Jeffrey Edwards, MPH, a recent Bloomberg School of Public Health graduate, is now working as a resident physician in pediatrics in Boston.
Photo by Will Kirk, Johns Hopkins University
In a reversal of a decade-long trend, more students are taking an interest in public health as a career. Throughout the country, colleges and universities have seen dramatic upswings in interest in the field.
‘This is a historic moment, a great opportunity for the visibility of public health,” Laura Magaña, PhD, president and CEO of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, told The Nation’s Health.
In the early months of COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., applications for public health programs were already rising. In March 2020, the month the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, applica tions increased 23% over the previous year, according to ASPPH’s Schools of Public Health Application Service.
The number of applicants using the service was 40% higher in March 2021 than one year prior, with more than 24,000 prospective students considering the field. It is a significant change for a field beset by funding cuts, early retirements and people leaving to pursue other occupations.
‘Just one year before the pandemic, we saw a decrease in applications and, if you look at the past 35 years or so, it looked like we had hit a plateau,” Magaña said. “This is a huge relief.’
The application service findings are mirrored in data from colleges and universities nationwide. Many schools reported spikes in applications in public health undergraduate and graduate programs for the fall 2021 semester.
Students at Brown University School of Public Health enjoy a fall 2019 semester reception. Interest in public health programs has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo courtesy Brown School of Public Health
Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, dean of the Boston University School of Public Health, said that the Boston public health program has had more than a 40% increase in interest.
‘I think the pandemic moment has made it clear to many the centrality of public health to the global conversation,” Galea, an APHA member, told The Nation’s Health. “This is driving a welcome — perhaps long-awaited — surge in interest in public health, which is resulting in an increase in applications.”
For Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, interest in the program is record-high, Michael Ward, MEd, associate dean for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told The Nation’s Health.
By the start of summer, acceptances for admissions offers for the upcoming academic year increased 40% over the same point the previous year. Some programs have even seen higher interest, such as the master of science in public health program, where acceptances increased 88%.
The Bloomberg school ramped up to meet the demand of the emerging cohort. In addition to preparing for students needs, such as having appropriate classroom space and resources, officials promoted networking opportunities even before classes began. To make sure that the school and the swell of new students stay connected, students were assigned smaller academic advising networks, allowing students to meet more frequently with a faculty member and peers.
For years, public health has grappled with how to attract people to the field. Several events conspired over the last year to make it happen, most notably the biggest public health crisis in the U.S. in 100 years.
“The increased interest in our public health programs and public health education come at a key time as the nation and the world look to reinvest in public health infrastructure and the public health workforce after the devastating effects of COVID-19,” Ellen J. MacKenzie, PhD, ScM, dean of the Bloomberg school, told The Nation’s Health.
The increasing spotlight on social and racial justice has also spurred new interest in public health. The May 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer fueled a nationwide and global movement. Public conversations about racial inequity, systemic racism and social determinants of health became more common. And more people are making the connection between the issues and the role of public health.
“Young people deeply care about these issues and public health is an avenue to combat inequity,“ Magaña said.
Students are noticing the increased focus on their perspective field. Rania Abid is an undergraduate public health student at Virginia Tech University. She joined the program in fall 2019, just before interest began skyrocketing.
“My friends look at me now and they’re like lsquoWow, you really picked the right field,” Abid, who was interning with APHA’s American Journal of Public Health this summer, told The Nation’s Health.
She said that sees some of her fellow stduents looking to make a switch to public health studies.
The growing number of people interested in public health will have an impact on how the field is taught, Galea said.
“Schools and programs of public health are all thinking both about how to accommodate a larger cohort logistically, but more importantly how to ensure that our educational programs are meeting the interest and needs of the moment,” Galea said. “I would expect to see a surge in innovation in public health education in coming years.”
The moment also creates opportunity to transform and achieve long-held goals in public health, MacKenzie said.
“Now is the time to rebuild our public health system to ensure it is fully integrated with our health care system and focuses on prevention as much as it does on cures,” she said. “Public health research and education and the translation of that research into practice can save lives — millions at a time.”
For more information, visit www.aspph.org.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
