Why Public Health

Public Health is for people that want to make a difference in a community, a nation, or even the entire world.

Where Can an MPH Lead You?

The University of North Dakota’s MPH Program prepares graduates to step into leadership roles across health systems, research, and policy. Alumni from UND have gone on to careers in hospitals and health care organizations, tribal, local, state health departments, federal agencies, nonprofit and community-based organizations, universities and research centers.

Sample Job Titles

• Epidemiologist
• Biostatistician
• Director of Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)
• Disease Ecologist
• Medical Writer
• Bioterrorism Researcher
• Medical Investigator
• Legislative Policy Advisor
• State or Federal Environmentalist
• Health Communications Specialist

Why public health in North Dakota?

North Dakota is situated in the Northern Plains, and the M.P.H. Program at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences reflects and responds to our location. There are booming towns in the oil and gas fields in the west, agricultural communities in the rich Red River Valley, American Indian reservations in the central plains, frontier locales, and small cities throughout the state. These areas are continually changing in multiple ways including population size, economic basis, and culture. The M.P.H. Program at UND emphasizes, and is enriched by, these differences and change within the Northern Plains.

In addition, UND provides a rich academic environment for public health studies. The School of Medicine & Health Sciences, in which the M.P.H. Program is located, contains the only medical school in North Dakota and is the primary site for health sciences training in the state including the physician assistant, occupational therapy, physical therapy, sports medicine, and medical laboratory science programs. The nationally recognized Center for Rural Health is our partner in public health education. Further, the School of Medicine and Health Sciences has a long-standing commitment to reducing disparities in health and educational opportunities for American Indians through Indians Into Medicine (INMED), the Seven Generations Center of Excellence in Native Behavioral Health (SGCoE), and the National Indigenous Elder Justice Initiative (NIEJI). The M.P.H. Program also partners with the UND College of Business & Public Administration to offer our Health Management and Policy specialization and collaborates with many departments including Geography, Earth Systems Sciences and Policy, and Kinesiology and Public Health Education. We are taking full advantage of the plentiful resources of UND to provide students with an exceptional public health education.

Citations

Johnson, Teddi Dineley. "Shortage of U.S. Public Health Workers Projected to Worsen: About 250,000 New Workers Needed." Medscape. National Health, 2008.

Alliance for Health Reform. "Public health prevention efforts: saving lives, saving money?" October 2012.