Master of Health Professions Education
Situated in one of first and largest medical education departments in the world, Master of Health Professions Education (MHPE) students and graduates join a tradition of excellence going back to 1959. The UIC MHPE is globally recognized as a leader in HPE and has been offered around the world, in Brazil, India, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and China.
Program Overview Heading link
Key features
- A focus on educational leadership and scholarship
- World-class, interdisciplinary faculty
- Part-time online or onsite format options
- Application of learning within your own institutional setting
- A mentored thesis project
- An extensive international network of faculty, students, and alumni
Who is it for?
The MHPE program is designed for individuals who have a deep interest in HPE and desire the additional leadership and scholarship skills that will advance their education, research, and career. Students are health professionals from a diversity of fields and a range of career stages, from in-training to late career.
Our students are health professionals serving in or preparing for educational leadership roles in academia, healthcare organizations, professional societies, and international health agencies. Students acquire the knowledge and skills to develop and implement evidence-based educational programs, inspire and manage change in their institutions and organizations, and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in HPE.
Overview continued Heading link
What Should Students Expect to Learn?
MHPE students acquire the knowledge and skills needed to become leaders and scholars in HPE, developing proficiency in:
- Key education concepts and theories including curriculum design and implementation; instruction and learning; assessment of performance; and program evaluation
- HPE leadership, including organizational analysis and the use of tools for assessing, leading, and managing individual and organizational change in the HPE context
- HPE scholarship, including the use of scholarship and evidence to inform education leadership and practice; formulation of research questions and identification of appropriate methods to investigate them; and literacy in quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches
- Communication and collegial interaction including oral and written communication; teamwork; giving and receiving feedback; and providing and seeking mentorship
World-class faculty share their expertise through teaching courses and serving as thesis advisors and committee members.
Program Structure Heading link
Onsite Intensive vs. Online Option
The program is offered in two format options: an onsite (on-campus) intensive option or a primarily online longitudinal option. The onsite option includes 2 weeks onsite for each core course and 1 week for elective. The primarily online options includes 8- to 15-week semester-long courses.
Students in both formats participate together in a 1-week on-campus orientation course, in which they are introduced to core course content and faculty and begin to develop the peer relationships that will form the basis of a lasting community of practice.
Those enrolled in the online format are also required to return to campus for 3-5 days for a residency experience during the summer. More details regarding the residency requirements for students matriculating in 2024 and beyond will be available in the spring of 2024.
Hybrid Option
A hybrid accelerated option may be available to a limited number of students who have protected time to devote to the program. This allows them to complete all core courses in a single year.
Program Timeline
The program is designed for professionals working full-time and completing the program on a part-time basis. Part-time students should anticipate completing the program within 3 years. Generally, courses are completed within the first 2 years and the required thesis is completed by the 3rd year.
Students who wish to pursue the program on a full-time or accelerated basis may indicate this when applying for the program. For example, this may be considered for students who are on sabbatical or have funding/significant release time to complete the program within two years. In this format, it is possible to complete all or most courses within one year, although students will need the second year to complete the required thesis.
Credit Hours
Graduates complete 32 credit hours, including 5 mandatory core courses (18 credits), 3 or 4 electives (6-8 credits), and a thesis (6-8 credits).
Thesis
The culmination and hallmark of the MHPE journey is the mentored thesis. Working closely with a DME faculty thesis chair and supervisory committee, students embark on an intensive research project that applies lessons from the MHPE program to address a local educational need or question or fills a broader gap in the scholarly literature.
Admissions Heading link
Students in the MHPE program are admitted only once per year in the fall semester. The application deadline for Fall 2025 is December 1, 2024.
A successful application will make a strong case for the applicant’s capacity to thrive in the MHPE program, which includes demonstrating evidence of their interest and engagement in education programs, initiatives, and projects. The admissions committee evaluates all applications based on scholarship potential, leadership potential, and communication skills. Given the diversity of candidates, the strength of an applicant can be demonstrated in a variety of ways. Applicants are judged on the strength of their accomplishments relative to norms of their career stage, profession, and specialty. Though scholarly publications and significant involvement in educational initiatives can serve as indicators of one’s potential to succeed in the program, they are not mandatory.
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You must meet the following
- Applicant must have earned a Baccalaureate degree or an advanced professional degree in a health professions discipline. Applicants with a degree in a related field and significant experience in a health professions setting will also be considered.
- Previous grade point average must be above 3.75 on a 5-point scale or 3.0 on a 4-point scale.
- Applicant must hold a position in educational leadership or be actively preparing for such a role.
- Applicant must submit registrar-issued transcripts from each college and professional school attended.
- Applicant must submit copies of registrar-issued transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended
- Applicant must submit a written statement of their professional goals (personal statement), a CV, and three letters of recommendation.
Additional requirements for international applicants
- Applicants whose native language is not English must take either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the exam of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or the Pearson’s PTE Academic. The test score cannot be more than two years old.
- International applicants must provide a financial statement from their sponsoring institution; or, if personally financing their studies, they must provide a bank statement attesting to sufficient funds to cover tuition and living expenses for one year.
For more details on international applications, including test score minimums, reporting requirements and exemptions, please see the UIC Admissions International Requirements page.
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Where to go to apply
- The application fee for graduate applicants (domestic and international) is $70.
- There is an additional $100 international credential evaluation fee for any applicant presenting international course work requiring an evaluation regardless of residency.
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Include the following
2. All applicants are required to upload all of their documents and academic credentials electronically to satisfy both program-specific requirements and admission/institutional requirements. For more details on the document upload process, please visit the UIC Admissions page.
Note: all uploaded documents must be in PDF form.
Include the following:
- Personal Statement Form, using the template .
- CV
- Three letters of recommendation: Please provide your letter writers the cover sheet template.
- Copies of registrar-issued transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended.
Please note that only admitted applicants will need to provide official, paper transcripts. Once admitted, official transcripts must be sent directly from post-secondary institution in a sealed envelope to the Office of Admissions. Transcripts should not be mailed before a student is admitted.
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Include the following
International students will need to upload the following additional documents/materials:
- IELTS score report, if applicable. TOEFL or PTE Academic scores must be reported to UIC directly from the testing agency.
- Declaration of Certification of Finances (graduate)
- Bank Statement or Letter of Financial Support
- Copy of passport
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Next steps
Students are informed of application decisions in early March. The 1-week onsite introductory course (MHPE 505) takes place at the end of July.
Choosing a format
Upon application, students are asked to choose either on-campus or online as their preferred participation option. Students will be given registration preference for courses in the program format to which they are admitted. Please note the tuition fees for both options:
- Online tuition (2024): $838 × 32 credits = $26,816 plus fees
- On-campus tuition: Varies depending on the number of credits taken per semester and Illinois residency. (Please contact Suah Cho for additional information.)
Contact for More information Heading link
Maura Polansky
Email:
Suah Cho
Phone:
Email:
Testimonials Heading link
The MHPE Program at UIC equipped me with the incredible grounding to have a focused career in assessment, to always engage in scholarly teaching, assessment and leadership, and to maximize opportunities for scholarship. It was this training that allowed me to go from a new hire, Assistant Professor in 2009 to a Full Professor as of 2020 as an educator. The faculty are incredibly dedicated to the development of the Health Professions Education leaders and scholars of tomorrow.
Vijay Daniels, MD, MHPE, FRCPC, DRCPSC(CE)
Professor, Division of General Internal Medicine
Associate Chair (Education and Faculty Development), Department of Medicine
Assistant Dean (Assessment), MD Program University of Alberta
MHPE graduates are able to appraise the relative validity and relevance of a set of rules for the situation at hand, adapt and extrapolate from them as necessary, and identify when such rules should be thrown out altogether (as they are inappropriate for the situation at hand). MHPE graduates are able to use their theoretical understanding to construct situation-specific solutions when nothing exists off the shelf. That is the power of the MHPE program.
David Keegan, MD
Associate Dean
Faculty Development and Performance
Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary