Council on Education for Public Health

What Council on Education for Public Health does

The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) is an independent nonprofit accrediting agency founded in 1974 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. (800 I Street NW, Suite 4008), co-established by the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH, now ASPPH). CEPH is the sole organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit public health schools and programs, and it operates three accreditation categories — Schools of Public Health (SPH), Public Health Programs (PHP), and Standalone Baccalaureate Programs (SBP) — covering 60+ SPH and 100+ PHP across the U.S. and international locations including Mexico, Taiwan, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

CEPH's core products are accreditation services and the supporting document infrastructure: a searchable degree-program database, accreditation criteria documents, self-study and IAS templates, an Accreditation Orientation Workshop (AOW), Pre-Application Orientation Webinar (P-AOW), a password-protected Report Search portal, a Site Visitor Nomination Program, and ongoing publications including quarterly digests and a multi-phase 2026 Criteria Revisions Initiative. The underlying technology stack is a standard content/website platform (ceph.org) with Google Analytics; products are informational and document-based rather than software offerings, and CEPH maintains no public API or developer portal.

CEPH's revenue is generated primarily through recurring annual support fees from accredited schools and programs, supplemented by a $1,000 one-time Initial Application Submission (IAS) review fee and contributions from the public health profession and academic community. The go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, relying on direct institutional engagement, formal application and self-study processes, four-times-yearly Council decision meetings, site visits conducted by trained peer reviewers, and ongoing outreach through webinars, a newsletter (CEPH Happenings), and conference participation. A staff of approximately 25 executes the operation under an Executive Director and a Board of Councilors drawn from public health practice and academia.

Name

Council on Education for Public Health

Legal name

Council on Education for Public Health

Website

https://ceph.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Short description

CEPH is the sole U.S. Department of Education-recognized accreditor for schools and programs of public health, serving 60+ Schools of Public Health and 100+ Public Health Programs in the U.S. and abroad through recurring annual support fees, IAS review fees, and peer-reviewed accreditation processes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Accreditation

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAF)

Keywords

• Public health accreditation
• Higher education accreditation
• Professional credentialing services
• School accreditation standards
• Accreditation program evaluation

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Accreditation Fees: CEPH generates revenue through accreditation fees charged to schools and programs seeking initial accreditation and ongoing annual support fees. Accredited schools and programs pay an annual support fee each year, including years in which there is an accreditation review. The IAS review fee is $1,000 for initial applicants (waived for SBP to PHP transitions).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CEPH is an independent nonprofit accreditation agency that evaluates and accredits schools and programs of public health in the United States and internationally. It operates across three categories—Schools of Public Health (SPH), Public Health Programs (PHP), and Standalone Baccalaureate Programs (SBP)—through a formal process that includes Initial Application Submissions, self-study documentation, peer site visits, and Council decision-making meetings held four times annually. Accredited units pay annual support fees, and CEPH is the only organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit public health schools and programs.

Product overview

The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) is an independent accreditation agency that accredits public health schools and programs at the graduate and undergraduate levels. CEPH operates as a membership-based standards organization with a portfolio of interconnected accreditation services organized into three categories: Schools of Public Health (SPH), Public Health Programs (PHP), and Standalone Baccalaureate Programs (SBP). The core product portfolio includes the accredited institution listings and searchable database, accreditation criteria documents, self-study and IAS templates, the Accreditation Orientation Workshop, Pre-Application Orientation Webinar, and the Report Search portal. CEPH also publishes quarterly digests, annual reports, and maintains an ongoing 2026 Criteria Revisions initiative. All products are informational and document-based rather than software or technology products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Schools of Public Health (SPH) Accreditation

Quantifiable outcome

• Graduates of CEPH-accredited programs are eligible to sit for the Certified in Public Health (CPH) exam administered by NBPHE
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors (ASPA)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1993CEPH has been an active member of ASPA since its inception in 1993. ASPA provides a collaborative forum and collective voice for organizations assessing quality of specialized and professional higher education programs and schools in the United States.
• American Public Health Association (APHA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1974APHA, the nation's largest individual public health membership organization, co-founded CEPH in 1974 along with the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH). From 1945 to 1973, APHA carried out accreditation of graduate professional education in public health before responsibility was transferred to the independent CEPH.
• Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1974ASPH, the national organization representing deans, faculty and students of accredited schools of public health, co-founded CEPH in 1974. ASPH became the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) in 2013.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME): The LCME is the US DOE–recognized accreditor for MD-granting medical schools, structurally identical to CEPH in role and regulatory function. It is the closest direct peer in specialized health-profession accreditation with the same fee-based, peer-reviewed, federally recognized model.
• Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE): CCNE accredits baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral nursing programs, paralleling CEPH's accreditation of public health programs. It is a sister specialized accreditor in health professions education with similar institutional customer base (schools of nursing within universities).
• Council on Social Work Education (CSWE): CSWE accredits baccalaureate and master's social work programs through its Commission on Accreditation. As another US DOE–recognized specialized accreditor in a single health-and-human-services profession, it serves as a structural twin to CEPH in scope and operating model.
• American Psychological Association Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation: APA accredits doctoral psychology programs and is a long-standing US DOE–recognized specialized accreditor. It mirrors CEPH's role of credentialing graduate-level health-profession programs and is a directly comparable peer in scope, fee model, and institutional customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH): ASPPH is the membership association representing CEPH-accredited schools and programs and was a co-founder of CEPH. While not itself an accreditor, it is the closest institutional incumbent in the public health education ecosystem and shapes demand for CEPH's accreditation services.
• American Public Health Association (APHA): APHA is the other co-founder of CEPH (1974) and the largest individual public health membership organization. It is a broad incumbent in public health professional standards and policy, historically overseeing accreditation before transferring it to CEPH.
• Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA): CHEA is the national umbrella coordinating body for accreditors in the US, including CEPH. It is a broad incumbent that does not accredit individual institutions but sets recognition standards for specialized accreditors like CEPH.
• Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors (ASPA): ASPA is the membership association of US specialized and professional accreditors; CEPH has been a member since ASPA's inception in 1993. ASPA is a structural peer/incumbent that defines operating norms for organizations like CEPH.
• AACSB International: AACSB accredits business schools and is among the largest specialized accreditors globally. Although it serves a different profession, it shares CEPH's fee-based, peer-reviewed, US DOE–recognized model and is a comparably scaled benchmark.

Others

• National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE): NBPHE administers the Certified in Public Health (CPH) exam that CEPH-accredited graduates are eligible to sit for. It is an adjacent ecosystem participant tightly linked to CEPH accreditation outcomes, though it does not itself accredit institutions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Council on Education for Public Health