What Do Graduates Do?

• Address complex problems that relate to the health of animals and people
• Operate as field epidemiologists investigating new and emerging diseases
• Serve as leaders for zoonoses prevention and control programs such as rabies, food borne illnesses, and arboviruses
• Prepare and respond to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies
• Work to ensure the health of humans and animals by promoting safe natural and working environments
• Develop public policy at local, state, national, and international levels

DVM/MPH practice areas

• Risk communication
• Food safety
• Zoonoses control
• Public health leadership/policy
• Disaster preparedness
• Occupational health
• Teaching and research
• Epidemiology
• Environmental health

Where do they work?

Private industry: Pharmaceutical and vaccine companies, food processors, medical device companies

Government agencies: Departments of Agriculture; Departments of Natural Resources, Departments of Public Health, Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

International organizations: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World Health Organization, World Animal Health Organization

Uniformed services: Army Veterinary Corps, Air Force Health Officer, Public Health Corps

International public health agencies: Veterinarians without Borders, Heifer Project International, Pan American Health Organization

Veterinary Public Health DVM/MPH In-Depth Career Information

Current Student Profile

Jessica Gilliatt, DVM 2016

As I began to take classes at University of Minnesota, I was worried that I would not be able to utilize the degree I was working so hard to earn. I quickly realized with every class and with every day I worked I could find a way to utilize and spread the knowledge I was gaining.

I have now become the veterinarian for our transient outreach team – myself, my director, a police officer in the downtown resource department and my assistant will be going to transient encampments throughout town to open the communication with these individuals and try to break barriers to care for their pets and ensure the pet’s health and safety to promote them to stay with transient owners. With the help of the ASPCA’s statement on the importance of keeping pets with their transient owners, we feel it is our duty to our county to help this population. In the future, we hope to perform exams and simple treatments/rabies vaccinations/deworming in the field. I definitely pulled from my education and utilized knowledge gained in multiple classes on my journey to get my MPH!

I want everyone working toward their DVM/MPH to know that the opportunities within the field are endless and there are so many ways in which this degree can and needs to be used.