the Admissions Committee
• International applicants or American citizens who learned English as a second language must score at least 550 (paper), 213 (computer) or 80 (internet) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or 6.5 International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Score. International applicants may be required to submit a WES/ECE transcript evaluation. The School of Public Health Admission Office will contact you at the time of application review if this is necessary. We cannot issue an I-20 for this program at this time.
• Exceptions to any of the admission requirements may be considered on an individual basis.
• Upon acceptance, a nonrefundable fee of $500 is required to secure admission into the program. This fee is applied to the first semester's tuition.
• Enrolled students are required to attend orientation (virtual option available) prior to the start of the program. Orientation is tentatively scheduled for Friday, Aug. 18, 2023.

Students and applicants with disabilities who seek accommodations must make a request by contacting Section 504/Disability Access and Accommodation Coordinator, 205-726-4078 or disability@samford.edu.

Health Management and Policy

The Health Management and Policy concentration empowers graduates with the knowledge and confidence to:

• Integrate strategic, financial, human resource and program management principles to develop health programs, policies, organizations and systems that address health priorities and goals
• Assess health problems using legal and ethical frameworks
• Integrate economic principles and organizational theories to improve the clinical and financial performance of health organizations and systems
• Apply statistical methods to economic data to inform policy and practice decision-making
• Evaluate health policies to determine their impact on population health outcomes and resources
• Develop advocacy strategies to promote policy change

Population Health Analytics and Decision Making

By completing the Population Health Analytics and Decision Making concentration, graduates will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to:

• Select and utilize appropriate data analytics tools and statistical packages in support of public health decision making
• Identify, manage and analyze data to address important questions in public health and biomedical sciences
• Select indicators and design data systems for the monitoring and evaluation of program planning
• Apply best practices of evidence based-decision making to public health programs and policies
• Create and use effective data visualizations to communicate findings to diverse audiences
• Employ techniques for data quality assurance and improvement

Public health is a naturally interprofessional field, and our Doctor of Public Health utilizes the strengths of the multiple disciples within the School of Public Health to provide diversity of discussion, faculty expertise and resources.

The School of Public Health is one of four schools in Samford’s College of Health Sciences, which brings together all of the health-related disciplines offered by the university. The college’s interprofessional education framework utilizes the four competency domains of interprofessional education while incorporating one’s faith and calling and elements of quality of safety—with patients, clients, families and populations at the center of it all.

Unlike a PhD that leads to careers in research, a Doctor of Public Health is a professional degree that focuses on the practical application of public health principles across a variety of settings, including health advocacy, health departments, communication, community development, social services, marketing and more. The degree sets graduates on a path to leadership-oriented careers in public health with positions like:

• Public health professor or educator
• Healthcare administrator
• Principle investigator
• Health policy analyst
• Executive or program director
• Public health advisor to industry or government

The curriculum is designed to provide mastery of high-level competencies in management, innovation and analytics.

• Doctor of Public Health Plan of Study (Full Time)
• Doctor of Public Health Plan of Study (Part Time)