Public Health Schools and MPH Programs in South Carolina

With a humid subtropical climate, like hot summers and generally mild winters, South Carolina is a place many students choose to live and work while pursuing public health training If you live in South Carolina and are looking for a degree program to improve your quality of life and the lives of others, obtaining an advanced degree in public health could be an excellent option for you.

Master of Public Health (MPH) programs prepare graduates for leadership and practice-focused roles in public health agencies, healthcare systems, nonprofits, and community organizations. For many students, South Carolina can be a strong place to build a public health career, especially if you’re looking for programs with applied training and connections to local employers and agencies. For students pursuing public health in South Carolina, the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health is CEPH-accredited and offers the MPH with multiple concentration options, including Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology, Health Promotion/Education/Behavior, Health Services Policy & Management, and Physical Activity & Public Health.

Read on to learn more about South Carolina MPH programs and specializations to consider, and the career outlook across the state.

University	Study Length	Test Requirement	Number of Credits
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill infoAD	As few as 20 months	No GRE Required	42
George Washington University infoAD	As few as 12 months	No GRE Required	45

Master of Public Health (MPH) Programs in South Carolina

University	Format	Location	Study Length	Test Requirement	Number of Credits	Accrediting organization
University of South Carolina	On-Campus	Columbia, South Carolina	2 years	No GRE Required	43-45	CEPH
University of South Carolina	Online	Columbia, South Carolina	2 years	No GRE Required	45	CEPH

Public Health Schools and Highlights in South Carolina

South Carolina’s primary CEPH-accredited school of public health is the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina. The state also offers other MPH pathways, including the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) MPH program.

The University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health

921 Assembly St., Columbia, SC 29208

The University of South Carolina, located in the state capital of Columbia, was founded in 1801. USC is a large public research university in Columbia, South Carolina. In 2024–2025, the Columbia campus enrolled about 38,532 students (approximately 30,187 undergraduates and 8,345 graduate students).

The Arnold School is the only CEPH-accredited school of public health in South Carolina. The school offers bachelor’s degrees in arts and science with a major in public health, as well as a nationally ranked graduate program in public health. The university touts its experienced, nationally known public health faculty. USC holds Carnegie recognition for Community Engagement and is classified as an R1 research institution.

Online MPH Programs in South Carolina

Online MPH programs in South Carolina offer convenience and flexibility, allowing you to fit your schedule from anywhere. In online MPH programs, you can learn to connect people with the services they need and develop programs to meet their healthcare needs.

South Carolina’s primary CEPH-accredited school of public health is the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health. The state also has other CEPH-accredited MPH options, including the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) MPH program. The University of South Carolina offers multiple online MPH pathways, including Online MPH in Epidemiology, a 100% online option in Health Services Policy and Management, and an Online/Professional Online MPH in Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior.

Health Services Policy and Management (Online option): Focuses on managing public health programs and improving the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health services and systems.
Online MPH in Epidemiology: A 100% asynchronous MPH focused on applied epidemiology training and practice-based experience.
Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior (Online / Professional Online): The department lists an Online MPH option and also references an MPH Professional Online Program geared toward working professionals.

If you’re comparing online MPH programs, pay close attention to each program’s delivery format (fully asynchronous vs. scheduled live sessions), practicum expectations, and whether the curriculum is designed for early-career students or working professionals. You can also explore CEPH-accredited online MPH programs nationwide if you want options beyond South Carolina.

Public Health Careers Outlook in South Carolina

The need for public health specialists is expected to remain high for the foreseeable future, and a few of these positions pay close to six figures. For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment of medical and health services managers will grow 23% nationwide from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations. The annual mean wage for medical and health services managers in South Carolina in 2024 was $137,650, the BLS reports.

For salaries and project job growth of additional public health career opportunities in South Carolina, view the following data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Job Title	Avg. Salary in SC (OEWS 2024)	Avg. Salary in US (Latest BLS)	Projected Job Growth in U.S., 2024–2034
Medical and Health Services Managers	$137,650	~$137,730	+23%
Epidemiologists	$78,680	~$94,160	+16%
Environmental Scientists & Specialists	$80,440	~$88,640	+4%
Health Education Specialists	$66,990	~$71,700	+4%
Community Health Workers	$49,970	~$55,970	+11%
Social & Community Service Managers	$82,650	~$86,100	+6%
Medical Scientists (except Epidemiologists)	$130,690	~$112,690	+9%
Statisticians	$70,160	~$112,330	+8%

Specializations to Consider in South Carolina

Medical and health services managers and health education specialists are two solid career paths to consider in South Carolina. Pay varies widely by employer, experience level, and metro area, but BLS wage data shows these roles remain common public-health-adjacent options, with strong long-term demand nationwide. While many public health experts in the state make around the same or less than the national average, people in those two roles make more.

Medical and health services managers in South Carolina earn an annual mean wage of $105,220. Nationally, the median pay was $117,960.
For health education specialists, the U.S. average is $63,000 per year (2024 wage data). A statewide wage estimate for South Carolina is not publicly available in the 2024 release for this occupation.

Where South Carolina really shines when compared to the rest of the nation is in projected job growth. Of the 10 public health roles listed in the table above, seven are growing at rates faster than the national average. Those are:

Biostatisticians.
Health Specialties Professors.
Environmental Health Specialists.
Occupational Health Specialists.
Medical Records and Health Information Technicians.
Dietitians and Nutritionists.
Health Informatics Specialists.

Organizations to Work with a Public Health Degree

State of South Carolina: careers with a purpose in more than 70 state agencies through the official state hiring portal.
South Carolina Information Highway: a long-running directory of South Carolina resources that also maintains a jobs hub with links to employer job pages, organized by city and employer type.
South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH): South Carolina’s public health agency (created by the DHEC restructuring; launched July 1, 2024) and a key employer for MPH graduates.”
South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES): the environmental services agency created in the same restructuring (launched July 1, 2024).
University of South Carolina (USC) Jobs / Arnold School opportunities: browse faculty, staff, and research openings through USC’s employment pages.
South Carolina Department of Education: Use SCDE’s Employment Opportunities page to find agency openings and links to educator hiring resources.
South Carolina Public Health Association: a 501(c)(3) statewide public health organization with a multidisciplinary membership that supports public health practice through education, advocacy, and professional connections.
South Carolina Area Health Education Consortium: provides education, recruitment, and retention programs to strengthen the healthcare workforce—especially in rural and underserved communities.

State Health Information

There are many reasons to consider a career in public health in South Carolina, but the quality of life in this coastal state is a big draw for many people. The state has 2,876 miles of Atlantic shoreline. The state also offers extensive outdoor recreation through the South Carolina State Park Service, which includes 49 operational parks and six historic properties.

South Carolina continues to face meaningful public health challenges tied to affordability, chronic disease, and access to care. The state’s population is estimated at 5,570,274 (July 1, 2025), according to the Census Bureau. About 13.3% of residents live in poverty (2020–2024), and 11.0% of people under age 65 are uninsured (2020–2024). On the health system side, South Carolina ranks #36 in the Commonwealth Fund’s 2025 State Health System Performance rankings.

Chronic disease risk factors also remain an ongoing focus. Based on 2024 BRFSS data summarized by America’s Health Rankings, 34.6% of adults in South Carolina have obesity. Adult cigarette smoking is 12.6% (also BRFSS 2024, via America’s Health Rankings). Among youth, the most recently published South Carolina Youth Tobacco Survey results (2024) show 9.1% of high school students reported current e-cigarette use and 1.5% reported current cigarette smoking.

Information last updated February 2026