Health Professions and Related Programs
Public Health
Prepares you to plan, manage, and evaluate public health care services; to function as public health professionals in public agencies, the private sector, and other settings; and to provide leadership in the field of public health. Covers epidemiology, biostatistics, public health principles, preventive medicine, health policy and regulations, health care services and related administrative functions, public health law enforcement, health economics and budgeting, public communications, and professional standards and ethics.
Inside the major
Programs within this field
Colleges may offer this field under 13 more specific program names. The program you choose affects the courses you take.
- Public Health, General
- Prepares you to plan, manage, and evaluate public health care services; to function as public health professionals in public agencies, the private sector, and other settings; and to provide leadership in the field of public health. Covers epidemiology, biostatistics, public health principles, preventive medicine, health policy and regulations, health care services and related administrative functions, public health law enforcement, health economics and budgeting, public communications, and professional standards and ethics.
- Environmental Health
- Focuses on the application of environmental sciences, public health, the biomedical sciences, and environmental toxicology to the study of environmental factors affecting human health, safety, and related ecological issues, and prepares you to function as professional environmental health specialists. Covers epidemiology, biostatistics, toxicology, public policy analysis, public management, risk assessment, communications, environmental law, occupational health and safety emergency response, and applications such as air quality, food protection, radiation protection, solid and hazardous waste management, water quality, soil quality, noise abatement, housing quality, and environmental control of recreational areas.
- Health/Medical Physics
- Focuses on the application of physics, nuclear science, and engineering physics to diagnostic, treatment, and therapeutic processes and public health protection. Covers radiation biophysics, biophysics, health effects of natural and artificially induced radiation, hazard evaluation, environmental radioactivity, nuclear physics, engineering physics, radiobiology, medical radiology, calibration and dosage theory, computer applications and medical informatics, and specific research problems.
- Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene
- Prepares public health specialists to monitor and evaluate health and related safety standards in industrial, commercial, and government workplaces and facilities. Covers occupational health and safety standards and regulations; health-related aspects of various occupations and work environments; health hazard testing and evaluation; test equipment operation and maintenance; industrial toxicology; worker health and safety education; and the analysis and testing of job-related equipment, behavior practices, and protective devices and procedures.
- Public Health Education and Promotion
- Focuses on the application of educational and communications principles and methods to the promotion of preventive health measures and the education of targeted populations on health issues, and prepares you to function as public health educators and health promotion specialists. Covers human development, health issues across the life span, population-specific health issues, principles and methods of public health education, administration of health education campaigns and programs, evaluation methods, public communications, and applications to specific public health subjects and issues.
- Community Health and Preventive Medicine
- Prepares public health specialists to plan and manage health services in local community settings, including the coordination of related support services, government agencies, and private resources. Covers public health, community health services and delivery, health behavior and cultural factors, local government operations, human services, health communication and promotion, health services administration in local settings, environmental health, preventive and comparative medicine, epidemiology, biostatistics, family and community health, and applicable law and regulations.
- Maternal and Child Health
- Focuses on the application of public health specializations, public policy studies, and the social and behavioral sciences to issues of health affecting women, children, and families; and prepares you to function as maternal and child health specialists. Covers research design and testing, program evaluation, public policy analysis, public finance, economics of health care, community health, family development and dynamics, women's studies, social psychology, fetal and child development, biostatistics, health education and promotion, nutrition, neonatal development, psychology, and social services delivery.
- International Public Health/International Health
- Focuses on the application of public health specializations, the social and behavioral sciences, and policy and communications methods to the study of health problems in low- and middle-income countries and regions, and prepares you to function as professional international health specialists. Covers health education and promotion, research design and evaluation, infectious disease epidemiology, international health policy and management, public nutrition and food security, information systems, program evaluation, medical anthropology, international communication, behavioral sciences, maternal and child health, demography and population policy, and health care finance and economics.
- Health Services Administration
- Focuses on the application of policy analysis, public administration, business management, and communications to the planning and management of health services delivery systems in the public and private sectors, and prepares you to function as health services administrators and managers. Covers health systems planning, public health organization and management, pubic health policy formulation and analysis, finance, business and operations management, economics of health care, organizational and health communications, marketing, human resources management, and public health law and regulations.
- Behavioral Aspects of Health
- Focuses on the biological, behavioral, and socio-cultural determinants of health and health behavior, and the interventions and policies aimed at improving community and population health. Covers behavioral sciences, public health practice and policy, human services, and research methods.
Also called Public Health, General (MPH), Public Health, General (DPH)
Also called Biomedical Physics
Also called Industrial Hygiene
Also called Global Health
Also called Behavioral Health, Biobehavioral Health, Health and Social Behavior, Health Behavior
Where it can lead
Careers this field can lead to
Explore related careers, starting with the closest connections and the occupations hiring the most people.
Medical and Health Services Managers
- Median pay
- $123,860
- Hiring change through 2035
- 24.2%
- Job openings a year
- 62,300
To get hiredBachelor's degree
Explore this career Growing fastHealth Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary
- Median pay
- $107,310
- Hiring change through 2035
- 17.9%
- Job openings a year
- 24,900
To get hiredDoctoral or professional degree
Explore this career Growing fastOccupational Health and Safety Specialists
- Median pay
- $90,150
- Hiring change through 2035
- 18.5%
- Job openings a year
- 17,100
To get hiredBachelor's degree
Explore this career Growing fastCommunity Health Workers
- Median pay
- $51,850
- Hiring change through 2035
- 12.7%
- Job openings a year
- 7,000
To get hiredHigh school diploma or equivalent
Explore this career GrowingHealth Education Specialists
- Median pay
- $64,070
- Hiring change through 2035
- 5.6%
- Job openings a year
- 6,900
To get hiredBachelor's degree
Explore this career Growing with the economyCompliance Officers
- Median pay
- $80,730
- Hiring change through 2035
- 3.8%
- Job openings a year
- 32,700
To get hiredBachelor's degree
Explore this career Growing fastOccupational Health and Safety Technicians
- Median pay
- $61,560
- Hiring change through 2035
- 19.4%
- Job openings a year
- 3,800
To get hiredHigh school diploma or equivalent
Explore this career Growing fastMedical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
- Median pay
- $103,410
- Hiring change through 2035
- 12.6%
- Job openings a year
- 10,500
To get hiredDoctoral or professional degree
Explore this career GrowingEnvironmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
- Median pay
- $82,220
- Hiring change through 2035
- 6.1%
- Job openings a year
- 7,300
To get hiredBachelor's degree
Explore this career GrowingPhysicists
- Median pay
- $172,250
- Hiring change through 2035
- 7.2%
- Job openings a year
- 1,300
To get hiredDoctoral or professional degree
Explore this career Growing with the economyPhysics Teachers, Postsecondary
- Median pay
- $100,310
- Hiring change through 2035
- 2.4%
- Job openings a year
- 1,100
To get hiredDoctoral or professional degree
Explore this career Growing fastEpidemiologists
- Median pay
- $87,220
- Hiring change through 2035
- 18.7%
- Job openings a year
- 800
To get hiredMaster's degree
Explore this careerAll work is projected to grow 3.5% between 2025 and 2035; read every hiring-change figure against it. The figures beside each career are the pay of that work, across everyone doing it. Graduates of this field earn $32,103 one year after completing the program, which is the start of a career rather than the shape of one.
Working style
How and where the work happens
Related careers can feel very different from one another. Compare the specific occupations to understand the work each one involves.
Few of the careers connected to this field are measured as substantially in-person or active work. Compare the specific occupations to see how much time each one involves with people, equipment, and movement.
College options
Where to study it
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