Public health is the science and art of creating healthy communities through education, research, and promotion of healthy lifestyles. In public health, the focus is on health promotion and disease/injury prevention; this is in contrast to the medical model of care,which focuses more heavily upon diagnosing and treating illnesses and conditions after they occur.
Because of their “big picture” perspective, public health exp
erts play a key role in emergency preparedness and response.* This may be why public health has become such a growing field in recent years.
You can earn over fifteen degrees from an accredited school of public health, including undergraduate, masters and doctoral degrees. The most common are:
- Master of Public Health (MPH)
- Master of Health Administration (MHA)
- Master of Science (MS)
- Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH)
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)
- Doctor of Science (ScD)
Find an overview of Public Health here to see if this is something you are interested in, and stop by Career Services to find out about internships, shadowing possibilities and ways to connect with alumni in the field to conduct information interviews.