Public Health Practice Basics

What is Public Health Practice?

The major in Public Health Practice brings together the science and the art of public health. In keeping with the vision of Healthy People in Healthy Communities, this major addresses public health as a broad social enterprise that seeks to extend the benefits of current knowledge in ways that will have the maximum impact on the health status of populations. This calls for collective action to protect, promote, and improve health, through education, engineering, and enforcement strategies.

Public health is unique in its interdisciplinary approach and methods, its emphasis on preventive strategies, and its linkages with government, private, and voluntary communities. This major offers academic programs at the master's level that prepare students to be leaders and practitioners in the application of public health principles in agencies delivering preventive health services and public health programs. The major emphasizes the importance and applications of basic scientific knowledge to current societal problems and concerns.