UCLA School of Public Health - Department of Community Health Sciences

The Department of Community Health Sciences accepts applications for Fall quarter admission only. The application deadline is December 1 for the subsequent enrollment year. Applicants must complete both the UCLA Application for Graduate Admission as well as the School of Public Health Supplemental Application. Applications are available on-line at either

Applicants to the masters programs must meet the University minimum requirement of an acceptable bachelor’s degree with a B (3.0) average in upper division courses and/or prior graduate study, as well as satisfactory performance on the verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) taken within the last five years. Most applicants for the Masters degree have a bachelor’s degree in the biological or the social sciences. As a guideline, the average GRE scores for those offered admission to the Department are 550 Verbal and 640 Quantitative. A satisfactory score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required for international applicants whose primary language of instruction is not English.

In addition to minimum University requirements for admission, applicants to the doctoral programs must have a masters degree in Public Health or an appropriately related field with a minimum grade point average of 3.5 for their graduate studies. Although not required for admission, work experience in the field is viewed favorably when competing applications are judged.

All applicants are required to submit the following supplemental items along with their online application:

Official transcripts from every school attended beyond high school,
Statement of purpose outlining goals and career objectives as they relate to the graduate program,
Official report of GRE scores,
Official report of TOEFL scores for international applicants,
3 letters of recommendations from former professors (preferably two of the three) and employers.
For applicants to the doctoral programs only: An example of published or other written work such as a term paper where applicant is sole author.

For specific application instructions, please review the Graduate Admissions Application Check List and Submission Instructions page.

For working professionals who are interested in an executive-style MPH program, please refer to the MPH for Health Professionals website for further information: http://www.ph.ucla.edu/emph. The program allows professionals to maintain their full-time careers while attending weekend classes each month. The application deadline for the MPH for Health Professionals (only) is April 1 for the subsequent Fall quarter.

UCLA Graduate Division offers funding opportunities for both incoming and continuing graduate students. Prospective students may apply for Graduate Division funding by completing the fellowship section of the online graduate admissions application before the December 1 deadline. Need-based student loans and work-study awards are available through the UCLA Financial Aid office. The Department of Community Health Sciences has a small amount of funds available for recruitment purposes. These funds are very limited and are awarded to a few incoming students on the basis of scholarship and financial need. Department fellowship recipients will be notified of their awards a few weeks after receiving their official admission letter. School of Public Health has a limited number of interest-based fellowships and scholarships for incoming and continuing Masters and Doctoral students. Formal announcement and fellowship applications for School funding opportunities are sent out to students via email upon availability throughout the academic school year. Many students also obtain part time academic personnel positions as Special Readers, Teaching Assistants or Graduate Student Researchers with faculty either at the School of Public Health or elsewhere on campus. Students who are appointed to academic personnel positions for at least 25% time and enrolled in a minimum of 12 units are eligible to receive fee remissions. Full time graduate students participating in the regular daytime masters and doctoral programs cannot be employed at over 50% time at UCLA. Students in the executive-style MPH for Health Professionals program generally are not eligible for or awarded financial aid.

Each incoming student is assigned to a major advisor. In the first year of the program, consultation with the major advisor about the student's course schedule is highly recommended. Periodic meetings over the course of the two-year program often help to prevent problems as the student works toward the masters degree. More frequent meetings are highly recommended for doctoral students.

The Masters program handbook has an in depth description of course and degree requirements, policies followed by the department, information about comprehensive exams and Masters thesis, and information about internships.

The Doctoral program handbook has an in depth description of admission requirements, course requirements, differentiation between DrPH and PhD programs, advisement, committee formation, qualifying examinations, and the dissertation proposal.

All students enroll for courses online through the graduate division. University Records System Access (URSA) gives UCLA students the easiest way to enroll in classes and to gain real-time access to academic, financial, and personal records. However, for some courses with limited enrollments and/or prerequisites, permission to enroll needs to be obtained by the student before registration can take place. Contact the department office for further assistance.

For those who wish to pursue a career in health promotion and education, passing the CHES (Certified Health Education Specialist) exam qualifies graduates for a nationally recognized certification program. Many CHS MPH graduates work in this field. Many employers now require CHES for health education positions. Click here for details about how the CHS MPH program helps you with CHES.

The school gives out a number of awards annually for academic excellence. Students are nominated by the faculty of their department and compete most often with students throughout the school. Awards are given out in June of each year. There are awards for both Masters and Doctoral students. A limited number of awards include scholarship aid for continuing students.

Graduation takes place once a year in June. Masters students who have completed all requirements including coursework, internship, and comprehensive exam are eligible. Doctoral students who have completed dissertations are also eligible. For both Masters and Doctoral students, appropriate paperwork must be filled out prior to graduation date in order to be considered for graduation.

Masters degree graduates work in governmental public health agencies at the local, state, and national levels, nonprofit organizations, domestic and international voluntary organizations, health maintenance organizations, corporate wellness programs, foundations, schools, and other health and human services organizations, the private sector and academia.