Newswise — Georgia State University will offer a new bachelor of science degree in public health with an emphasis on urban and global health issues.
The degree was approved by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia at its May 10 meeting.
The degree program is scheduled to accept degree-seeking students in fall 2017, though some new public health courses will be offered to undergraduate students starting in fall 2016.
The program will be run by Georgia State’s School of Public Health, which offers a master of public health (MPH) degree in five concentrations, a JD (juris doctor)/MPH dual degree, Ph.D. programs in three concentrations and a graduate certificate in public health.
“This new program will equip our graduates with the skills they need to be successful in health-related jobs in complex urban and global public health organizations,” said Michael P. Eriksen, dean of the School of Public Health.
“In Georgia, and across the nation, there is a shortage of people trained for the growing public health workforce. There is now, and will be for the foreseeable future, an increasing need for diverse, highly trained public health professionals and public health scientists.”
For the past decade, Georgia State has been the only public university to offer public health degree programs in metro Atlanta, home to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Georgia Department of Health, American Cancer Society, the Carter Center and other public and private entities devoted to public health work across Georgia and around the world. The school has more than 500 alumni, with most working in Georgia.
The bachelor’s degree program will focus on the core disciplines in public health — epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health sciences, health services administration, and social and behavioral science — with global health and urban health content infused throughout the course offerings.
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