All students are required to meet the general university admission requirements.

Program-Specific Deadlines

• U.S. Applicants: There are no specific deadlines for domestic students, but for timely processing, the following dates are suggested.
  • Fall semester (begins in late August): July 1
  • Spring semester (begins in late January): Nov. 1
  • Summer semester (begins in late May): April 1
• International Applicants:
  • Fall semester (begins in late August): Jan. 8
  • Spring semester (begins in late January): Aug. 1
  • Summer semester (begins in late May): Dec. 1

Additional Documentation

• A narrative letter, two to three pages in length, describing your objectives in pursuing the degree and plans for completion of the degree requirements. It must be written in the style of a letter. Include all of the following items:
  • Discuss why you are interested in pursuing this degree, the strengths you have at the time of application for admission and areas in which you would like to increase your expertise, competencies and personal development.
  • Outline your professional goals, both immediate and long term (e.g., what do you see yourself doing with your degree).
  • Give your preference for the area of emphasis (food safety and biosecurity or public health nutrition) you wish to study and why.
  • Detail which aspects of your chosen area of emphasis are most appealing to you and how they fit into your career goals. Indicate if there is a faculty member whose expertise match your interests.
  • Describe experiences that have shaped your interest in the field of public health.
  • Describe the one academic experience that has meant the most to you in your educational career.
  • Date and sign or type your name on the letter.
• Copies of all transcripts. The last 60 hours of your undergraduate degree will be reviewed and must average 3.0 or higher (“B”) on a scale of 4.0. If accepted, you will need to provide official transcripts to the Graduate School.
• Three letters of reference from your advisor, professors or others who can provide information about your ability to succeed in graduate school. Unless you have been out of school for several years, at least one of your references needs to be an academic reference. Include the names and email addresses of your references. The online application system will email a link to each of them so they may provide their reference/evaluation online.
• If English is not your native language, an official record of the TOEFL score sent directly from ETS. Required: TOEFL score of 550
• For international applicants only, a completed affidavit of financial support dated within nine months of desired entry date. Note that any substitute documentation other than the affidavit cannot be accepted. Download the form from the Graduate School International Students webpage.

The Master of Public Health will prepare individuals currently employed or anticipating a career in the field of public health, working in areas such as:

• health departments
• extension offices
• government agencies (state and federal)
• health promotion and insurance companies

This program offers two areas of emphasis online from which you can choose: food safety and biosecurity and public health nutrition. Following is the curriculum for the food safety and biosecurity area of emphasis.

Prerequisite courses
Students without an undergraduate degree in food science or closely related field may be required to complete undergraduate prerequisite courses before being allowed to take emphasis area courses. Prerequisite courses may include:

• biochemistry;
• organic chemistry;
• an introductory course in microbiology;
• a course in botany, zoology, or biology;
• mathematics courses (college algebra, calculus, and statistics);
• and a course in physics.

Required (31 credits)

• DMP 815 - Multidisciplinary Thought and Presentation (3 credits)
• DMP 816 - Trade and Agricultural Health (2 credits)
• DMP 888 - Globalization, Cooperation and the Food Trade (1 credit)
• FDSCI 730 - A Multidisciplinary Overview of Food Safety and Security (2 credits)
• FDSCI 731 - Food Protection and Defense – Essential Concepts (2 credits)
• MPH 701 - Fundamental Methods of Biostatistics (3 credits)
• MPH 720 - Administration of Health Care Organizations (3 credits)
• MPH 754 - Introduction to Epidemiology (3 credits)
• MPH 802 - Environmental Health (3 credits)
• MPH 818 - Social and Behavioral Bases of Public Health (3 credits)
• MPH 840 - Public Health Practice (6 credits)

Electives (11 credits)

• AAI 801 - Interdisciplinary Process (3 credits)
• DMP 710 - Introduction to One Health (2 credits)
• DMP 806 - Environmental Toxicology (2 credits)
• DMP 880 - Problems in Pathobiology (1-6 credits)
• FDSCI 600 - Food Microbiology (2 credits)
• FDSCI 690 - Principles of HACCP and Preventive Controls for Human Food (3 credits)
• FDSCI 695 - Quality Assurance of Food Products (3 credits)
• MC 750 - Strategic Health Communication (3 credits)
• MC 760 - Issues, Risk, and Reputation (3 credits)
• STAT 705 - Regression and Analysis of Variance (3 credits)

This program offers two areas of emphasis online from which you can choose: food safety and biosecurity and public health nutrition. Following is the curriculum for the public health nutrition area of emphasis.

Prerequisite courses
Students without an undergraduate degree in nutrition or dietetics or graduate work in nutrition need an understanding of human nutrition similar to that which is taught in:

• FNDH 400 Human Nutrition
• FNDH 450 Nutritional Assessment.

These courses or the equivalent must be completed before the student is approved for full admission status in the program.

Required (31 credits)

• FNDH 600 - Public Health Nutrition (3 credits)
• FNDH 820 - Functional Foods for Chronic Disease Prevention (3 credits)
• FNDH 844 - Nutritional Epidemiology (3 credits)
• FNDH 880 - Professional Communication in FNDH (1 credit)
• MPH 701 - Fundamental Methods of Biostatistics (3 credits)
• MPH 720 - Administration of Health Care Organizations (3 credits)
• MPH 754 - Introduction to Epidemiology (3 credits)
• MPH 802 - Environmental Health (3 credits)
• MPH 818 - Social and Behavioral Bases of Public Health (3 credits)
• MPH 840 - Public Health Practice (6 credits)

Electives (11 credits)

• AAI 801 - Interdisciplinary Process (3 credits)
• FNDH 620 - Nutrient Metabolism (3 credits)
• FNDH 631 - Clinical Nutrition I (3 credits)
• FNDH 632 - Clinical Nutrition II (3 credits)
• FNDH 635 - Sports Nutrition (3 credits)
• FNDH 700 - Global Health and Nutrition (3 credits)
• HDFS 714 - Program Design, Evaluation and Implementation (3 credits)
• GERON 773 -Physical Health and Nutrition in Aging (3 credits)
• FNDH 735 - Advanced Energy Balance (3 credits)
• FNDH 780 - Problems in Food, Nutrition, Dietetics and Health (1-6 credits)
• FNDH 862 - Maternal and Child Nutrition (3 credits)
• FNDH 891 - Environmental Scanning and Analysis of Current Issues in Dietetics (3 credits)
• MC 750 - Strategic Health Communication (3 credits)
• MC 760 - Issues, Risk and Reputation (3 credits)
• STAT 705 - Regression and Analysis of Variance (3 credits)
• STAT 720 - Design of Experiments (3 credits)
• STAT 725 - Introduction to the SAS Computing (1 credit)
• STAT 730 - Multivariate Statistical Methods (3 credits)

This public health program has its own designated scholarship, in addition to the university’s other financial aid opportunities.

• The K-State public health program was recently awarded the Public Health Scholarship Program by the Health Resources and Services Administration. This scholarship program will prepare the public health workforce of Kansas and promote the expansion of public health systems through strategic scholarships. There are 73 scholarships for tuition and fees to be awarded starting in spring 2023.
  • Minimum eligibility requirements:
    • Admission to a public health graduate certificate or Master of Public Health program
    • 3.0 GPA
    • Live and/or work in Kansas
    • U.S. citizenship
    • Current or future career in public health
  • Eligible programs: Master of Public Health or public health graduate certificate
  • Application deadline is Nov. 28, 2022.
  • Virtual 30-minute interviews will take place Dec. 19, 2022.
  • View scholarship application instructions.
• Additional financial assistance can be found on the scholarships webpage.