Public Health
Embrace your role as a world citizen through the study of Public Health, an interdisciplinary program that focuses on the health of populations at the local, national and global levels. You’ll tackle a broad range of pressing health topics, from food safety to infectious diseases to climate change, as you prepare for a career managing and evaluating programs that keep our communities safe from illness and injury.
Public Health is a vast interdisciplinary field of study that incorporates all the perspectives, roles, policies, and institutions required to keep our populations safe from illness and injury. Unlike the medical field, which focuses on the health of individuals, public health focuses on the health of communities and populations at local, national, and global levels. The study of public health covers a broad range of topics from the safety of food, water, and highways to examining how individual behaviors and the social environment contribute to the prevention of chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Knowledge of public health is an asset to all undergraduate students who, as world citizens, must cooperate in the effort to manage multiple, simultaneous threats to public health including: infectious diseases such as flu and SARS; chronic disease risk factors such as obesity and smoking; the unequal distribution of disease and risk factors in the population; and shifts in environmental risk factors resulting from climate change. All of these issues entail complex ethical questions about individual freedom, social responsibility, and human rights.
Degree Requirements
Making an Impact
Mary Dinnean, RWU Class of 2018Mary Dinnean, who graduated with bachelors degrees in psychology and public health, made an impact as a student addressing social justice and public health issues. In fact, she received a national award for her service. She's now a graduate student at Boston University School of Public Health.
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