What is the Difference Between an MSPH vs. MPH?

As an aspiring health professional, whether to obtain an MSPH vs. MPH degree depends on one’s career focus. Trending community safety and wellness issues like communicable diseases or the obesity epidemic have increased the need for credentialed public health professionals who either work out front to implement public health policies or complete research behind the scenes to improve the scope and quality of available services. As a result, public health degree programs from accredited schools offer distinctly different career tracks following guidelines from the Council on Education for Public Health for academic or research degrees in the field.

Top 10 Master of Science in Public Health MSPH Degree Programs

MSPH vs. MPH Degrees

To understand the differences between MPH vs. MSPH tracks, the best place to start is by examining the distinction between professional and research degrees as defined by CEPH in 2005. The Master of Public Health is a generalist professional degree that prepares graduates with mastery of broad knowledge in the field. It focuses on using best practices and trending methodologies to maintain public health standards, address cultural and socioeconomic impacts on public health, and improve access to community safety and wellness programs. In contrast, the Master of Science in Public Health prepares graduates for careers in academia or research settings as educators, researchers or publishers. Degree goals include examining existing standards in public health service, correlating and incorporating data to generate new solutions to public health problems, and suggesting ways to improve public health services and their administration within the community. While foundational aspects of the MPH and MSPH tracks are similar, the focus of each determines areas of specialization and final degree requirements.

MPH Degree Requirements

Graduates holding an MPH should be able to organize and analyze information, use data to innovate programs, implement and maintain program policies, and communicate knowledge efficiently and effectively. MPH degrees can be specialized in areas such as epidemiology, health policy and administration, or environmental public health. Typical programs involve earning 36-42 credit hours covering core public health foundations, targeted studies in the specialization area and approved electives. Additional requirements include completing a field-based practicum and presenting a capstone project. Depending on a candidates undergraduate background or work experience, coursework can be completed in two to five years.

MSPH Degree Requirements

The MSPH degree requires candidates to be able to think critically, investigate new theories and methods, acquire and organize information, analyze and interpret data to innovate practical solutions, and disseminate new knowledge to others through written communication and oral presentations. Specializations are often made in areas such as epidemiology, environmental and occupational health, bio-statistics, or health behavior and policy. A research-oriented degree may span up to 48 credits and take between three to five years to complete. Coursework covers foundational public health classes, specialization studies, approved electives and completion of a research thesis in public health.

Professionals with public health careers benefit the public good regardless of which degree track they choose. Public health graduates find meaningful, sustainable employment in public and private sectors including educational, government, non-profit, management, medical, residential, technology and research settings. As a result, the clear winner of an MPH vs MSPH showdown becomes the public because graduates with either degree stand to improve the the community’s safety and well-being.

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