The Ultimate Guide to MPH Jobs and Careers

If you’re interested in a career in healthcare, but don’t want to become a doctor or nurse, there are a number of other options open to you. One of the most popular is a career in public health. The world of public health is all about preventing problems and increasing the health of the general population, rather than curative medicine, which seeks to help individual patients with medical conditions that they already have. What kinds of jobs are available if you get your master of public health (MPH)? Here are just a few of your many options:

Educator Jobs

While you need a degree in education to work at a high school or university, these are the only teaching positions in the world. Clinics, government departments like the Department of Health and Human Services, non-profit organizations, and many other employers hire educators to teach the general public about health concerns and risks. As an educator, you could be teaching driver’s education classes to teens, distributing contraceptives and STD information in high-risk areas, showing expectant mothers how to take care of a newborn, writing literature about specific preventable diseases for distribution, and more.

Research Jobs

One of the main goals of public health is to decrease the instance of sickness as much as possible. If you work in research, you could be developing vaccinations, learning more about how specific ingredients can positively and negatively affect the body, or even doing surveys to learn about the health problems afflicting everyday people. The world of research is extremely broad for those interested in public health.

Environmental Jobs

The environment plays a large role in public health, so you may choose to work in this field with an MPH. You could study the affects of weather, environmental toxins, and more on both physical health and mental health. This part of public health also focuses on social environmental, urban development, and transportation.

Policy Making Jobs

In order to keep the general public health, policies have to be in place in all areas of the law. You could work lobbying for laws, writing handbooks, and more in areas such as food safety, hazardous material handling, workplace safety, and government policy on quarantine in the case of infectious outbreak. This is one of the most important types of jobs in the field of public health.

Statistician Jobs

The public health industry needs statisticians in every field in order to track health problems. These jobs are perfect if you’re interested in fields like math, since you’ll be working with a lot of numbers in this case. You can track population numbers, biological measurements, and more with a job in public health statistics.

This is not by far an exhaustive list of all of the jobs available in public health. No matter what your other interested in the health world, you can find a related job in public health, and by getting your master’s degree in this area, you’ll be eligible for top roles in facility administration, non-profit leadership, consult, and more.

Top Online MPH Degree Programs

A Master of Public Health online degree will open new doors to your career in healthcare and health education. The six specializations of the public health study – administration, behavioral sciences, biostatistics, environmental sciences, epidemiology, and health promotion – are all available at the following list of the top colleges offering online MPH degree programs.


Capella University's Master of Public Health program prepares graduates for careers in public health management, social welfare, or research. The curriculum includes the behavioral, psychological, and social factors that contribute to the health of populations. Courses include International Public Health, Environmental Health Concepts in Public Health, and Principles of Biostatistics. Capella also offers MPH specializations in health management & policy and social & behavioral sciences.

Graduates of the Walden University Master of Public Health degree program or MPA in health policy program fill the increasing need for health professionals that must understand the development of healthy individuals, organizations, and communities. The programs provide core study in the public health field, uses a real-world teaching methodology, has industry leading professors, and includes a practical fieldwork practicum.

The MPH degree program at Grand Canyon University specializes in disease prevention and community health. Its curriculum uses a multidisciplinary approach emphasizing psychological, behavioral, and social factors influencing population-based health disparities. The program also includes a practicum and capstone project where students can design the program to best fit their area of specific interest.

The Kaplan University Master of Public Health degree program readies students for healthcare jobs in governmental, nonprofit, or private organizations. The online program provides students on-demand education on how to analyze and apply scientific research, prepare public health policies, develop health education programs, and review the impact of occupational and environmental factors. Within Kaplan's MPH program, specializations are offered in epidemiology, health education, and public health program development.

The Master of Health Administration program at the University of Phoenix prepares students to analyze current health care environments and have the tools necessary to improve their management. The MHA program in health care education features specializations including gerontology, informatics, and public health education. The University of Phoenix is one of the world's most recognized names in education.

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