Public Health Careers

Public Health focuses on improving the health and well-being of communities.

Rather than treating individual patients like many clinicians do, public health professionals work to prevent disease, promote health equity, and address the social, environmental, and systemic factors that shape health outcomes more broadly. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, many public health efforts seemed invisible, but every day we benefit from public health policies, programs, and research initiatives. Students interested in public health are often motivated by systems-level thinking, social impact, and improving health access and outcomes on a broad scale.

Careers in public health can span a wide range of fields, including epidemiology, biostatistics, health policy, global health, environmental health, community health education, and health administration.

For public health professionals, their patient is a whole neighborhood, city, county, state, or even nation. Rather than diagnosing an individual’s disease, a public health professional diagnoses and treats the underlying causes of community health concerns.

Who Provides Public Health Services?

Public health programs are delivered by a broad range of organizations, including government agencies, nonprofits, academia, and even for-profit corporations. However, certain functions of public health are delivered only by government agencies.

These agencies include the 50+ state and territorial health departments and the 2,800 local (city and county) health departments, as well as Tribal health departments and the broad range of federal government agencies involved with public health.

Federal efforts are spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is the parent agency of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Public Health Service. Additionally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and even the U.S. Department of Defense play important roles.

Some of the essential services provided by government health departments include restaurant inspections; licensing and inspection of day care centers; environmental inspections of beaches, swimming pools, and septic systems; immunization programs and registries; health education and screenings; and screening of sexually transmitted infections. Health departments also provide emergency response, newborn genetic screenings, birth and death records, laboratory testing, disease surveillance, tobacco cessation programs, maternal-child health, and nutrition programs. On the federal level, agencies ensure drugs and medical devices are safe for use, provide funding for research on public health, oversee the regulation of toxic chemicals, and more.

Graduate Study

Many students pursue a Master of Public Health (MPH) or related graduate degree, though some roles are accessible with a bachelor’s degree and relevant experience. Public health can also complement clinical careers, offering opportunities to integrate medicine, policy, research, and advocacy.

Most MPH programs are two years in length (though accelerated and part-time options exist) and include coursework in core public health areas such as epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, health policy, and social and behavioral sciences. Students also choose a concentration aligned with their interests, such as global health, health equity, maternal and child health, infectious disease, health policy and management, or community health.

MPH programs emphasize practical experience. Many include a practicum or field placement, allowing students to work with health departments, nonprofits, hospitals, research teams, or international organizations. A capstone project or applied research experience is also common.

Students pursue an MPH for a variety of reasons:

• To enter the public health workforce directly
• To strengthen their preparation for clinical careers (e.g., medicine, nursing, PA)
• To pivot toward policy, research, or leadership roles
• To deepen their focus on health equity and systems-level change

Some students complete an MPH before entering another professional program, while others pursue it as a standalone degree or alongside another graduate program (e.g., MD/MPH, JD/MPH).

If you’re interested in combining data, policy, advocacy, and community engagement to improve health outcomes at scale, the MPH may be a strong fit.

Careers in Public Health

Public health is a broad field with many career pathways, including:

• Epidemiology – Studying patterns of disease and injury in populations to understand causes and inform prevention strategies.
• Biostatistics – Using data and statistical analysis to answer public health questions and guide decision-making.
• Health Policy & Management – Shaping health systems, influencing legislation, improving healthcare delivery, and leading organizations.
• Global Health – Addressing health challenges across countries, often focused on equity, sustainability, and access.
• Environmental Health – Examining how environmental factors (air, water, climate, toxins) affect human health.
• Community Health & Health Education – Designing and implementing programs that promote wellness and disease prevention in specific populations.
• Maternal & Child Health – Improving outcomes for parents, infants, and children through research, policy, and programming.
• Infectious Disease & Pandemic Response – Monitoring and responding to emerging health threats.

Public health careers exist in government agencies (such as local health departments or the CDC), hospitals and healthcare systems, nonprofits, research institutions, global organizations, consulting firms, and private industry.