Public Health, Physical Activity Concentration, M.P.H.

Admission Requirements

Admission decisions will be made after reviewing all materials and determining the applicant’s capacity, suitability, and preparation for graduate study. Admission decisions are based upon consideration of a number of criteria which are believed to indicate a high potential in the graduate program.

 Admission requires

1. an earned bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or college. The candidate must have earned undergraduate prerequisites of at least 18 semester hours in health and human performance professional courses or have a baccalaureate degree in an area determined by the admissions committee to be related to the competencies required in the field of physical education;
2. an acceptable grade point average (GPA) in all college work taken;
3. completion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) with acceptable scores. Successful applicants typically have scores on the GRE Verbal and Quantitative measures which exceed 146 and 140 respectively with a total combined score that exceeds 286. The Analytical Writing Assessment score from the GRE is also considered.

Application Procedures

All application materials are to be submitted to the College of Graduate Studies.

Application deadline: Applications for Summer/Fall admission must be complete by February 1, and applications for Spring admission must be complete by October 1. Late applicants who meet the admission criteria may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Applicants must:

1. submit application with appropriate application fee (online at www.mtsu.edu/graduate/apply.php);
2. submit official scores on the GRE;
3. submit official transcripts of all previous college work;
4. provide three letters of recommendation from persons who can address their academic qualifications and potential for success in graduate study;
5. provide a 400-word statement of purpose giving their reasons for applying to the program, their academic interests, and their professional goals.

All of the above requirements must be completed.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Public Health with a concentration in Physical Activity requires completion of a minimum of 39 semester hours.

Candidate must 

1. complete either the thesis or non-thesis curriculum as detailed below in the Curriculum section. 
2. if choosing the thesis option, 
   1. select a thesis committee composed of two members (at least one of whom must be from the Department of Health and Human Performance); 
   2. successfully complete a written comprehensive examination during the last semester of coursework (may be taken no more than twice);
   3. successfully complete an oral examination relating to the thesis.
3. if choosing the non-thesis option, successfully complete a written comprehensive examination during the last semester of coursework (may be taken no more than twice). Three credit hours of internship must also be completed.

Curriculum: Public Health, Physical Activity

The following illustrates the minimum coursework requirements.

Program Notes

Candidate must

1. file a degree plan in the College of Graduate Studies prior to entry into the program;
2. file a Notice of Intent to Graduate form in the College of Graduate Studies within the first two weeks of the term in which candidate intends to graduate.