This document is one in a series designed to provide basic information about mainline health professions and the Premedical Office at Xavier University of Louisiana.

What is Public Health? Public Health is the science and practice of preventing and controlling disease. It is about improving health conditions through an organized blend of public and private, individual and group, and community efforts. The major goal of public health is to improve the quality of life for all people through addressing medical, social, environmental, cultural, administrative, and political problems which negatively affect the health of various population members. Public health has several areas of speciality including Biostatistics, Environmental Health, Epidemiology, Health Administration, Health Education, Maternal and Child Health, Parasitology, Nutrition, and Public Health Nursing.

What Do Persons With Public Health Degrees Do? Most public health programs lead to degrees at the master's or doctoral level. The master's degree is predominately a terminal degree and is designed to prepare individuals for professional careers in specialized areas of public health. Holders of the master's may be employed in professional positions as supervisors, researchers, consultants, managers, and practitioners in health agencies, local, state, and federal governmental agencies, and in other related institutions and organizations.

The doctorate, the highest academic and professional degree, prepares individuals for advanced research, college teaching, policy making, and administrative positions.

Is There a Need for Persons with Public Health/Health Care Administration Degrees? Yes!! Individual health practitioners are often so involved in their separate areas of service that they fail to see how their practice fits with that of persons in other fields. Persons with degrees in public health are trained to work with the system as a whole for the benefit of all of the members of the community. As America's health care system becomes more complex, the need for persons who can recognize the need for services and fit the various components together has increased dramatically and is expected to continue to do so. Because people from minority groups are more likely to understand and care about the needs of America's minority populace, the need for minorities with degrees in public health is especially acute.

What Are The Requirements for Entry into Public Health School? Although some schools offer degrees in public health at the baccalaureate level, persons entering the field of public health generally need a master's or doctorate in order to work at a meaningful level. Generally, the graduate level (master's or doctoral) public health degree programs require only an undergraduate degree (in any area), letters of evaluation from faculty, and the general portions (verbal, quantitative, and problem-solving) of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). One generally does NOT have to have a degree in the sciences in order to enter degree programs in public health/health care administration.

What Is the Curriculum in a Public Health? The master's degree in public health generally requires from one to two years of course work and may include a period of up to one year of administrative residency in a hospital or other health-related organization under the preceptorship of a practicing public health professional. The doctorate may take from four to six years depending on the school one attends and the discipline in which a student pursues a degree. In most, one completes two to three years of coursework and then a research project under the supervision of an experienced faculty member.

What Is the Admissions Test Usually Required by Public Health Schools? The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or (for some) the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). If you are interested in public health, you should contact the schools which you would like to attend for specific information. Visit the Association of Schools of Public Health website at www.asph.org for admissions test requirements for specific schools.