Public Health Education
What kind of education will I need?
While many people begin their public health careers directly out of college, others come into the field with prior professional training and experience. The list of public health careers is long and varied, but some examples include epidemiologist, public health nurse, public health physician, statistician, health educator, sanitarian, microbiologist, behavioral scientist and researcher and administrator.
There are many paths to a career in public health. There are also continuing educational resources and support available for practicing public health professionals through a variety of professional associations.
Learn how to prepare for a career in public health by checking out the recommended coursework and experience for the following levels of education.
Academic pathways
A public health career is often a blend of physical sciences and social sciences. Physical sciences and math are necessary foundation for almost all advanced education in public health. High school students can begin by making sure they are completing a strong high school academic program.
High School Preparation
If you are in high school and are thinking about pursuing a career in public health, the best advice is to plan early for your college career. High school offers you the opportunity to take classes that will help you become better prepared for college and for life. Taking the basics is a first step, but challenging yourself, and taking harder courses, especially in science and math, will build your confidence and skills so you will be more prepared for college.
Minnesota currently has academic standards for the arts, language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. To learn more about these standards please visit he Minnesota Department of Education Web site at: http://education.state.mn.us.
To help you plan early for college, you may want to check out a "college prep timeline”. Please visit the following website and search on “preparing for college”:http://www.getreadyforcollege.org.
If you are interested in learning about career options in health, a good Minnesota resource is the Health Careers Center. You are encouraged to visit the Health Careers Center at the University of Minnesota: http://www.healthcareers.umn.edu/.
Additionally, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities "iseek" website offers a vast number of resources to assist you in planning for a career in health: http://www.iseek.org.
College Preparation
While it's possible to work in some areas of public health without a master’s degree, there are clear benefits to getting an advanced education. In order to pursue a master’s degree you must first obtain an undergraduate or bachelor's degree. Yet, there is no one direct route into an advanced education in public health. The wide variety of paths people take to a career in the field of public health is what provides the field with its great diversity and experiential richness. To get a feel for some of the many background of current public health professionals, please visit the Pathways stories page.
When considering an advanced education (e.g. master’s or doctoral degree) it is important to be familiar with the prerequisites you will need to complete as an undergrad in order to apply to an advanced degree program. So, it’s a good idea to get a sense of what area you are interested in, and to work with your college academic advisors to help you plan a strong academic program.
You can learn more about prerequisites through University of Minnesota, School of Public Health Web site at or the Association of Schools of Public Health Web site.
Graduate Education in Public Health
Many experts agree that in the future, many of the major advances in improving health will be achieved using public health strategies. Meeting the ever-growing challenges facing the health of our nation will require more and more people to be trained in the principles and practices of public health from a school of public health.
Schools of public health around the country offer degree programs in biostatistics, epidemiology, health administration, environmental health, and health education. Additional programs are available in nutrition, maternal and child health and other areas as well.
Advanced education can include a professional degree such as an MPH (Master’s of Public Health); a DrPH (Doctor of Public Health); or an MHA (Master’s of Health Administration). These degrees are designed for people who want to work in organizations in any of the three sectors described on the Pathways career settings page.
Academic degrees like the MS (Master’s of Science), PhD (a doctoral degree, generally in a sub-specialty area like epidemiology) are for people who have an interest in research. Professionals with doctoral degree will be needed as faculty at schools of public health to teach the next generation of professionals.
Some programs require you to have work experience before applying to an advanced degree program. This is particularly true in the professional degree areas, because having experience to draw from will be help you to apply the theoretical concepts you will learn.
There is a national application process for schools of public health in the United States. To learn more, please visit the Schools of Public Health Application Service (SOPAS).
To learn more about schools of public health in the United States, please visit the Association of Schools of Public Health Web site.
To learn more about how to get an education in Public Health, please visit the following Web sites: