Beginning fall 2016, the University of Iowa will offer a bachelor’s degree in public health, becoming the first Iowa Regents institution to host an undergraduate major in the field.
The Iowa Board of Regents approved the proposal on April 23.
The public health undergraduate degree is expected to help meet Iowa’s need for trained public health professionals who can directly support citizens’ health. It also would respond to an expected shortage in Iowa and nationally of public health, community health, and clinical health workers, and a lack of formal training in the field.
Sue Curry
"Health care systems in the U.S. are experiencing major changes and these shifts are creating new opportunities and employment prospects for students with population health knowledge and skills," says Sue Curry, UI College of Public Health dean. "We also know that many in the public health workforce are nearing retirement age, so we need to train the next generation of professionals."
A 2003 report from the Institute of Medicine states “all undergraduates should have access to education in public health.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites national studies showing that just one in five public-health staff have formal education in the field. And, by 2020, the U.S. will face a shortage of a quarter-million public health workers, according to the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health.
The UI public health bachelor’s degree will provide students with a basic understanding of the five core public health knowledge areas: biostatistics, social and behavioral sciences, epidemiology, health policy and management, and environmental health sciences.
It will be divided into two tracks—a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science. The B.A. track will focus on the community and behavioral aspects of public health for students interested in working in areas such as health education, health communication, health program development, and public health policy.
The B.S. track will have depth in the basic sciences for students who are interested in working in a laboratory setting or preparing for advanced education in biostatistics, dentistry, environmental health, epidemiology, medicine, nursing, occupational health, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine.
Students will be admitted directly into the College of Public Health, which expects the inaugural class to be about two dozen, growing to an anticipated 500 undergraduates by fall 2021.
File photo by Tom Jorgensen.
The UI has Iowa’s only accredited school in public health that offers the range of disciplines and courses for a bachelor’s degree in the field.
“Public health undergraduates will be well-positioned to make significant contributions to ensuring Iowa has a public health workforce that understands and supports the health of Iowans,” Curry says. “Public health professionals, including epidemiologists, environmental health specialists, nurses, and health educators, are unsung heroes whose work helps protect the health of all Iowans, including some of our most vulnerable populations.”
The College of Public Health was established in 1999 and moved into its own building in 2012. Its mission is to promote health and to prevent injury and illness through commitment to education and training, excellence in research, innovation and policy development, and devotion to public health practice.