Dear SOPHAS applicant,

Congratulations on your decision to apply to a CEPH-accredited school of public health and public health programs. You have a chosen to enter a field that solves the some of the most complex problems and serves to save and improve lives.

SOPHAS was created in 2006 by a group of admissions directors of CEPH-accredited schools of public health and public health programs. The purpose of SOPHAS is three-fold:

1. To facilitate the application process for applicants by allowing them to submit and monitor their application using a single portal and process.
2. To expedite the admissions process of the schools and programs of public health, allowing them to focus on working with applicants rather than spend their time dealing with large quantities of paperwork.
3. To allow the schools and programs of public health to better capture information related to the total applicant pool, and subsequently, students and workforce. This data is essential to our understanding of our level of preparedness in dealing with complex health problems both in the U.S. and in most other countries around the world.

SOPHAS policies are determined by a committee of representatives from the admissions office of each participating CEPH-accredited school of public health and public health programs. Because each institution has slightly different admissions processes and/or policies, SOPHAS was developed on a consensus basis to satisfy the needs of the most institutions. Each institutionl has a role in determining SOPHAS application requirements, how SOPHAS is managed and evaluates the application service on an on-going basis.

Schools and programs of public health governing members are constantly working with the SOPHAS staff to make sure the process works as well as possible for all stakeholders, including applicants, recommenders, institution admissions offices, institution review committees, and institution registrar offices.

Please know that the SOPHAS members are interested in your feedback and continually discuss issues of concern to applicants. Each year, we survey applicants to gather input on the application process and highly recommend you take a few minutes to complete the survey when it is sent out.

Some applicant suggestions we can and do act on; each year we make a number of changes based on your feedback. Others cannot be implemented because they will disrupt the policies/processes for a majority of the institutions. The rationale for SOPHAS application requirements, such as coursework entry, are directly addressed in our FAQ on www.sophas.org.

We hope that you will have a successful application process and appreciate any feedback you wish to submit. Specific suggestions or concerns can be forwarded to info@asph.org.

Sincerely,

SOPHAS Advisory Council