Agreement accelerates path to master’s degree for Loyola public health students
Loyola President Tania Tetlow, Tulane SPHTM Dean Thomas LaVeist, and Loyola Provost Tanuja Singh.
The Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and Loyola University of New Orleans have signed an articulation agreement that provides an opportunity for qualified undergraduate students at Loyola to apply to and enroll in a master of public health (MPH) program. Participating students can begin the master’s program while completing requirements for the undergraduate degree.
Loyola announced the establishment of an undergraduate public health degree program this past spring and welcomed its first students this fall. Loyola students are now able to pursue a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts in Public Health, or a minor in public health.
Qualified Loyola students will be eligible to apply to Tulane in the spring of their junior year or fall of their senior year. Students must meet all eligibility requirements but will not be required to submit scores from the Graduate Record Examination, or GRE.
If accepted into one of Tulane’s 13 on-ground MPH programs (including the MSPH and the MPHTM), a student can begin taking foundational public health classes at Tulane while completing their studies at Loyola. Up to 15 credits earned at Tulane may be applied to the student’s bachelor’s degree requirements at Loyola. After earning the Loyola bachelor’s degree, students can expect to complete the requirements for the MPH in about one and a half additional years of study.
“Establishing this collaboration between Tulane and Loyola makes sense for both institutions,” says Dr. Thomas LaVeist, dean of the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane. “There is a need for qualified public health practitioners in the state of Louisiana, which has many pressing health challenges, such having the highest HIV prevalence rate of any state in the country, high rates of cancer and heart disease, and being on the frontlines of the health impacts of climate change. Not to mention the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our state. This agreement will help more students get the credentials they need to be effective leaders in the ever-changing public health landscape.”
“Public health majors at Loyola will prepare students for highly in-demand roles in health care, communications, and community advocacy; some will go on to continue their studies at the master’s or doctoral level to gain specialized skills,” said Dr. Maria Calzada, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "We are thrilled to partner with the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine to provide educational opportunities to students interested in pursuing a Master of Public Health (MPH) at this nationally ranked program."
The Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, located in New Orleans, La., was the first school of public health in the United States and ranks among the top 10% of schools and programs of public health. Loyola University New Orleans is the largest Jesuit university in the South and ranks among the nation’s top universities for excellence in teaching.
