The UTEP MPH program prepares students for public health careers in the public, non-profit, and private sectors. The program is directed toward individuals with prior health experience or who have a strong commitment to public health.

The MPH program students take core courses designed to develop knowledge, analytical and technical skills in five fundamental public health competencies: social and behavioral sciences, health services administration and policy, epidemiology, environmental health and biostatistics. The required practicum provides students with an opportunity to apply the public health theory and skills they have learned in a practice setting.

Students also learn through completing a “culminating experience.”   This requires a student to synthesize, integrate, and apply knowledge and skills gained through coursework and other learning experiences. The culminating project for the MPH Program at UTEP consists of a thesis or graduate research project.  Our innovative Hispanic and Border Health concentration prepares students for public health practice in Hispanic and border communities.

The MPH degree program requires completion of 42 credit hours of course work: 15 credit hours of core courses, 9 credit hours in the Hispanic and border health concentration, 6 hours of practicum, and the remaining credit hours from a combination of course electives and the “culminating experience” (thesis or graduate project). Elective courses are chosen in conjunction with the faculty mentor with Graduate Advisor approval. Teaching Assistantships, Research Assistantships, fellowships and other forms of assistance are available through the College and University.

When you join us, you will study with fellow students from interesting and diverse backgrounds. You will take classes with other students who come from a wide range of professional backgrounds such as health promotion/education, nutrition, medicine, dentistry, nursing, exercise science, chemistry, veterinary medicine, clinical laboratory sciences, biology, social work, anthropology/sociology, psychology, law, pharmacy and many others. Your fellow students come from Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico as well as from other places in the United States, Latin America, and around the world.

The MPH Graduate faculty are committed to the individual mentoring of each student. A faculty member usually has no more than 4-5 graduate students, allowing time for individualized attention to each. Students also get to know faculty and other graduate students who serve as informal mentors through attendance at seminars, informal research presentations, and social activities. Information on the MPH Graduate faculty and their research interests is available on the faculty link on this site.

For more information, please contact 

Dr. M. Margaret Weigel
Graduate Advisor, MPH Program

Phone: 747-8308

E-mail : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Innovative features of the MPH Program

• It is the first and only MPH Program in the nation to offer a specific major concentration in “Hispanic and Border Health”. This unique concentration prepares students for public health practice in Hispanic and border communities who are familiar with and sensitive to their needs and challenges.
• It provides many opportunities for students to conduct innovative health research with local communities on both sides of the U.S-Mexico border.
•  It uses a multi-disciplinary ecological approach that stresses the importance of addressing multiple determinants of health to reduce health disparities and achieve health equity.
• It has a strong emphasis on the development of cultural competence skills.
• It has collaborations in educational and research partnerships with governmental and community-based organizations in the Paso del Norte region which strengthen the link between theory and practice for students through hands-on experience.
• Students have multiple unique opportunities to work in dual language, bi-national settings which will increase their future employment opportunities in the U.S., Mexico, and other Latin American countries.
• Classes are held in late afternoons-early evenings to accommodate working professionals. Selected online classes also are available.