2023 Best Bachelor’s in Public Health Programs
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Deciding which college to attend can be a daunting task. For many, it will be the most important decision that they make in their lives. To make an informed decision, you have to consider a lot of variables, such as cost of attendance, financial aid, student/teacher ratio, academics, student life, and more. These factors will either positively or negatively impact the quality of education that you receive.
Do you want to acquire a bachelor’s degree in public health, but don’t know what institution you should attend? Well, if you are as ambitious as I was in my late teens, then you want to attend a top school, instead of an average or mediocre one. Fortunately, we have already done the legwork for you. To help you find the right school for your interests and goals, we’ve compiled a list of 2022’s best bachelor’s in public health programs.
What institution did we forget? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Drawing together coursework that reaches communities on a local, national, and international level, the public health degree at the University of Washington prepares learners to jump into the field wherever they find a niche. Though learners may select a BA or BS in public health, the degree prerequisites are relatively comparable. The BA is intended for learners interested in health education promotion, policy, and nonprofit work, or public health nursing. In contrast, the BS readies learners for science-focused graduate programs, epidemiology, medicine, pharmacy, and biostatistics.
In total, learners must finish 180 credits within the degree on top of the 84 credits of general education prerequisites. With an emphasis on experiential learning, many learners in this major take advantage of study abroad programs (like a semester-long class on race, health, and society in London), research opportunities, and internships and externships.
The University of Washington is one of the oldest institutions on the West Coast. It is continuously rated among the top five research institutions in the United States. It is sanctioned by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU).
Situated in the heart of Minnesota, with some of the leading health-care companies and organizations in the nation, the public health degree program at the University of Minnesota offers top-notch access to real-world learning in the field. At the undergraduate level, the degree program has a minor in public health or a 4+1-degree program, which enables learners to receive an MPH in environmental health or MS in biostatistics along with their bachelor’s degree in just one extra year of classwork. Even though the class prerequisites for the minor in public health are relatively small—just 14 to 16 credits—adding this degree to an undergraduate diploma will serve learners well in their future academic pursuits. Because the University of Minnesota has public health degrees at the masters and graduate level, undergraduates have the chance to take upper-level classes in addition to gaining access to some of the best faculty and research in the nation. Within the minor coursework, learners may select from numerous classes in four distinct areas: introduction to the discipline, understanding health issues from varying social scientific contexts, applying public health theory, and global impact. The University of Minnesota—Twin Cities is a state institution split across its two campuses in Minneapolis and St. Paul with an impressive learner body of over 50,000. It is sanctioned by the Higher Learning Commission.
In collaboration with several schools and colleges within the university, the Center for Global Health offers several options for undergraduates interested in public health. The BA of philosophy in international and area studies degree gives learners a multidisciplinary and research-based approach to global studies and public health. Because this dual degree is intended for learners who will eventually build careers outside the United States, learners must finish three years of language study and finish a study abroad experience along with the 24 credits of classwork.
Regardless of their major, learners can also receive a Global Studies Certificate with a concentration in global health, which entails learners to do the following: take introduction to global studies class, take three classes in international health, take two classes in regional health, receive a second-year-level proficiency in a foreign language, and finish a multidisciplinary capstone research project.
The College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University has a BS in public health, with a particular focus on health statistics, environmental health, epidemiology, health behavior, and health administration/policy. Rather than focusing on individual health, the coursework at ASU readies learners to study and shape populations at the local, state, national, and international levels.
Spread out across eight terms, this degree entails 120 credits of classwork, with classes ranging from general biology and anatomy & physiology to epidemiology and health care legislation. Unlike some schools, this degree program does not require or incorporate a second language into the coursework.
Graduates from the degree program at ASU have gone on to fill a wide range of positions in the workforce. Whatever the learner’s end objective is in the field of public health, the BS degree program at ASU is a fantastic place to start.
Arizona State University is the largest state institution by enrollment in the United States, with over 82,000 learners. ASU is regionally sanctioned by the Higher Learning Committee (HLC).
Undergraduate learners at Ohio State University may select from an array of degrees within the College of Public Health:
- Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH)
- BSPH for Pre-Health Professions
- BSPH, and MPH Combined degree program
- Global Public Health Minor, and Epidemiology Minor
Furthermore, within the BS in public health, learners have the choice of specializing in either public health sociology or environmental public health.
Concentrations within the BS in public health major require around 120 credits. This degree encourages the exploration of public health in an international setting by offering study abroad programs in China, Japan, India, and Finland/Estonia. Also, all learners are required to finish a capstone project connected to their area of interest. This could consist of a public health internship, a research project, or field experience in public health.
Ohio State University is known for its strong showing in agricultural research, its extensive learner life programs, and its Division I football team, among other things. It is sanctioned by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA).
The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University offers a cutting-edge academic and research environment for learners interested in public policy, urban planning, public health, and health administration at the undergraduate and graduate level. The Bloustein School stresses its commitment to collaboration and research across the four areas.
Along with completing the 24 credits of general education classwork, the BS in public health at Rutgers entails 46 credits, comprised of 31 core credits and 15 additional elective credits. Learners have the options of undertaking a the dual BA/MPH or BS/MPH degree program, to finish their bachelor’s and master’s degrees in five years. Or, if they want to concentrate even further within the field, the degree program at Rutgers has four distinct Public Health Certificate Programs—each requiring 18 credits—to any learner interested, regardless of their major. The Public Health Certificate consists of health disparities, public health advocacy/education, public health management, and public health readiness.
Rutgers University is a state institution in New Jersey and the largest academic institution in the state. Rutgers is sanctioned by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
This 120-credit-hour degree program prepares graduates for jobs in one of six positions: health care delivery, health insurers, health care consultants, health care suppliers, health services researchers and policymakers, and health department promoters. In addition to studying with an impressive list of faculty, undergraduates in this degree program are urged to travel outside the country through study abroad programs. The semester-long health practice and policy degree program takes learners to London or Kingston, Jamaica, immersing them in a new culture through field experience.
Pennsylvania State University is a state institution with a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service. It is sanctioned by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
The University of Florida’s bachelor of public health two-year degree program is intended for motivated learners going into the healthcare system. Learners apply to the degree program in their second year of undergraduate study. Although the degree program entails a total of 120 credits to graduate, it only entails 60 credit hours of 3000-level classwork. Learners obtain individual and specific mentorship from the 10 core professors.
Among the many learner organizations available to public health learners at the University of Florida (e.g., the Undergraduate Public Health Association and the Public Health College Council), the L.E.A.P. Mentorship Program, invites junior and senior public health majors to guide and mentor freshmen and sophomore learners who show interest in the degree.
One of the nation’s largest research institutions, the University of Florida, is also considered a land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research institution. It is sanctioned by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
The 120-credit-hour BS in public health science degree at the University of Maryland incorporates earth science with public health, giving learners truly a multidisciplinary experience in subjects ranging from ecology to statistics to policy. The coursework is structured into five primary areas: scientific foundation, public health science foundation, public health science, general education, and general electives. The degree also incorporates a three-credit capstone, which requires learners to finish an in-depth, international study into a real-world issue.
Situated just four miles from the nation’s capital, The University of Maryland, College Park is a public research institution. It is sanctioned by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE).
The University of Wisconsin offers an undergraduate certificate in global health. Seen as a real-life introduction to public health, and complementary add-on to another related degree, this 15-credit certificate entails a core class, at least one of the other core classes, a field experience, and 6 to 9 credits of electives. The field experience normally involves a one-on-one mentorship among with a faculty member to select a field location that suits the learner’s interests and needs. Learners may either choose to stay local or travel to other countries, including Mexico, Ecuador, Uganda, Kenya, China, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
The oldest and largest state institution in the state, the University of Wisconsin is sanctioned by the Higher Learning Commission.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been preparing learners to venture into the world as public health experts. Split among the four majors—biostatistics, environmental health sciences, health policy and management, and nutrition—the Global Public Health department serves around 1,700 undergraduate and graduate learners per year. This degree lets the learner home in on a specific area as a major and concentrate at the undergraduate level. Learners aiming for the 120-credit-hour bachelor of science in public health (BSPH) degree normally declare a major in one of the four areas above during their sophomore year. To be enrolled in the degree, learners should have 60 hours of classwork already under their belt, with specific science prerequisites.
Because of this degree program’s long history of public health education, learners will find a multitude of resources and supports in the department—legendary faculty, cutting-edge research, top internships and externships, and the chance to continue their degree at the graduate level in the same degree program.
The University of Illinois at Chicago has a bachelor of arts (BA) in public health via its School of Public Health. Before learners can be enrolled in the degree program, they must finish 60 credit hours of prerequisite classes (including three classes in public health) and general education prerequisites.
Once they are admitted to the public health degree program (normally in the spring of the sophomore year), learners take an additional 60 credit hours of classes, with around 40 credits in public health classes, 15 credits in pre-endorsed classes within other departments, and around 10 credits in electives, giving learners a chance to study the depth and breadth of the field.
Woven across public health coursework at UIC are six themes and objectives: health as a moral endeavor, health equity, life class perspective, one health, cultural relevance, and local-global impact. UIC is sanctioned by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
The Anthropology Department at MIT devotes a substantial portion of its undergraduate classes to global and public health. By obtaining a BA in Anthropology, learners get a chance to approach public health from a new angle. At MIT, the Anthropology major focuses on cultures outside the United States. Some of the classes consist of disease and health: culture, society, and ethics; or racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care; or infections and inequalities.
Established in 1861, MIT is a private research institution; it is sanctioned by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).
The bachelor of science in public health will give learners flexibility and depth. Learners who finish this degree program are well-equipped in the core areas of public health and many go on to work in entry-level public health positions and graduate degrees in medicine and other health fields. Public health undergraduates at UT Austin may select from three distinct paths: general public health, public health honors, and advanced public health. All learners must finish foundation classes in biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, global health, health policy, and systems.
Learners at Stanford University not only enjoy the idyllic landscape of the northern Santa Clara Valley, but they also get the chance to study at one of the most prominent institutions in the country.
The public health degree program is intended for intrinsically motivated learners. Stanford has a co-terminal master of science degree in community health and prevention research that can be combined with a bachelor’s degree and finished in five years.
Undergraduate learners enter this degree program from various other fields, including public policy, education, anthropology, and more. Within the degree program, all learners finish a two-quarter long research internship in the community where they get a chance to apply their classwork learning. Because of the emphasis on prevention research, the degree program culminates in a final master’s thesis.
Stanford University is rated as one of the top private research institutions in the world. It is sanctioned by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
