Things to know
Dates and deadlines
Fall Admission:
- All degree programs are eligible to apply for fall enrollment (MPH, MS, DrPH, PhD)
- International applicants requiring F1 visa sponsorship can ONLY be reviewed and admitted for the fall semester, unless the applicant is already enrolled in a US college or university
- December 1 is the deadline for applicants who wish to meet the priority deadline to be considered for a new student scholarship
- February 1 is the deadline for dietetic internship applicants, so that their applications reviewed in time for internship match day
- April 1 is the final deadline for all remaining applicants
Spring Admission:
- Only MPH and MS students are eligible to apply for spring enrollment
- October 1 is the final deadline for applicants who wish to be considered for spring admissions and the new student scholarship
Application requirements
For a more detailed description of the items needed to apply, download our application checklist.
Academic history:
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent required
- Recommended grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
- Transcripts from all institutions of higher education you have attended, including high school dual-credit programs
- If you are an international applicant and/or have completed degrees outside of the United States, carefully review the international student checklist to ensure that all additional requirements are met.
Test scores:
Entrance exam scores (GRE/GMAT/MCAT) are optional for all MPH and MS programs. For all doctoral programs, students are encouraged to submit entrance exam scores; however, the following programs are required to submit scores:
- DrPH in Community Health Practice
- PhD in Epidemiology
- PhD in Environmental Sciences, Environmental Disease Prevention Track
- PhD in Environmental Sciences, Total Worker Health® (TWH)
- PhD in Health Economics and Health Services Research
- PhD in Healthcare Management and Policy
If entrance exam scores are required, please see the recommended scores and list of waivers or exceptions you may qualify for.
Three letters of recommendation:
- Letters of recommendation are submitted through SOPHAS
- At least one letter of recommendation from an academic reference is preferred
Statement of purpose and objectives:
- Describe why you are a compelling candidate for admission
- Explain why you want to be in a specific area of public health study
- Highlight your experience and qualifications beyond test scores and grades
- Include your professional goals
- Address any areas of weakness in your application
- Briefly describe any extenuating circumstances that you wish the Admissions Committee to consider.
For a more detailed description of the items needed to apply, download our application checklist.
If you are an international applicant and/or have completed degrees outside of the United States, carefully review the international student checklist to ensure that all additional requirements are met.
Please be sure to check the specific degree pages for further application requirements.
Completing your application
UTHealth School of Public Health utilizes SOPHAS – The Centralized Application Service for Public Health, a universal application portal for schools and programs of public health. All UTHealth School of Public Health applicants will need to use SOPHAS to complete their application.
Using SOPHAS
You can create your account and review application fees here.
After you have made your SOPHAS account, you can quickly select the UTHealth School of Public Health programs you would like to apply for by visiting this SOPHAS page, which has been pre-filtered to display only our school's degree offerings.
All test scores should be submitted electronically through SOPHAS. Below are the specific codes you will need for the application:
- Our institution GRE code is 4479, no department code is needed
- Our institution MCAT score code is SOPHAS (MPH applicants only, if needed)
- Please mail GMAT scores directly to us
- For international applicants:
- TOEFL score code is 5688
- International applicants completing the IELTS exam in lieu of TOEFL will need to mail official IELTS scores directly to the school of public health
- For more information on international applicant requirements, download our international student checklist.
Need help?
Reach out to our admissions team here. If you are a student seeking readmission to a degree-seeking program, you will only need to complete a SOPHAS Express application.
After you apply
What to expect
Keep track of the status of your application in SOPHAS.
- Ensure all your supporting documents, including transcripts, test scores and letters of recommendation are uploaded in your application
- Once your application is complete and verified by SOPHAS, we will send you a confirmation email
- We are unable to review incomplete applications
- Your application will be reviewed within 8 weeks
Once an admission decision has been made, we will notify you via email.
Dual-degree process
Dual-degree students must:
- Be admitted separately to each school
- Provide UTHealth School of Public Health admissions staff with documentation of admission to the partner institution via email
Please note that admission to one program does not guarantee admission to the other.
If you need to defer
You may elect to defer your admission for up to one year. Please email your deferral request to the Office of Academic Affairs and Student Services at SPHAdmissionsDeferral@uth.tmc.edu. You will receive an email confirmation of your request.
If you are not admitted
We encourage you to reapply, but you’ll need to wait one calendar year in order to be reconsidered by the departmental admission committees. Following the one year waiting period, you will need to complete a new SOPHAS application, submit a revised statement of purpose and objectives, and provide updated letters of recommendation, in addition to any other materials required by SOPHAS.