Why Study Public Health

Do you aspire to a health career? Did you study biology or chemistry?

• Then studying public health could combine your scientific insight and your deep regard for the quality of life to a population perspective.

Are a grass-roots organizer, an educator, an adventurer, or a dreamer? Did you study Spanish, journalism, social work, international relations, peace studies, pre-law, or women's studies?

• Then studying public health could help you carve many exciting career paths in social change organizations.

Do you have a background in math, statistics, computer science, or economics? Do you like designing analytic processes, testing theories, and investigating the interaction of factors?

• Then studying public health could help you apply your skills in countless research settings.

Do you think about systems and relationships in the environment? Have you studied management? Do you like to plan? Are you fascinated by politics?

• Then studying public health could help you find your place in the world.

Open New Career Opportunities

Public health researchers and practitioners transform the world in ways that affect every household, workplace, classroom, and community. News headlines offer compelling reasons to study public health now: bioterrorism, obesity, West Nile virus, global warming, health care costs, and family violence. There is increasing demand for public health professionals who can tackle these complex issues.

Our graduates work in the Minnesota Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, and many other local, state, federal, and international agencies.

• They work at March of Dimes, Children's Hospitals and Clinics, Urban Coalition, and many other non-profit and community-based organizations.
  
• They work in private industry, such as medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies.
  
• And they work for universities, research institutions, and health care providers like United HealthCare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Kaiser Permanente.

Some of the job titles of public health graduates include:

• Malaria Vaccine Program Advisor
• Director, Nutrition and Obesity Research
• Manager, Emergency Preparedness & Response
• Global Health Training Specialist
• Senior HIV Advisor
• Principal Occupational Health Specialist
• Nutrition Intervention Coordinator
• Cancer Epidemiologist
• Biostatistician/Investigator
• Safety and Health Specialist

What Can You Study at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health?

With our commitment to teaching, research, and community outreach, the University of Minnesota School of Public Health is one of the top schools in the country. We offer a graduate-level degree in the following areas:

• Biostatistics
• Clinical Research
• Community Health Education
• Environmental Health
• Epidemiology
• Health Services Research, Policy, and Administration
• Maternal and Child Health
• Public Health Administration and Policy
• Public Health Nutrition
• Public Health Practice

There are numerous opportunities for dual degrees, including MD/MPH (medicine), MPH/MSW (social work), MPH/JD (law), MPH/MA (journalism), and MPH/MS (nursing).

Depending on your area of interest in public health, you may have satisfied the prerequisites for graduate study in the course of completing your undergraduate requirements.

We would be happy to talk with you about studying at the School of Public Health. Please browse through our section for prospective students for more information, including a schedule of visit events.

Please feel free to contact us at Student Services anytime:

In person: D-305 Mayo, East Bank of the Twin Cities campus (Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m.  - 4:30 p.m. Central Time)

Phone: (612) 626-3500 or (800) 774-8636

Email: sph-ssc@umn.edu