Public Health
What you'll do in college
These majors prepare students for careers in healthcare and the broader health system. Public health majors take epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, health policy, and community health. Health sciences is broader—a flexible pre-health major that often serves as a bridge to medical, dental, PT, or PA school. Pharmacy and pharmacology students dive deep into drug chemistry, dosing, and patient care. Expect long hours and a lot of memorization across all of these tracks.
What you'll do after college
Public health grads work for health departments, hospitals, NGOs, the CDC, or international organizations. Many health science majors continue to medical, dental, PA, or PT school. Pharmacy grads sit for licensing exams and work in retail, hospital, or clinical pharmacy settings. Veterinary science students typically continue to vet school. The work is mission-driven and the field is growing as the population ages.
Selectivity vs. earnings
By acceptance rate
By SAT median
Earnings vs. selectivity rank
Majors in this category
| Major | Colleges | Degrees ▼ | Male/Female | Intl | 5yr Earn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Health | 347 | 14,811 | 18% / 82% | 2% | $67,498 |
| Public Health | 271 | 11,790 | 18% / 82% | 2% | $67,918 |
| Public Health Education and Promotion | 42 | 1,145 | 15% / 85% | 1% | $62,753 |
| Public Health Sciences | 2 | 405 | 12% / 88% | 0% | |
| Health Education and Promotion | 2 | 168 | 14% / 86% | 2% | $74,693 |
| Population Health | 1 | 164 | 26% / 74% | 0% | $54,930 |
| Health Education | 19 | 156 | 35% / 65% | 1% | $53,280 |
| Global Health | 5 | 156 | 19% / 81% | 6% | $62,950 |
| Epidemiology | 6 | 153 | 24% / 76% | 1% | $63,853 |
| Medical Anthropology and Global Health | 1 | 127 | 13% / 87% | 3% | |
| Public Health Studies | 1 | 108 | 31% / 69% | 6% | $98,667 |
| International Public Health/International Health | 5 | 96 | 19% / 81% | 3% | $72,910 |
| Health Science, Society, and Policy | 1 | 70 | 23% / 77% | 0% | $73,880 |
| Global Health and the Environment | 1 | 46 | 20% / 80% | 2% | |
| Biology of Global Health | 1 | 38 | 13% / 87% | 5% | $62,316 |
| Public and Community Health | 1 | 33 | 64% / 36% | 3% | |
| Public Health Science | 1 | 32 | 22% / 78% | 6% | $57,535 |
| Environmental Public Health | 1 | 31 | 42% / 58% | 0% | $78,477 |
| Community/Public Health | 1 | 25 | 24% / 76% | 0% | $77,834 |
| International Public Health | 5 | 16 | 44% / 56% | 0% | |
| Health Policy Analysis | 4 | 11 | 36% / 64% | 0% | |
| Health Care Policy | 1 | 10 | 20% / 80% | 0% | $99,544 |
| Community Health Promotion | 1 | 8 | 38% / 62% | 0% | $67,742 |
| Health Humanities | 2 | 7 | 14% / 86% | 0% | |
| Health Policy and Administration | 1 | 5 | 20% / 80% | 0% | $75,344 |
| Health Education and Health Promotion | 1 | 4 | 25% / 75% | 0% | $83,356 |
| Health Promotion and Education | 1 | 4 | 0% / 100% | 0% | $53,310 |
| Global Public Health | 2 | 2 | 0% / 100% | 0% | $87,360 |
| Health Policy | 1 | 1 | 100% / 0% | 0% |