UIC bachelor’s degree in public health ranked 12th in U.S.

The bachelor’s degree in public health at the University of Illinois at Chicago was ranked 12th in the U.S. by College Choice, a company specializing in college and university rankings and resources.

The UIC School of Public Health.

The bachelor’s degree at the UIC School of Public Health is a recent offering, now in just its fifth year. As a bachelor of arts degree, it integrates liberal arts concepts into the public health curriculum. Students begin taking public health courses in their third year.

“The public health workforce is generally made up either of people with master’s degrees in public health, or people in other professions that are working in public health-related jobs,” said Paul Brandt-Rauf, dean of the UIC School of Public Health. “By creating this undergraduate degree, we are helping build a public health workforce with more experience with key public health concepts.”

Public health careers are expected to grow faster than other occupations nationwide. Undergraduate degrees in public health and related fields are relatively few, but they are growing in popularity, as the field offers many career paths.

College Choice based their ranking on tuition, institutional reputation, anticipated salary, and other factors.

The UIC School of Public Health is the only public health school in Illinois accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health and it consistently ranks among the top 20 schools of public health in funding from the National Institutes of Health. Twenty-seven percent of UIC’s public health student body is underrepresented minorities, making it one of the most diverse schools of public health in the U.S.

Through partnerships with community groups and government agencies, students and faculty are involved in projects that include violence prevention, HIV/AIDS prevention, water quality, maternal and child health, emergency and disaster preparedness, asthma education and health disparities.