2025 Best Public Health Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region
If you pursue a master's degree in
public health, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #14 most popular program in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
College Factual looked at 16 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Public Health Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,074 master's degrees in public health during the 2021-2022 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Public Health School for Your Master's Degree
Your choice of public health for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on public health students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - The number of public health students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How much debt public health students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized public health related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for public health students working on their master's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The public health school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Public Health Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Public Health in the Plains States Region
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in public health.
10 Top Plains States Region Schools for a Master's in Public Health
It is difficult to beat University of Minnesota - Twin Cities if you want to pursue a master's degree in public health. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public university with a very large student population.
Public Health master's degree recipients from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities receive an earnings boost of around $7,868 over the typical earnings of public health graduates.
More information about a master’s in public health from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in public health has to look into University of Iowa. Iowa is a very large public university located in the city of Iowa City.
Public Health master's degree recipients from University of Iowa receive an earnings boost of about $6,635 over the average income of public health majors.
More information about a master’s in public health from University of Iowa
University of Nebraska Medical Center is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in public health. UNMC is a small public university located in the city of Omaha.
After graduation, public health master's recipients usually make an average of $59,287 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a master’s in public health from University of Nebraska Medical Center
Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in public health needs to check out Saint Louis University. SLU is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Saint Louis.
Soon after graduation, public health master's recipients usually make an average of $61,908 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a master’s in public health from Saint Louis University
Mizzou is a fairly large public university located in the city of Columbia.
Students who graduate with their master's from the public health program state that they receive average early career earnings of $62,368.
More information about a master’s in public health from University of Missouri - Columbia
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