Certificate in Public Health
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the Certificate designed for?
Public health professionals who desire to strengthen their knowledge and skills in basic public health competencies; undergraduate students who are interested in a career or graduate study in public health.
Who is eligible?
People who have completed at least 60 semester hours of undergraduate coursework, with a minimum GPA of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale.
Is the Certificate in Public Health a distance-education program?
Yes; all coursework needed for completing the Certificate in Public Health is taught via the internet. You need not ever come to campus in order to complete the Certificate.
What if I’m already on campus? Are all the courses still distance-education?
Certificate students may choose to register for the on-campus sections of Certificate courses, with the exception of the course Evidence-Based Public Health Methods, which is only offered as an internet course.
How long does it take to complete the Certificate?
The Certificate only requires four courses (12 semester hours). However, not every course is offered every semester. It takes a minimum of 2 semesters (at least one of them a summer semester) to complete the Certificate. Students may take up to five years to complete the coursework.
Will I receive graduate credit for certificate coursework?
If you have completed an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university, you will be admitted to the College of Public Health in graduate status, and will receive graduate credit for coursework. The only exception is the course Evidence-Based Public Health Methods, which is considered an undergraduate level course, but is required for the Certificate.
Students without an undergraduate degree will be admitted to the College of Public Health as undergraduates, and will not receive any graduate credit.
Will I be able to transfer all 12 credits to Iowa’s Master of Public Health Program?
If at some point you are admitted to the Master of Public Health program at the University of Iowa, and you were in graduate status at the time you took Certificate courses, you would most likely be able to transfer 9 semester hours of Certificate coursework to the M.P.H.. If you were in undergraduate status at the time you took Certificate courses, you would not be able to transfer them to a University of Iowa graduate program. However, you would not be required to repeat courses. You would choose additional electives in lieu of the courses you took for the Certificate.
I’m currently completing an undergraduate degree. Would certificate courses count towards that program?
They very likely may. You should check with your degree program academic advisor.
How much does it cost to complete the certificate?
Tuition for distance education students is $313 per s.h. (undergraduate) or $448 per s.h. (graduate). For students enrolled in on-campus degree programs at the University of Iowa, different tuition rates may apply.
Is financial aid or scholarship money available? Unfortunately, being enrolled in the Certificate alone does not make you eligible for federal financial aid. However, if you are already receiving financial aid for a degree program at the UI or another University, and taking certificate course concurrently, in most cases you could apply your financial aid towards Certificate courses. Check with your financial aid office.
The College of Public Health does not provide scholarships to complete the Certificate, however many of our students receive funding or scholarships through their employers.
Contact Information
For additional information or answers to any question you may have, contact:
Katie Yamaki
Certificate Program Coordinator
College of Public Health
The University of Iowa
200 Hawkins Dr., E172 GH
Iowa City, IA 52242
Tel: 319-384-5469 or 1-800-553-4692, Ext. 4-5469
E-mail: katie-yamaki@uiowa.edu