Introduction

The public health school of Mexico plays an important role in the development of human resources in health, this situation indicates the importance of analyze the characteristics of the students who attend in their programs.

Objective

The characteristics of accepted candidates in master degree programs at the School of Public Health of México were analyzed from 2004 to 2014.

Method

A descriptive cross-sectional study. The information of 2113 accepted candidates in the Master in Science and Professional Master programs was used.

Results

There was a decrease in the admission median age, higher participation of women and a higher average in women's grades in their bachelor's degree studies (8.7 vs 8.5) (p <0.00). In the National Admission Exam III (EXANI III in Spanish) men had a higher average score (1050 vs 1040) (p<0.00). In addition, an average increase of 9.6 points per year was found in all the students who took the exam. The face-to-face modality concentrated younger students than the online and executive modalities. There was a lower participation of students with medical training and a predominance of students from other disciplines.

Conclusion

We identified changes in the characteristics of the students, as well as diversification in their previous professional education throughout the decade studied. More research is needed in order to analyze student’s educational trajectory and institutional factors that influence their performance are required.