PROGRAM IN GLOBAL HEALTH STUDIES

Accelerated Public Health Program

The Accelerated Public Health Program (APHP) at Northwestern University provides high-achieving undergraduate students the opportunity to earn their bachelor’s and Master of Public Health (MPH) degrees in five years. Students in this selective program will have access to early MPH Program acceptance, specialized advising, the opportunity to complete their MPH field experience abroad, and exemption from the GRE requirement for MPH admissions. Undergraduates from every Northwestern school and major are eligible to apply.

Students accepted into the program will begin earning credit towards the MPH during their fourth year, and will also have the opportunity to take advantage of specialized advising to more thoroughly plan their MPH field and culminating experiences before the start of their fifth/MPH year. APHP students will pursue the generalist track or a concentration in global health, epidemiology, or community health research during their MPH year.

This program was established through collaboration between Weinberg College’s Program in Global Health Studies and Feinberg’s Program in Public Health.

Distinctive Features of the APHP

• Completion of the MPH in one year
• Early acceptance into the MPH program at Northwestern
• Exemption from the GRE requirement
• Up to three courses double-count toward a student’s bachelor’s and MPH degrees
• Ability to begin earning credit toward the MPH during a student’s fourth undergraduate year at Northwestern 
  • Click here for a list of the PUB_HLTH courses you can take during your final undergraduate year
• Specialized advising
• Opportunity to complete the MPH field experience abroad

Student Profile:

Northwestern undergraduate students who will be successful in the APHP will be high academic achievers with a demonstrated commitment to the field of public health. Through their work within and beyond the classroom, they will be dedicated to understanding and promoting health equity.

Students can come from any major or undergraduate school, as the field of public health requires skills and knowledge from a variety of disciplines. They should be interested in developing their data and analytical skills, and excited about gaining the theoretical background to apply to public health practice during their education and beyond graduation.

Approved Public Health (PUB_HLTH) classes taken during senior year of the APHP may be used as elective courses for those with a GHS major or minor. They do not fulfill or replace the core or additional GHS course requirements.

Applying to the APHP

• Students apply during the Winter Quarter of their 3^rd year of undergrad at Northwestern. More information on this can be found in this info packet, and this PowerPoint presentation.
• 3.5 GPA requirement
• Undergraduates from all Northwestern schools are eligible 

For more information for the 2024-2025 application cycle, please view this info session:

Prerequisites:

Before matriculating to the Program in Public Health (year 5), students must have taken:

• One human biology class
• One statistics or mathematics class
• Three courses double counted towards the bachelor's and MPH degrees (optional)
• One other MPH course not counted towards the bachelor's degree (optional)
• Please note that these prerequisites may be fulfilled after acceptance to the APHP but before matriculation to the Program in Public Health
• Check out this list of the courses that can count towards the biology and math/stats requirement: APHP Prerequisite Options Note: this spreadsheet contains two sheets: one for biology and one for math/stats.
• Reach out to globalhealth@northwestern.edu with any questions about prerequisites

For your application, you will need:

• A statement of purpose
• Two references who can speak to your qualities in a letter of support (one must be academic)
• A resume or CV
• A .pdf outlining how you have completed or plan to complete the prerequisites (download a template here)
• Transcripts that include grades through fall quarter of your 3^rd year
• $95 Application Fee  *If you are concerned about paying the application fee, contact Global Health Studies. 
• Select students will be invited to a 30-minute interview.

2025 application timeline:

• Applications are due on April 1, 2025.
• The mandatory in-person interview day will be held in April 2025.
• Students will receive admissions decisions in early May 2025.

Ready to Apply?