John D. Bower School of Population Health
DOCUMENT TYPE: Policy
REVIEW PERIOD: 1 Year
TITLE: Admission
Requirements
PURPOSE: To
define minimum requirements for admission into the John D. Bower School of
Population Health.
POLICY: Selection of applicants is made on a competitive basis,
without regard to race, creed, sex, color, religion, marital status, sexual
orientation, age, national origin, disability, or veteran’s status. A
student with a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution may apply
for study in areas in which competence has been demonstrated by scholastic
performance.
Prospective
students must submit an online application for admission to the Office of
Enrollment Management. This application will include an official transcript of
all undergraduate and graduate (if applicable) institutions attended, letters
of recommendation from faculty members at accredited institutions or employment
supervisors, and a personal statement. All non-United States transcripts must
be evaluated on a course-by-course report from World Education Services (WES) or Educational
Credential Evaluators (ECE).
The
application may include an official statement of scores (verbal, quantitative,
and analytical) received on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). The GRE
examinations must be taken within five years of application and must be sent
directly by Educational Testing Service (ETS). Information regarding the GRE
may be obtained from the Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ 08540.
Certain
programs require prerequisites, and these may be determined by contacting the
specific program to which the applicant desires admission or reviewing the
criteria outlined in the program-specific section of the UMMC Bulletin.
Initial evaluation of applicants for admission to graduate programs is based on
undergraduate and graduate (if applicable) scholastic performance, letters of
recommendation, personal statements, and examination scores. Those applicants
for whom the initial evaluation indicates the scholastic competence necessary
to successfully pursue a graduate degree may be further evaluated by personal
interview.
Conditional
Acceptance.
Acceptance to the SOPH is conditional; the school may rescind an offer of
acceptance at any time before matriculation if an applicant fails to maintain
expectations upon which the acceptance was based. Examples include, but
are not limited to, a significant decline in academic performance, failure to
complete prerequisites or other course work and degrees in progress, patterns
of unprofessional behavior, and incidents discovered in a criminal background
check.
Students who
meet or exceed the minimum scores may be granted full admission to the SOPH.
Students whose scores are below the minimum requirements may be considered for
conditional admission based on the recommendation of the program director. To
be removed from conditional status, the student must, within three academic
semesters of admission, meet or exceed the requirements on which the
conditional admission is based. Conditional students who fail to meet the
criteria listed above will be dismissed from the program. Notwithstanding the
above, individual programs may set higher minimum standards than those required
by the SOPH.
English
language proficiency. Applicants whose native language is not English and/or
who have completed their tertiary education primarily outside of the USA must
submit official scores of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL),
International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or Pearson Test of
English-Academic (PTE-A) as evidence of English language proficiency.
- TOEFL-Internet Based Test (IBT): 79
or higher
- TOEFL-Paper Based Test (PBT): 550 or
higher
- IELTS: 6.5 overall band score or
higher
- PTE-A: 53 or higher
However,
this requirement may be waived for students who are currently enrolled at a
college or university in the United States and/or who demonstrate a proficiency
in written and spoken English following a personal interview. Admission
of a student to a graduate program must be approved by the program director and
by the dean of the SOPH. No individual may enroll in graduate-level courses
without proper approval and notification from the SOPH.
Criminal
Background Checks. Students are required to complete fingerprinting and
criminal background checks in accordance with UMMC policy and procedure.
Students are also required to notify the dean’s office of any arrests or
convictions that occur after the criminal background check clearance and while
a SOPH student. The dean’s office will review all background checks and
notifications to determine if there have been lapses in professionalism.
Deadlines for applications
The SOPH
accepts applications throughout the calendar year. However, applications for
specific academic semesters must be received by the Office of Enrollment
Management by the deadlines below.
- Post-baccalaureate Certificate
Program in Analytics
- Post-baccalaureate Certificate
Program in Population Health Science
- Summer admission: May 1
- Fall admission: June 1
- Spring admission: December 1
- Master of Science (MS) in
Biostatistics and Data Science
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in
Biostatistics and Data Science
- Executive Master of Science (MS) in
Population Health Management
- Master of Science (MS) in Population
Health Science
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in
Population Health Science
PhD
students wishing to be considered for a graduate student stipend and Dean’s
Scholarship for the upcoming Fall semester should apply for admission as early
as possible,
but no later than
December 31. Graduate student stipends
and Dean’s Scholarships for PhD students are evaluated on a competitive
basis. An applicant is considered for the enrollment period designated on the
application. If the applicant is accepted and fails to enroll, or is not
accepted, a new application must be submitted if consideration for a subsequent
enrollment date is desired.
Application fee
A
nonrefundable fee of $25 must accompany the initial application.
Non-degree seeking students
An individual
who wishes to take graduate coursework but is not a student in a Bower School of
Population Health degree program may apply as Bower School of Population Health
Non-Degree Seeking Students (NDSS) per the SOPH Non-Degree
Seeking Student policy.
Technical standards for admission
Technical
Standards are non-academic requirements essential for meeting the academic
requirements of the programs in the Bower School of Population Health. Within
any area of specialization, students must demonstrate competence in those
intellectual and physical tasks that together represent the fundamentals of
research in their chosen discipline.
Degree
programs may require a dissertation, thesis, projects, or a practice
transformation practicum, based on independent research. Granting of these
degrees implies the recipient has demonstrated a base of knowledge in their
chosen field of study and the ability to independently apply that knowledge to
form hypotheses, design and conduct experiments, interpret experimental
results, and communicate these findings to the scientific community. Thus, a
candidate for the PhD or MS degree must possess abilities and skills that allow
for observation, intellectual and conceptual reasoning, motor coordination, and
communication. The use of a trained intermediary is not acceptable.
The
following technical skills are required of a successful student in the SOPH:
Observation
skills. The
candidate must be able to acquire knowledge by direct observation of
demonstrations, experiments, and experiences within the research and
instructional setting.
Intellectual/conceptual
abilities. The
candidate must be able to measure, calculate, analyze, reason, integrate, and
synthesize information to solve problems.
Motor
skills. The
candidate must possess motor skills necessary to perform procedures required
for the experimentation and experiences within the chosen discipline.
Communication
skills. The
candidate must be able to discuss and communicate his or her experimental
hypotheses and results to the scientific community.
Behavioral
and social attributes. The candidate must possess the emotional and
mental health required for full utilization of his or her intellectual
abilities, the exercise of good judgment, the prompt completion of
responsibilities inherent in managing a scientific setting, the ability to
function under the stress inherent in research, and the ability to understand
and comply with ethical standards for the conduct of research.
Tuition and required fees
Tuition and
fees for the academic year can be found on the institutional website. Students in PhD programs who
maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 may receive a waiver of non-resident fees.
Tuition is subject to change pending information from the Mississippi State
Institutions of Higher Learning.
Student Complaints
Students
have the right to complain without fear of retribution or retaliation.
More information on how students may file an official complaint can be
found in the SOPH Student Complaints policy.
Required Technology and Software
Every student is required to have a laptop computer that meets the
minimum requirements for both PC and Mac computers. Students should purchase a
laptop meeting or exceeding these requirements from regular retail channels.
Students are personally responsible for maintenance/repair of their laptop. All
students are required to maintain up-to-date virus and spyware detection software
on their laptops. Students should acquire their laptops prior to orientation.
Specific departments or academic degree programs may have additional
requirements for computers and/or software.
At a minimum, a student’s computer configuration should include:
- Speakers and a microphone/headphones with
built-in microphone
- Webcam
- Wi-Fi and/or Ethernet connection (Broadband
connection to the internet and related equipment0
- Windows 10 operating system
- Microsoft Office Suite installed
- Antivirus and spyware software
- Updated Adobe Flash Player and Oracle Java
- Firefox, Google Chrome, and/or Internet
Explorer browser
A student may also need access to:
Visit the UMMC
Software Portal (The Hub) to see a complete list of available software.
Students have the option to download the Microsoft Office suite for free while
enrolled. Visit https://portal.office.com/account for
more information
Graduate Program Admission Requirements
Post-baccalaureate
Certificate in Analytics applicants will be evaluated based on the following:
- Baccalaureate degree in mathematics
or a related field;
- Applicants must have completed
coursework in calculus through multiple variable integration and
differentiation; basic probability and statistics; and matrix algebra,
matrix multiplications, inversions and determinants
- Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.5 or
better on a 4.0 scale
- Curriculum Vitae OR One letter of recommendation
Post-baccalaureate
Certificate in Population Health Science applicants will be evaluated based on
the following:
- Baccalaureate degree;
- Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.8 or
better on a 4.0 scale for students entering with only a baccalaureate
degree; Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale for
students entering with a Master’s degree
- One letter of recommendation
Master
of Science (MS) in Biostatistics and Data Science applicants will be evaluated
on the following:
- Baccalaureate degree in a relevant
discipline
- Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or
better (preferred)
- Three letters of recommendation from
faculty members at accredited institutions or employment supervisors
- A personal statement
- Curriculum Vitae
- GRE; A GRE score >295 on
the combined verbal and quantitative scores is preferred
In addition,
students must have documented training in calculus (including multiple variable
integration and differentiation) and linear algebra. Additional training
in statistical or computer programming languages is preferred.
Doctor
of Philosophy (PhD) in Biostatistics and Data Sciences applicants will be
evaluated based on the following:
- Baccalaureate degree in a relevant
scientific discipline
- Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or
better (preferred)
- Three letters of recommendation
- A personal statement
- Curriculum Vitae
- GRE; A GRE score >300 on
the combined verbal and quantitative scores is preferred.
In addition,
applicants must have documented training in calculus (including multiple
variable integration and differentiation) and linear algebra. Additional
training in statistical or computer programming languages is preferred.
Applicants may submit code exhibiting their knowledge in a statistical or
computer programming language and/or slides presenting a completed data
analysis project. These materials are optional but may strengthen the
overall application.
Executive
MS of Science (eMS) in Population Health Management applicants will be
evaluated on the following:
- Baccalaureate or professional degree
- Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or
better (preferred)
- Three letters of recommendation
- A personal statement that includes
information regarding relevant experiences or work history pertinent to
the degree program
- Curriculum Vitae (Applicants must
have >5 years work experience
Master
of Science (MS) in Population Health Science applicants will be evaluated on the
following:
- Baccalaureate or professional degree
in a relevant discipline
- Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or
better (preferred)
- Three letters of recommendation
- A personal statement describing
professional background and aspirations pertinent to the degree program
All
applicants to the general track must meet the minimum admission requirements
set forth by the SOPH. In addition to the general requirements,
applicants to the Preventive Medicine track must be physicians undergoing
preventive medicine residency training at the University of Mississippi Medical
Center.
Doctor
of Philosophy (PhD) in Population Health Science and MD/PhD in Population
Health Science applicants will be evaluated on the following:
- Master’s degree in a relevant
scientific discipline (e.g. health sciences, social sciences, etc.) or a
professional degree in a health-related field
- Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or
better (preferred)
- Three letters of recommendation
- One letter from an academic referee
- A personal statement describing the
applicant’s professional background and aspirations pertinent to the
degree program.
- GRE; A GRE score >300 on
the combined verbal and quantitative scores is preferred.
In addition,
applicants show previous coursework at the undergraduate or graduate level
showing at least one course in statistics, research methods, and biology,
respectively, with a grade of B or better in each course.
Application procedure
The
application may be obtained online from the Bower School of Population Health website.
All applications are handled through the Office of Enrollment
Management. All transcripts and documents submitted to the Office of
Enrollment Management in support of an application become the property of The
UMMC and will not be returned to an applicant or forwarded to another school or
individual.
- Contact information:
- Office of Enrollment Management
University of Mississippi Medical Center
2500 N. State St.
Jackson, MS 39216
(601) 984-1080
(601) 984-1079 (fax)
SCOPE: All SOPH
students