Exploring Your Future in Public Health: Is a Bachelor’s Degree Right for You?

Bachelor’s degrees are generally completed within four years and are offered in a wide array of subject areas. In the public health field, the most common bachelor’s degrees are a bachelor’s in public health (BPH) or a bachelor’s of science in public health (BS Public Health or BSPH). The key difference between the two degrees is that the BPH has a broader interdisciplinary approach, while the BSPH has a larger focus on science and research. Both degrees offer a solid foundation in public health, either for an entry-level position in public health or as a precursor for a graduate program. For the purposes of this article, we’ll use the term BPH throughout for all undergraduate degrees.

As part of a BPH degree, you’ll take certain core courses to cover the foundations of public health and there are often concentrations offered in a sub-specialty such as global public health, health policy, and epidemiology³. The Council for Education in Public Health (CEPH) accredits public health degree programs and reports that the most common concentrations in order of frequency are: general public health, social and behavioral sciences, environmental health sciences, health services administration, and global health.

Most BPH degrees are also interdisciplinary in nature. You’ll get the chance to take courses in other departments that complement your public health courses. For example, you could take courses in general education and use concepts from those courses to determine how to teach people about healthy behaviors, or you could take political science courses to have a better understanding of health policy.

While you might be at the point of just considering starting a public health program, it’s important to think about what you’ll do after graduation. After completing an undergraduate degree, you could immediately start a graduate certificate or graduate degree in public health, but alternatively, you could begin working as a public health professional immediately after completing your BPH.  Working alongside other public health professionals and getting tangible public health practice can be a valuable experience for a few reasons: It can help you decide whether you want to pursue a graduate degree, determine what concentration you’d like to pursue within that degree, and allow you to earn money before investing in another degree.

There are various types of organizations where you can work with a BPH, including roles in health education, human services, community health, and health care. The settings for these jobs can also vary between government agencies, non-profits, health care systems, and global health organizations. Common job titles to include in your search are Community Health Worker, Health Educator, Health Education Specialist, and Program Coordinator. Health education specialists, health educators, and community health workers have similar responsibilities and work to educate individuals and communities about healthy behaviors. While starting your search, it may be worth seeing if the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) credential could make you a stronger candidate when applying for jobs immediately after graduation.

The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) has a nationwide job board that is a great place to begin your search. Additionally, it’s worth seeing what student services are available within your undergraduate program to aid in your job search, such as a career services office.

There are key differences between a BPH and other degrees in health care:

If any of these other degrees feel like a better fit for you, it’s worth seeing whether your university offers a public health minor. An undergraduate degree in one of these fields—or another area in health studies—supplemented by a public health minor could be the best way to meet all your academic goals if a public health major is not right for you. Similarly, completing a public health elective while pursuing an undergraduate degree in another field might be the best fit for your personal educational goals. 

A BPH will cover all of the main areas of public health. In most undergraduate programs, core coursework will begin with a required introductory course that’s designed to give you a broad overview of public health. This introductory course can also be a good way to find out more about public health if you’re not sure that you want to do a public health major. Topics covered in this course would include the history of public health and how it is distinct from other health professions—with an emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention versus the treatment of illness. The CDC offers a Public Health 101 series with six free online courses designed to give an overview of public health that could be taken as a way to prepare for formal academic programs⁸.

Other key areas of study include subjects like epidemiology, health policy, biostatistics, and qualitative and quantitative research methods. While each undergraduate program is slightly different, you should have the chance to take courses about health education, community health science, health disparities, and global health. The combination of required and elective courses will give you a solid foundation in the principles of public health like epidemiology (the study of how disease moves through a community), as well as specialized topics like health inequities, to understand the impact of being in a socially disadvantaged group⁹.

While completing your BPH, it’s important to take advantage of experiences outside the classroom to round out your experience and give you a sense of career options. Some ideas for ways to experience public health in addition to your coursework are to complete an internship with a local public health non-profit, volunteer at a local school to present on health education topics, and study abroad to better understand how systems of government and local customs impact health.

There are more options than ever before on where and how you can pursue a BPH, as public health has become a more common undergraduate degree². Here, we’ll profile several schools offering undergraduate public health degrees.

This is far from an exhaustive list, and it’s important to do your own research into programs. Our goal is to give a broad overview of the types of universities and programs available for pursuing an undergraduate public health degree. As you begin your search, it’s important to consider the type of university you’d like to attend (e.g., small or large, urban or rural), review course offerings, and look into the career services support offered for internships. Make sure to review each university’s admissions information for the specific requirements of their degree program. A good place to start is to see whether a school has an online information session and to go on a campus tour. 

Now that we’ve covered the coursework involved in an undergraduate public health degree and how it compares to other health studies programs, it’s time to think about whether a BPH is the next step you want to take for your education. An undergraduate degree in public health gives you the opportunity to take enriching coursework and complete an internship that gives you insights into a career in public health. Now is the time to start requesting information from universities and undergraduate admissions departments and attending virtual and in-person information sessions to get started on your public health journey.