Skip to main content
University of North Dakota
University of North Dakota
    • Current Students
    • Faculty & Staff
    • Alumni & Community
    • Email
    • Blackboard
    • Campus Connection
    • Employee Self-Service (HRMS)
    • Dropbox
    • Rooms & Scheduling
    • Zoom
    • Employee Remote Access
  • Events
  • Directory
  • Contact Us
  • SMHS COVID info
  • Scope of this search:
School of Medicine & Health Sciences
School of Medicine & Health Sciences
  • About
  • Admissions
  • Academics
  • Research
  • Service
University of North Dakota
  • About
  • Admissions
  • Academics
  • Research
  • Service
  • Request Info
  • Visit
  • Apply
Scope of this search:
  • Request Info
  • Visit
  • Apply
Scope of this search:
School of Medicine & Health Sciences
  • Home
  • Public Health Program
  • Why Public Health
Skip Section Navigation
  • Master of Public Health
  • About the MPH Show/hide children
    • Faculty & Staff
    • CEPH Accreditation
    • Why Public Health
  • Academics & Coursework Show/hide children
    • Specializations
    • Practicum
    • Competencies
  • Admissions
  • Financial Aid
  • Student Resources
  • Career Development
  • Study in Norway

Why Public Health

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

Description Play media

Preventive Health Care 

Public Health focuses on prevention within an entire community rather than treatment of individuals. Preventive matters can save more lives than treatment and is cheaper to implement. Over the course of 25 years, preventive measures can save 4.5 million lives and $600 billion.

Public Health can affect every single person and can improve someone’s life on a daily basis. The changes that arise from Public Health can impact people forever and can influence generations to come.

Currently, Public Health is tackling issues of chronic disease, global health, vaccinations, tobacco, mental health, environmental health, and many more. With a degree in public health you can help combat these issues and make an everlasting difference!

What is public health?

Public health is the art and science of preventing disease and disability, and fostering health in communities and populations. Some of the ways that public health achieves these goals is by measuring and monitoring health status and the risk factors for health problems, responding to epidemics and evaluating those responses, developing prevention initiatives and public policies for health problems, and promoting healthful lifestyles through education and community engagement. Public health is practiced by interprofessional teams whose members are trained in a broad array of fields.

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 is much diversity within the Northern Plains, as North Dakota illustrates well. 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, the diversity 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.

Now Accepting Applications for Fall 2022

APPLY NOW

Public Health Program
Suite E161
1301 N Columbia Rd Stop 9037
Grand Forks, ND 58202-9037
P 701.777.6079
F 701.777.3277
  • Facebook
We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience.

By clicking any link on this page you are giving your consent for us to set cookies, Privacy Information.

School of Medicine & Health Sciences

1301 N Columbia Rd Stop 9037
Grand Forks, ND 58202-9037

701.777.2514

  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Map & Parking
  • Events Calendar
  • Office of Medical Accreditation and LCME
  • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
  • HIPAA Training
  • Needle Stick / Blood Pathogen Exposure
  • Policies
  • Information Resources
  • Make a Gift
University of North Dakota

© 2022 University of North Dakota - Grand Forks, ND - Member of ND University System

  • Accessibility & Website Feedback
  • Terms of Use & Privacy
  • Notice of Nondiscrimination
  • Student Disclosure Information
  • Title IX
©