MSN/MPH: Nursing and Public Health

The Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and Rollins collaborate in a dual-degree Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)/Master of Public Health (MPH) program to prepare professional nurses for leadership roles in health care. The MSN/MPH program combines advanced nursing knowledge and clinical nursing skills with public health knowledge to prepare future nurses for leadership roles as they deliver care to at-risk individuals and communities. Graduates must complete requirements for both degree programs to earn the dual MSN/MPH dual degrees.

  • May be completed in two calendar years
  • First year is spent at Rollins (MPH degree requires no less than 32 credit hours)
  • Second year is spent at School of Nursing

Students who obtain an MSN/MPH will have the credentials to direct or manage a public health organization, administer care to an at-risk community or school, and speak on behalf of those affected by public health crises.

Post Graduate Employment

Post graduate employment includes agencies such as Doctors Without Borders, Indian Health Services, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

  • Students must apply to both Schools and be accepted into each school separately to be eligible for the dual degree program.
  • Application to the Rollins School of Public Health is completed through SOPHAS – The Centralized Application Service for Public Health. 
  • Application to the School of Nursing is completed through the School of Nursing’s Application. Students should refer to the School of Nursing Catalog for information on Pre- and Post-requisite Admission Requirements as well as for information for their specialty area. 

Dual-degree students will choose a specialty area in Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) as well as a department at Rollins. Total credit hours for the dual program may vary based on the specialty selected. Dual-degree students must take a minimum of 32 semester credit hours at Rollins and a minimum of 36 MSN semester hours at the School of Nursing. Students should refer to the Nursing Catalog posted on the School of Nursing website for additional graduation requirements.

Students may select from eight APN specialties. Graduates are prepared to apply for the appropriate nurse practitioner examinations.  Specialty areas offered at the MSN level are: Adult/Gerontology Nurse Practitioner, Acute or Primary Care; Emergency Nurse Practitioner; Family Nurse Practitioner; Neonatal Nurse Practitioner; Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner; or Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Acute or Primary

Academic departments at Rollins include Behavioral Sciences and Health Education; Biostatistics and Bioinformatics; Environmental Health, Epidemiology; Health Policy and Management; and the Hubert Department of Global Health.

Students enroll in the School of Public Health for one calendar year during their first year at Emory before completing requirements for the MSN degree in the School of Nursing. 

School of Nursing Admission Requirements

Candidates for the MSN/MPH program must apply to and be accepted by each school separately.

School of Nursing Prerequisite Requirements:

  • Bachelor of Science in Nursing from an accredited College or University and accredited nursing program
  • Statistics course (3 semester credit hours)
  • Undergraduate Health Assessment course (3 semester credit hours)

Certain APN specialties require a minimum of 1-2 year(s) of full-time work experience as a registered nurse in relevant settings.

Rollins Admission Requirements

At Rollins, the dual-degree candidate is expected to designate a department at the time of application. Evaluation of applicants for admission to Rollins is based on prior academic performance in postsecondary education, abilities as assessed by standardized tests, and a commitment to working in public health. Applicants must comply with Rollins' admission requirements as well as any additional requirements of the department to which they are applying.

Academic Advising

Each dual-degree student is assigned an academic adviser from the APN specialty and from the designated department at Rollins. The assigned academic advisers in each school will work with the student to develop the program of study consistent with the degree requirements from the respective school and specialty/department.

Integrative Learning Experience

Rollins requires all of its master's degree students to complete a thesis, a special study project, or a comprehensive examination—depending on the department in which they are enrolled. For the dual-degree candidate, this scholarly work represents a synthesis of both nursing and public health course work. A committee to advise the student normally will be composed of at least three faculty members, with representatives from each school. The choice of committee chair and the format for the thesis/project will be guided by the nature of the thesis/project and decided collaboratively by the faculty advisers, the student, and the committee, when appropriate.

Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing Admissions

Rollins School of Public Health Admissions sphadmissions@emory.edu