The answer is YES! It is very important to get your Masters in Public Health degree from an accredited institution. You may be wondering just why accreditation is important for a program. The reasons for this are manifold. Among them are:

• Accreditation sets standards for the program – When a school goes through the process of gaining accreditation, they have a lot of educational standards that have to be met before accreditation will be granted. These standards ensure that the program is of the highest quality and will provide the education for the Public Health students that is needed to see them succeed.

• Ensures the program is continually improving – For a school to have their programs accredited, they have to implement a plan for improving their curriculum and the entire college or university. Regular student and professor assessments are required to assess how successful the program is. The hallmark of a good MPH program is when the students feel they are actually learning things that will help them achieve their career goals and having a system set up to ensure those goals are being met is imperative. It is also important to regularly assess the relevance of the program to make sure the current trends in Public Health are being addressed.

• It just looks better to employers – Getting your Masters in Public Health degree from an accredited program demonstrates to your current and future employers just how important your career is to you. Many would view getting a degree from an unaccredited school as careless and they would come to regard you as possibly being careless as a result. It does not benefit you to begin your career with a bad reputation just because you got a degree from an unaccredited school.

• It is necessary if you want to further your studies – Many people do not want to stop with just getting their Masters in Public Health degree. Some want to go on and get their doctorate degree in the field or a related one. This, however, is not possible if you get your MPH degree from an unaccredited school. Most colleges and universities will not accept degrees that are not from accredited institutions because they have no way of knowing what you have learned and what you did not learn while getting your Masters degree. Without the standards that go along with accreditation, a school can teach just about anything. It is very discouraging to want to continue your education and then realize out you can’t because your Masters degree is from an unaccredited school.

• Provides credibility to you and your degree – Having a Masters in Public Health from an accredited school gives you more credibility in the Public Health field. When your degree is from an accredited school, your peers and your employers know that you studied in a program that was part of a rigorous accreditation process and, thus, is a high-quality education.

There are plenty more reasons why accreditation is important to your Masters in Public Health degree. Of course, there are other things to keep in mind when looking for an MPH program. Cost and schedule flexibility are also very important, but you must keep accreditation in mind when researching a school to get your Masters in Public Health degree from. Having a degree from an accredited college or university speaks a lot about your character and how serious you are about your career. As long as you choose the right accredited MPH program, you can rest assured that you will walk away with a top notch education that will serve you well in your chosen career.

References:

• http://www.css-msa.org/about/whyaccredit.html