MPH Admissions & Tuition

IMPORTANT : If you are applying to any of the following combined degree programs, you should submit the Tufts Online Application, and not a SOPHAS application.

• BA/MPH (Tufts undergraduate students only)
• DMD/MPH (Tufts DMD students only)
• JD/MPH (with Northeastern University School of Law or Boston College Law)
• MS in Nutrition/MPH (with Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition)

The SOPHAS application is for the MPH stand-alone degree only.

• SOPHAS Application
• Frequently Asked Questions for SOPHAS applicants
• SOPHAS Fee: The cost for a SOPHAS application is $135 for the first school or program to which you apply. Any additional schools or programs to which you choose to apply will cost $50 per designation, even if you submit those schools or programs later in the application cycle.

The personal statement should explain how obtaining a graduate degree from the Public Health & Professional Degree Programs at Tufts will further the applicant’s career goals.  Statements should be limited to 750 words.

Tufts MPH requires three letters of recommendation.  SOPHAS only requires two letters of recommendation to update your SOPHAS status to "complete."  However, your third letter of recommendation must be submitted in order for our admissions staff to review you.

All Letters of Recommendation are submitted to SOPHAS electronically.  Letters should be primarily academic in nature and should mention the relationship of the applicant to the recommender so that their observations can be put into the proper context.

An electronic request from will be sent immediately once the applicant saves the references’ information into the SOPHAS system.  Please advise your references to monitor their junk e-mail and spam folders for messages from “SOPHAS Messenger,” subject heading “SOPHAS Reference Request,” as these e-mails are automated and therefore sometimes filtered as spam. Candidates will be able to check on the status of electronic letters via WebADMIT (SOPHAS applicant portal).

Please see the SOPHAS FAQ instructions for Official Test Scores.

Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are required of all applicants. MCAT or GMAT scores are the only other exams which may be submitted in lieu of the GRE. Non-native English speakers are required to take the TOEFL.

Applicants may request a waiver of the GRE requirement.

All U.S. official transcripts must be sent to SOPHAS directly.  International transcripts must be evaluated by WES.  The WES evaluation MUST be sent to SOPHAS directly.  International transcripts will not be verified by SOPHAS.

If your bachelor's degree was in progress when you sent your transcript to SOPHAS and you matriculate here at Tufts, official transcripts are required from your undergraduate institution showing your Bachelor's degree conferral. This must be sent directly to Tufts. NO COPIES or faxes will be accepted.

Check your application status.

SOPHAS will NOT notify you that your application is incomplete or that documents are missing. It is the applicant’s responsibility to monitor the status of their application and application materials on a regular basis, and to follow up with SOPHAS on any incomplete or undelivered statues, and on any incomplete or missing documents. To aid you in this process, you have several tools provided on your application.

Academic Update (Coursework)

For more information on how to update your application, please visit the SOPHAS website.

Your Application's Status

On your account homepage, the column on the right is your Status Menu. This menu is “read-only” and no section can be edited. Here you can view the receipt of documents and other information, which are updated in real time. Use the information on this menu to determine to your application’s overall status. The status titles are listed below:

In-Progress:  Your application has not yet been e-submitted to SOPHAS.

Submitted/Not Complete:  Your application has been e-submitted but is still missing a required item to become complete. Required items include payment, transcripts, and at least two letters of recommendation.

Complete/Not Verified:  Your application is complete and in line for verification.

Complete Date: The date your application was completed and went in line for verification.  Applications are placed in line in chronological order based on their complete date.  Please note, PHPD requires your 3rd Letter of Recommendation to be received by SOPHAS before you are fully complete.

Undelivered:  An error has been found and your application has been returned to you for correction. It must be re-submitted to SOPHAS in order to be processed.

Verified: Your application has been processed and your GPA has been calculated.

Mailed: Your application has been placed in a mailing batch to be downloaded by your schools and programs.

All supporting application credentials noted above should be sent to:

Tufts University School of Medicine
Public Health & Professional Degree Programs (SOPHAS)
Attn: Director of Admissions, Emily C. Keily
136 Harrison Avenue Suite 142
Boston, MA 02111

Any grades you report as part of an Academic Update will NOT be verified and your SOPHAS GPA will NOT be updated. Once your application is verified the first time, do NOT send any updated transcripts to SOPHAS.  If, when you applied, your degree was in progress you MUST send an official transcript (with date of degree conferral) to the above address by the deadline so that we can determine degree completion.  If you do not, your application will remain incomplete.  Please allow up to two weeks for us to receive these transcripts. 

MPH students take a total of 14 full courses (42 credits total; each full-semester course is 3.0 credits) to earn their degree. At current year tuition rates, this means the total tuition cost of the MPH program is $72,450.*

To calculate your per-semester bill, you should multiply the number of courses you are planning to take by the tuition rates above. If you are planning to enroll full-time, you will take between 3 and 5 courses per semester. You should add the per-semester fees as well.

To be considered half-time status (and therefore eligible for federal loans) you must enroll in at least 4.5 credits (1.5 courses) per semester. To be considered full-time status, students must enroll in at least 9 credits (3 courses) per semester.

The Public Health Programs primarily provide financial assistance in the form of federal loans and work-study awards. There are a very limited number of merit-need based scholarships available each year to meritorious students.

We strongly encourage you to submit a financial aid application as early in the application process as possible to allow adequate time for the Office of Financial Aid to process your application. Do not wait until you have submitted your application or receive an admissions decision to apply for aid, as this will delay your personal financial aid information.

Financial Aid and Scholarship Information >>