Individuals holding bachelor's degrees from accredited institutions, or who are within one semester of meeting degree requirements, are eligible to apply for admission to master's degree programs. Applicants often apply for admission to Master's degree programs, and are admitted, before the requirements for the Bachelor's degree are completed. However, before a student may earn a Master's degree through the School of Public Health-Bloomington, an official transcript, displaying the student's Bachelor's degree must be sent from the degree institution to the SPH Records Office, Room 123.

Criteria that are considered for admission to master's degree programs include:

• Undergraduate education and grade point average (GPA)
• Scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) for many majors.
• TOEFL scores for students with a primary language other than English.
• References
• Personal statement

Greatest consideration for admission will be given to those students who have earned an undergraduate GPA of at least 2.80 (on a 4.0 scale). An applicant with an undergraduate GPA below 2.80 may compensate for the low GPA with a high level of performance in the other admission criteria: GRE, references, and personal statement.

Professional experience related to the applicant's area of study is highly desirable. Specific admission requirements regarding professional experience are determined by each department and based upon the particular program of study for which application is made.

Applicants with deficiencies in academic background will be notified of specific courses to be taken as prerequisites or corequisites to degree course work. Prerequisite courses cannot be counted toward the credit hours required for completion of the degree but are required to be completed before the degree is granted.

Master's Thesis Option A master's degree program applicant who wishes to pursue the thesis option should state this desire in the required personal statement. Admission to a graduate program does not ensure availability of the thesis option.  Interested students should discuss this option with a faculty advisor in the department offering the degree program. The decision to admit an applicant to this option is based upon the applicant's academic preparation and area of interest, as well as the availability of a faculty member to guide the thesis research.