1. Master of Public Health

Prospective Students

Admission Requirements 

Eligible applicants include those with BSc (Honours) in Biomedical Sciences, Biological Sciences, Public Health, or those with a DVM, BScN or MD professional degree (or equivalents). Students who currently hold an honours degree without a biological or health focus will be required to complete the distance education BSc course Principles of Disease prior to enrolling in the degree program. Candidates should have typically earned at least a B+ average during their final two years of their degree to be considered for admission. The only entry date into the MPH program is in the Fall semester.

Application Process

Applications for the Fall 2025 competition are now being accepted.

International applications to the Fall 2025 competition must be received by December 1st, 2024 at 11:59 PM (EST). You will then have a grace period of 10 business days to upload the required application documents. The international application document deadline for the 2025 competition is December 15th, 2024, at 11:59 PM (EST).

Domestic applications to the Fall 2025 competition must be received by February 1st, 2025, at 11:59 PM (EST). You will then have a grace period of 10 business days to upload the required application documents. The application document deadline for the 2025 competition is February 15th, 2025, at 11:59 PM (EST).

Within 5 business days of completing your online application, you will receive an email with your login information and instructions on how to upload your supporting documents from the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. It will also take up to 5 business days for the referee requests to be sent out. The WebAdvisor account information and the referee requests cannot be expedited. You should also watch for an email from our office (mphinfo@uoguelph.ca) with full details on all required documents (including departmental requirements separate from the base University of Guelph requirements). Please plan the submission of your application in accordance with the application and document deadlines listed above.

More information about the general application process, as well as a link to the OUAC website to submit your application, can be found on the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Applying to Guelph page. Please note that as an applicant, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have met the base University of Guelph admission requirements as well as the requirements of the program you are intending to apply to.

Please include with your application:

  • All post-secondary transcripts
     
    • Unofficial transcripts from all post-secondary educational institutions (including transcript/grading legends) in English. If you have taken non-degree courses at another university or were an exchange student at another university, you must declare these in your OUAC application and provide an unofficial copy of the transcript(s) and their respective grading scales.
    • Official transcripts are only required if you are provided with an offer of admission.
    • World Education Services (WES) credential evaluations are not accepted.
    • University of Guelph graduates can upload an unofficial transcript. This can be a screen capture of your unofficial transcript from your WebAdvisor account.
  • Statement of interest
    • Explains your background and interest in both this professional degree program and a career in public health.
    • If you would like to combine your MPH with the IDS specialization, please indicate this in your application. Provide your experience in international development and a justification as to why the IDS specialization is for you. 
    • One page maximum, 12 pt. font, single-spaced, 1 inch margin.
  • Resume
    • Describes previous experience, but focuses on previous public health exposure and interactions
  • Two letters of reference
    • Both academic and professional letters of reference are acceptable, although it is strongly advised that at least one academic letter of reference is provided.
    • Referees should expand on the ratings provided in the required Office of Graduate Studies form and discuss your academic suitability, likelihood of success in a graduate program, and your interest in public health.
    • Referees must submit their response directly to the applicant’s online application using the electronic link provided. If a referee has issues with accessing the electronic link/submitting the assessment, they should reach out to the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at gradapps@uoguelph.ca.
    • Please use the Referee Request GryphForm (Add/Change/Delete Referee) link to make any revisions to your referees. Please note: your application will not be considered ‘complete’ until ALL requested WebAdvisor documents have been received. If you list a third referee and only need two, your third referee will need to be removed, or their assessment received, for your application to be deemed complete. 
  • Proof of English proficiency
    • Only required if your first language is anything other than English. Please upload a copy of an acceptable English language test score to WebAdvisor.
    • If your first language is not English, and you are requesting a waiver of this requirement, you must upload a letter detailing the reason for the request for the committee to review.
    • If your first language is not English and you do not upload any documents to that space in WebAdvisor, your application will not move forward. You must upload either an English language test score or waiver request to this space.

Please note: All communication post-application will be done through your newly created University of Guelph email account.
 

Since this is a coursework degree (no thesis), you are not required to obtain a supervisor prior to applying. One will be assigned if you have been accepted into the program.

 

Admission Details 

All information in your application package will be reviewed by the MPH Admissions Committee. Applications will be ranked using admissions criteria (academic background and performance, transcripts, statement of interest, referee assessments, and relevant experience). Annually, 25 applicants are offered admission. It is not expected that the program will increase in size from its current target of 25 full-time students, as this is central to the teaching delivery (didactic lecture integrated with discussion through case-based teaching and community-engaged learning). Successful domestic and international applicants will hear back mid to late April via WebAdvisor. If you do not receive communication about your application by that time, you can infer that you were not selected.

 

Tuition/Funding

The Guelph Graduate Fees page of the Student Financial Services website contains information on fees. The Funding Graduate Studies page of the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies website has more information on internal and external funding opportunities. Please note that since there is no major research component to the MPH program, students typically do not qualify for OGS, NSERC, or CIHR awards.

Students of the MPH program can become Graduate Teaching Assistants and may be eligible for a Work Study or Graduate Research Assistant position as well.

Language Requirements

International applicants must satisfy minimal requirements for proficiency in the use of the English language by achieving a satisfactory TOEFL or IELTS score. An original certificate, dated within the two calendar years of the start date of the program (September of each year) attesting to a satisfactory level of success in one of these evaluations, must accompany the application. Satisfactory scores can be found on the English Language Proficiency page of the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies website. These levels are subject to change.

International applicants can also satisfy English language requirements by taking the University's English as a Second Language course, available through the Office of Open Learning. Details are available on the English Language Programs page of the University of Guelph OpenEd website. Successful completion of the course offered by this division can be a condition of the University's offer of admission to graduate studies, and international students who wish to come to Guelph to study can thus take the course in Guelph in the spring of the year in which they wish to enter graduate studies.