Master of Public Health program expands again with concentration in health communication

By Maggie Christ

For the third time this year, Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Public Health is expanding its Master of Public Health program – this time, with a degree concentration in health communication.

Already in 2025, the school introduced a concentration in health policy, and it announced – starting in the spring 2026 semester – a fully online version of its M.P.H. program that can provide greater flexibility for students.

The new concentration also will debut in the upcoming spring semester. It will prepare practitioners to effectively communicate, to various audiences, core public health knowledge and to express the design, results and interpretation of public health interventions, evaluations and data collection and analysis.

The health communication emphasis marks the fifth concentration in the M.P.H. program, with the others focusing on applied public health; cancer prevention and control science; epidemiology; and health policy.

“At VCU, our M.P.H. program and this health communication concentration prepare the next generation of professionals to lead, combining communication strategy, behavioral science and public health practice to create lasting impact,” said Sunny Jung Kim, Ph.D, associate professor of social and behavioral sciences.

Here are details about the latest concentration.

The degree

The M.P.H. with a concentration in health communication is a 45-credit, two-year program for full-time students, or three to five years for part-time students.

Among the courses

Concentration courses include Practical Communication Strategies for Public Health; Media, Health and Policy; and Health Communication.

Admission requirements

They include a 3.0 GPA, official transcripts, an earned bachelor’s degree, a CV or résumé, two letters of recommendation and a personal statement. No GRE or WES verification is required.

Application deadlines

Applications for the debut spring 2026 semester are open now on SOPHAS.org until Nov. 7. (For the fall 2026 cohort, the application deadline is March 1.) VCU also requires a supplemental application following submission of the SOPHAS application.