Admission Requirements

Admissions Information

We’re Recruiting Champions of Change Where Health Begins 

Want to fight the spread of HIV? Lead the charge to end male violence against women?  Put an end to boil water advisories that reflect the legacy of colonization?  Decriminalize drugs to end the opioid crisis?  Remedy the unequal distribution of wealth that creates health inequities?  Adapt our food systems to combat the epidemic of obesity and type II diabetes? Revise our built environments to reduce congestion, smog and stress?

Then join us to study where health begins, finding a path to employment or a ladder to promotion in your current workplace.

The MPH at UBC targets professionals who have been working in fields related to public health who wish to extend their knowledge in public health methods and applications. We also encourage applications from students who have recently completed a bachelor degree.  We recruit people from:

  • the sciences and health sciences to become leaders in disease prevention and control.
  • political science, sociology, economics, social planning, public policy, law, anthropology, etc. to dig in where health begins – where we are born, grow, live, work and age – and the policy levers available to promote health and prevent illness locally and internationally.
  • engineers, architects and computer scientists, etc. to re-design our built and online environments, and our health promoting technologies.
  • business backgrounds to influence the markets and government budgets that shape the conditions where health begins, along with the public health systems that kick in when we fail to prevent disease.

Applicants who self-identify as First Nations, Inuit and Metis are encouraged to apply as we prioritize Indigenous applicants.

SPPH values and seeks to recruit indigenous students as well as students with diverse racial, ethnic, gender, socioeconomic, sexual orientation, ability/disability, and religious contexts.  Our admissions processes and committees take into account equity, diversity and inclusion in criteria development, the assessment of merit relative to these criteria and the student community across our graduate programs. Please visit https://equity.ubc.ca/ to learn more.

Applications open: October 15, 2024
Application deadline*: December 15, 2024

*All applications and supporting documents (i.e., transcripts, CV, letter of intent) are due by December 15, 2024. There is only one admission per academic year. Reference letters are due by Monday, January 6rd, 2025.  The Admissions Committee will not consider your application unless all documents have been received by this date. We are unable to accommodate late applications. We do not accept hard copies of application documents. Please follow the instructions on the application site.

The program is not intended for students who are working full-time. There are also program requirements such as professional development and related seminars which first year students are expected to attend. 

Minimum Academic Requirements*

Applicants must meet the minimum academic requirements and professional experience requirements set out by the Master of Public Health Program and the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

Undergraduate degrees from Canada or U.S.A. Degree and GPA:

A degree equivalent to a UBC 4-year Bachelor’s degree.

A GPA of B+ or higher, calculated from all third and fourth year-level coursework.

Find more information about degrees and GPAs for Canadian and US institutions from Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

English Proficiency:Applicants do not need to submit an English Language Test.
International Undergraduate degreesDegree and GPA:

Applicants with international credentials must have academic backgrounds that meet the minimum requirements outlined by Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for the country of origin of the credential(s).
The GPA is calculated on all courses taken for the degree. Please note that we do not accept transcript evaluations from World Education Services (WES) or similar agencies.

Please note that we do not accept international credentials which are not conferred before the document deadline of December 15th, 2024.

English Proficiency:

An English Language test is required for all applicants with an undergraduate degree from a university where English is not the primary language of instruction.

A score of 100 or higher on the TOEFL OR an overall score of 7.0 or higher (and component scores of 6.5 or higher) on the IELTS Academic Test. The test must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.

*Due to the limited seats we are able to offer, and with the highly competitive applications received each year, meeting the minimum criteria does not ensure acceptance into the program.