Prospective students who want to apply to the North Dakota State University Master of Public Health program now have a streamlined way to do it.

Effective January 1, 2020, NDSU Public Health became a member of the Association for Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) [https://www.aspph.org/aspph-welcomes-new-member-north-dakota-state-university-department-of-public-health/].

Benefits include access to the Schools of Public Health Application Service called SOPHAS. It is a centralized application service that is used by prospective students to find academic public health programs and to apply to one or many schools/programs all with one application. In addition to streamlining the application process, ASPPH membership and SOPHAS will give the NDSU Master of Public Health program greater visibility to prospective students at the national level.

“SOPHAS allows prospective students to search for MPH programs by location, specialization, or key words. Instead of only reaching those that already know about NDSU, we can now reach applicants who are searching for something specific that we offer,” said Pamela Jo Johnson, chair and associate professor in the NDSU Department of Public Health. “SOPHAS makes the application process easier for students and also is a great marketing tool for NDSU Public Health.”

The Master of Public Health program at NDSU offers specializations in Community Health Sciences, Management of Infectious Diseases and Food Safety.

Hannah Hove, a Rockford, Illinois native and recent graduate, chose to enroll in the MPH program after working as a medical technologist at the Fargo, North Dakota VA Health Care System for more than five years. She chose the NDSU program for its specializations and its flexibility.

“I feel it is really accommodating for those who have a family and work full time. I love that the classes are in the evening so I can continue my career along with my education,” said Hove.

NDSU’s Master of Public Health program which began in 2012 offers both on-campus and distance education options that reach students throughout the world. NDSU’s MPH program is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).

The discipline of public health focuses on improving the general health of communities through efforts to monitor the spread of diseases, initiatives to prevent disease and disability, and by promoting healthy lifestyles through education and community engagement.

ASPPH represents academic public health, which includes all schools and programs that are accredited by the CEPH. ASPPH provides collective leadership for the future of academic public health, advocates for public health education/research/practice, creates educational tools and resources for faculty/students/alumni, and meets collective institutional needs through programs, services, continuing education, and networking.