Public Health

The goals of the Fairfield Public Health program are to

1. provide education, mentorship, and practice opportunities to promote students’ attainment of core competencies of public health practice;
2. contribute to public health knowledge through interdisciplinary research and practice; and
3. impact public health practice through responsive and sustainable community engagement and development of a workplace that represents diverse communities.

The online MPH program is delivered asynchronously using the learning management system, Blackboard. This means students can access the lecture materials, assignments, exams, and discussion boards at a time and place convenient to them.

Specific deadlines will be provided by individual faculty members. Faculty will often hold optional live study sessions and weekly virtual office hours.

Fairfield University’s online MPH program is an applicant for Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) accreditation. Our site visit is scheduled for January 2025 and we expect a final accreditation decision in spring or summer 2025. 

For more information on accreditation, please visit the CEPH FAQs page.

While students are always welcome to visit the Fairfield, they are not required to come to the campus to fulfill any of your coursework.

Our library, RecPlex, and other facilities are available to online MPH students.

The current tuition for the online MPH program is $925/credit.

Thus, the current program cost is $38,850. The program is 42 credits, which includes 36 required credits and 6 elective credits.

No, a GRE exam score is not a requirement for admission.

Fairfield University cannot supply I-20 documentation for international students enrolling in online programs like the online MPH.

The maximum number of transfer credits which may be applied toward the online MPH degree is 6 credits and needs Program Director approval.

Transfer credit will be allowed only for elective courses that meet the following criteria:

1. Course is from an accredited graduate school master’s program.
2. Student earned a grade of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 grading scale.
3. Course constitutes a fair and reasonable equivalent to current Fairfield coursework at the graduate level.

All applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and the degree can be from any field.

Public health is multidisciplinary and we welcome applicants from any major.

No. Students simply need to have earned your bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution.

Yes, applications are reviewed holistically and are reviewed by both the Program Director and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies.

Applicants are also asked to participate in a Zoom interview so that the Program Director can get to know the applicant outside of the application.

There are three start dates available each year (spring, summer and fall terms).

Applicants are asked to submit a completed application no later than a month before the term starts.

The program can be completed in 15 months (full-time) or 28 months (part-time). Sample plans of study can be found in the course catalog.

Yes, students are required to complete an internship (what we call the fieldwork experience). Students new to public health and healthcare will complete a 150-hour internship at an organization that conducts public health-related work with supervision and mentoring from a staff member with a public health background. The fieldwork experience can be done in-person, virtually, or hybrid. Students who are more experienced can opt for a deliverables-based internship where three substantive deliverables are completed. The MPH program director must approve this option. The fieldwork course also includes a leadership and professional development seminar. While we do not formally place students at organizations, we assist them in finding the right organization and supervisor.

Students are also required to complete a two-semester capstone project in which they execute an independent public health project with mentorship from a public health faculty member.

Yes, financial aid is available to students enrolled in the online MPH online program who maintain at least 6 credits/semester.

Please email Dr. Santella, MPH Program Director, at asantella@fairfield.edu.