A master's degree in a public health, health services administration, health policy or other related health field is required for admission. Applicants for the doctoral program must show potential for further study by having maintained a GPA of at least a 3.0 average in their master's‐level coursework. An acceptable, competitive score on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) from the past five years is required. Applicants already holding a doctoral degree or its professional equivalent from a U.S. university may be exempted from the GRE requirement. Other professional school standardized test scores (MCAT, DAT, GMAT, or LSAT,) may be substituted for the GRE by applicants who are working toward, or who have already earned, post‐baccalaureate degrees in medicine, dentistry, management, or law earned in the U.S.

All international applicants who will be attending the University on a visa, are non-native English speakers, and are not University of Memphis graduates must supply a minimum score of 96 (80%) on the computer-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT) or an equivalent score on the paper-based test (TOEFL PBT).

Letters of recommendation from three professionals (at least two letters from former professors) familiar with the applicant's academic background or experience in public health related work, specifying in detail the applicant's capabilities for graduate study and for future performance as a public health scholar, are required. Applicants must also submit a personal statement of approximately 750 to 1000 words indicating his/her present interests and career goals, including how the PhD in Health Systems and Policy will prepare the candidate to achieve these goals.

Materials submitted will be reviewed by the faculty admissions committee. Admission decisions are based upon the overall quality of the applicant's scholarship and academic ability (i.e., GPAs, GRE scores, undergraduate and graduate coursework completed, research conducted, and recommendations), as well as the applicant's ''fit'' for the program in terms of research interests and career goals.