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The B.S. in Public Health offers courses that provide a solid foundation in critical thinking, advocacy, leadership, teamwork, research, statistics, biological and life sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and communication.

With the public health major, you can choose between two concentrations, which lead to a wide range of career opportunities.

Community Health/Health Promotion Concentration — Prepare for a career as a community health professional in a variety of settings, including community health centers, hospitals, and public health departments. Courses help to increase skills in communication and teaching related to health promotion and disease prevention in community settings. You’ll be involved in experiential learning, including community health practicum experiences.

Health Sciences Concentration — Focus on health sciences with flexibility in selecting courses in an area of your interest within a public health framework. Courses prepare you to work in the field of public health including areas such as epidemiology and disease surveillance. This concentration can also can serve as a pathway to graduate degrees in various areas of health sciences, including medical school, physician assistant, nursing and other postgraduate professional health programs.

In the final semester, you will participate in a required capstone experience, spending several hours per week in a setting that is associated with your career goals.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the B.S. degree program in Public Health at UMass Lowell, our graduates will be able to:

Articulate critical public health problems and their causes, including an understanding of the environmental, social, behavioral, and biological factors influencing health.

Apply the basic concepts of data collection and analysis to health data.

Identify and use evidence-based approaches to address population and community health needs.

Identify prevention strategies for a range of public health, applying critical analysis and reasoning skills to problem solving.

Apply the fundamental concepts of program assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation and management in a culturally appropriate fashion.

Evaluate the economic, historical, ethical, and political/legal contexts of public health problems and solutions and the challenges that practitioners face.

Identify and access resources for researching public health problems and critically evaluate research.

Use the public health-specific tools of communication.

Our versatile graduates can work in a wide range of settings, including:

Community health centers

Local and state public health departments

Hospitals

Long-term care facilities

Corporate wellness organizations

Nonprofit organizations

Public health is an exciting field with a variety of career opportunities focused on preventing disease and promoting health and well-being. Public health professionals can be found in local and state health departments, state agencies, federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, academia, community health centers, hospitals, and more. No matter your interests in public health or your skill set, there is a public health job out there for you!

What Are the Job Prospects for Public Health Graduates?

Because there is no one standard job title for people with public health degrees like there are for many other helping professions, the information on employment opportunities and trends can vary, but rest assured, the public health field is rife with opportunity.