SLU’s M.P.H. Program Ranked Top 50 by U.S. News & World Report
The Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice’s Master of Public Health program is now ranked No. 49 in the country, according the 2026 U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate School Rankings that were released this April.
The program moved up into the top 50 from its previous ranking in an expanding pool of accredited public health programs. The publication announces the new rankings yearly for public health graduate programs and schools.
We are pleased to see the value of our program and the educational experience we provide our students recognized in these rankings."
Anne K. Sebert Kuhlmann, Ph.D., chair and professor in the Department of Behavioral Science and Health Equity
The College for Public Health and Social Justice came to fruition in July 2013 from its previous form as the School of Public Health, which was founded in 1991 and became fully accredited in 1995. The college was charged to "boldly lead in teaching, researching, and providing services to those most affected by the complex factors that undermine health and welfare." The College for Public Health and Social Justice is also fully accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).
As the only accredited Catholic, Jesuit school of public health in the nation, SLU’s College for Public Health and Social Justice is committed to social justice and the Jesuit mission. Students are challenged to serve others locally, nationally and globally through their work.
Serving as a pillar of that mission, the SLU M.P.H. offers a well-rounded education which features five concentrations, additional certificates, required APEx internships, and class ratios which allow for close partnership and participation with our globally renowned faculty.
“Students come to the MPH program to learn to be problem solvers around complex health issues," said Katie Stamatakis, Ph.D., Master of Public Health program director and professor. "The combination of critical thinking skills, grounded in methods from across disciplines, and an understanding of the context around health-related resources in communities means they can connect the dots from evidence to translation into programs and policies that create opportunities for health.”
M.P.H. students can pick from the following five concentrations: behavioral science and health equity; biostatistics; epidemiology; health management and policy; public health practice.
Students also now benefit from a revamped 42-credit-hour M.P.H. program with the option to add one of many certificate programs, enabling students to customize your program for just six additional credit hours. Admission to the SLU M.P.H. program also includes package pricing where the price of the M.P.H. stays in effect for the duration of the program.
Graduate-level public health classes are taught by faculty members who are internationally recognized as leaders in public health research and practice and have diverse research interests. Staff, faculty and students collectively spend over 10,000 hours per year partnering with various agencies and organizations engaged in public health on a range of activities including program evaluation, data collection and analysis, disease surveillance, training staff, and providing policy guidance to civic leaders.
M.P.H. faculty in CPHSJ are also rewarded for their engagement in important work inside and outside of the classroom.
Anne Sebert Kuhlmann, Ph.D., was recently honored with the 2025 Dr. Norman White Award for Engaged Scholarship, Sebert Kuhlmann was selected for her extensive body of work on social justice issues and the clear impact she has had on the communities she serves.
In addition to traditional classroom-based learning, students gain experience through applied learning opportunities with community partners.
“Our alumni are not only graduates — they’re essential partners in advancing public health," said Leslie McClure, Ph.D., dean of SLU's College for Public Health and Social Justice. "Their achievements in the field, their mentorship of our students, and their ongoing commitment to our mission help drive the momentum behind our rankings. The College for Public Health and Social Justice thrives because our alumni continue to carry our values into practice every day.”
Students graduate from public health programs prepared for work in health care, research or academia. Our alumni work in public health agencies, hospital systems, nonprofit organizations, academic medical centers, pharmaceutical and consulting firms, benefit-management organizations, and other unique settings relative to public health.
Outside of the classroom and in the community, research continues to be a common thread for public health faculty and staff with SLU’s recent achievement of earning prestigious R1 Status. Half of our recent research publications include students, and 25% include community partners.
Since its inception, the College for Public Health and Social Justice has committed to identifying and addressing methods to improve health in communities throughout St. Louis and around the world.
Public health faculty carry a diverse research portfolio study of various social and environmental factors on health:
- Leslie McClure, PhD, examines the complex relationships between air quality and chronic diseases.
- Min Qian, Ph.D., builds on his decades of research and collaboration on air pollution and its impact on various health issues in China among mothers and children.
- Enbal Shacham, Ph.D., and Kenan Li, Ph.D., conducted studies examining the relationships of air quality and child mental health, and secured a grant to explore kidney health with Krista Lentine, M.D., Ph.D., and Yasar Caliskan, M.D.
- In 2024, Ricardo Wray, Ph.D., was named a Climate Health Communication Scholar by the National Institutes of Health.
- Keon Gilbert, DrPH, continues his role as a Brookings Institute Fellow and the director of the Institute for Healing Justice and Equity at SLU, with publications on, among other topics, the community impact of hosting the Olympics.
The M.P.H. and CPHSJ also found a new home at the start of the spring 2025 semester, a big move years in the making. The second floor of the Wool Center, on the northeast corner of Grand and Lindell boulevards, is a freshly renovated space thanks to a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) that provides a new community for all undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. students in CPHSJ. Now, for the first time in decades, all CPHSJ programs, students and faculty are together, providing countless chances for collaboration and fellowship in the CPHSJ student community.
College for Public Health and Social Justice
The Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice is the only academic unit of its kind, studying social, environmental and physical influences that together determine the health and well-being of people and communities. It also is the only accredited school or college of public health among nearly 250 Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States. Guided by a mission of social justice and focus on finding innovative and collaborative solutions for complex health problems, the college offers nationally recognized programs in public health and health administration.