Degrees without borders: The rising demand for public health graduates

“I loved clinical practice, but in public health, you can impact more than one person at a time. The whole society is your patient.” – Tom Frieden

In terms of future prospects, the field of public health is looking nothing short of bright.

Workforce forecasts have estimated that by 2020 in the US alone, 250,000 high-quality job openings will be made available to qualified professionals. At the same time, it’s also been predicted that speciality drugs will continue to rise in use, accounting for 50 percent of the US’s total drug expenditure by the end of 2018.

On top of that, rising life expectancy and falling birth rates mean the world is ageing quickly, creating with it an urgent need for better healthcare infrastructure. A report by the United Nations predicts that by 2030, the number of people in the world aged 60 years and above will hit 1.4 billion, growing by 56 percent from the 901 million recorded in 2015.

These and wider issues like our diminishing environmental stability – contribute to today’s intricate public health economy.

As new, increasingly complex challenges emerge, so too does the demand for technological progression and public health experience that allow us to fight back.

“If you have a commitment to working toward the betterment of the world, the public health industry is an open gateway of immense opportunity for you,” notes a post from Online Masters in Public Health.

“For well-trained candidates who enjoy the uncertainty of sudden challenges and changes and have a genuine desire to help others, a career in the public health arena can be extremely rewarding,” the article explains. “Although a profession in public health is often demanding, this industry offers benefits of a good salary and a long-term career. Public health will always need the energetic commitment of concerned, knowledgeable professionals.”

In fact, reports from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics declare that jobs in this diverse field are surging at a much higher rate than the current national average for pretty much all types of employment, shining a light in this region of study as a real beacon of opportunity.

Whether you’re looking to become the Executive Director or CEO of an influential non-profit; a Biostatistician; an Epidemiologist; a Director of Environmental Health; a Public Health Officer; a Clinical Research Specialist; a Healthcare Analyst; or anything in between, a degree in Public Health from a respected university will get you where you need to be. Soon enough, you’ll find yourself enthused and empowered with the tools you need to succeed, while your comprehensive knowledge and valued expertise will safeguard the future of a healthier world.

Here are six world-class Schools that will help you excel in the Public Health Field…

SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEMS, UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO – CANADA

Nestled in the heart of Canada’s high-tech corridor, the University of Waterloo is considered a pioneer of scientific advancement and innovation – standing as the nation’s most innovative institution for the 25^th consecutive year.

As a fresh, emerging and rapidly-growing school, Waterloo inspires the next-generation of public health professionals through impactful research and insightful teaching.

For undergraduates, the comprehensive Co-Operative Education program is a stand-out feature of Waterloo’s public health curriculum. The Co-Op program at the University, the largest in Canada, blends elite academic studies with real-world work experience. This unique opportunity places students in paid employment during their undergraduate education, connecting students with an extensive network of employers and organizations connected to their field. “With over half of our undergraduate students enrolled in a Co-Op stream,” notes the School and Faculty’s Impact Report, “we are accelerating their ability to tackle real-world health issues by providing meaningful and engaging workplace experiences.”

This is not only a unique feature of the School’s undergraduate program. Reflecting the university’s orientation to bring “evidence to action,” all graduate students in the school across the many professional and research programs in public health, health evaluation, and health informatics have a chance to complete a workplace practicum experience.

SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA – USA

The University of Minnesota is a figurehead for the advancement and enhancement of population health, preventing disease and environmental damage throughout the US and the world.

Separated into the divisions of Biostatistics, Environmental Health, Epidemiology & Community Health, and Health Policy & Management, the school offers more than 20 programs to suit your interests and ambitions, all of which have been informed by powerful research, teaching, and community outreach.

“Our four distinct degree types and numerous dual-degree and program minor offerings cover the entire range of today’s prevalent public health topics,” the institution notes. “Through rigorous education, students leave UMN ready to take on the challenges of a rapidly changing world.”

Homing in on environmental and occupational health concerns, the Division of Environmental Health provides outstanding MPH, MS and PhD programs across an expansive range of expert topics, allowing students to refine their chosen concentration as they customise their degree to suit both their interests and their lifestyle.

With faculty who are recognised leaders of their respective fields, plus state-of-the-art facilities that match the highest professional standard, the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota boasts a long-held history of producing students who make waves in the realm of global public health.

CENTER FOR APPLIED ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH, TULANE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA – USA

Set in the cultural melting-pot of New Orleans, Louisiana, Tulane University boasts the most esteemed School of Public Health on the Gulf Coast.

The School provides high-quality academics at every learning level, with outstanding graduate and post-baccalaureate portfolios that elevate industry-specific knowledge to new and exciting heights. From the MPH in Disaster Management, the MPH in Occupational and Environmental Health, MPH in Occupational Health and Safety Management, and the MSPH in Industrial Hygiene; to the Graduate Certificates in Disaster Management, Industrial Hygiene, Occupational and Environmental Health, and Occupational Health and Safety Management; the Center for Applied Environmental Public Health at Tulane University boasts the expertise you need to succeed as a specialist in these fields.

A stand out feature of the Public Health experience at Tulane’s Center for Applied Environmental Health lies in its Virtual Campus, with all degree programs offered through distance learning providing the option to be completed entirely online with live, synchronous courses taking places on weekday evenings. Here, courses combine real-time, instructor-led events with asynchronous learning sessions, in which students access and study course material at their own convenience.

In terms of networking and forging valuable industry connections, students have access to successful mid-career professionals and world-class faculty for the duration of their course. Past students have even worked for powerful players like Boeing, BP, ExxonMobil, Freeport McMoran, Honeywell, and Lockheed Martin, highlighting the real-world desirability of Tulane’s qualified graduates in the Public Health field.

COLLEGE OF GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY (NYU) – USA

It’s been said that New York City is where the future comes to audition, so it should come as no surprise that ambitious public health practitioners and scholars are flocking to the new College of Global Public Health at NYU (NYU GPH).

True to the city it calls home, NYU GPH is reinventing the public health paradigm by pursing its own path and disrupting the traditional.

The College tailors its programs for its remarkably diverse student body, whose members call 30 different nations home.

While its widely respected, two-year Master of Public Health (MPH) program is four decades old and offers the chance to study away at any of NYU’s 14 global locations, NYU GPH also offers an intensive new one-year, Cross-Continental MPH program where students study at its campuses in New York, Accra and Abu Dhabi or Washington, DC, Accra, Abu Dhabi or Florence, Italy.

Unable to travel? Earn an MPH focused on meeting the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals in a new online program offered exclusively through NYU GPH. Unique online and in-person certificates are also available, which allow professionals to obtain world-class public health training without leaving their jobs or relocating.

Intentionally unbound by tradition, NYU GPH is attracting unique undergraduate and graduate students, whose aim is to engage with world-class faculty and think entrepreneurially about ways to solve emerging public health crises.  This pioneering approach isn’t for everyone, but if you’re interested in breaking the mould in an effort to save lives, NYU GPH might just be right for you.

LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE AND TROPICAL MEDICINE (LSHTM) – UK

The LSHTM is a forerunning centre for research and postgraduate education surrounding public and international health, enriched by an annual research income of more than £110 million.

With over 4,000 students and more than 1,000 staff drawn from over 100 countries, the school is diverse and internationally-conscious, improving health and equity both in the UK and the wider world.

The school excels in a number of respected league tables; in the US News Best Global Universities Ranking 2017, for example, the LSHTM ranks sixth in the world (together with Oxford University) in the fields of social sciences and public health. This institution also impressively landed 25^th position for medicine in the 2017 QS World University Rankings, while the inaugural Center for World University Rankings by Subject in 2017 placed the school first in the world for tropical medicine research, second for parasitology and seventh for infectious diseases, public environment and occupational health, and social sciences and biomedical.

MELBOURNE SCHOOL OF POPULATION & GLOBAL HEALTH, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE – AUSTRALIA

Whether you’re just starting your journey in the field of public health or are an experienced professional, the Melbourne School of Population & Global Health has a program to suit your needs. With most highly-regarded teaching evaluations in the entire Medical Faculty, the school is a hub of satisfied and knowledgeable students, keen to make their mark on the world.

“Since our inception in 2001 we’ve grown to be a leader in teaching and learning in not only traditional public health sciences, but an exciting range of inter-disciplinary areas such as social sciences, ethics and medical humanities, and molecular and genetic epidemiology,” says Professor Terry Nolan, Head of the Melbourne School of Public Health.

“We provide public health training of the highest quality to practitioners at all levels, backgrounds, ages and career stages through a range of research-led, practically inspired programs based in fundamental principles.”

*Some of the institutions featured in this article are commercial partners of Study International

Liked this? Then you’ll love these….

4 Universities tackling the issues of the modern world

5 Universities solving the challenges of the 21st century through public service