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Department of Behavioral and Community Health

Our Department’s Mission, Vision and Values

As part of the School of Public Health, the Department of Behavioral and Community Health's mission is to promote and protect the health and well-being of all people and communities throughout Maryland, the nation, and the world through innovative, theory-based research and discovery that strive to eliminate racial and social injustices and transforms public health practice and training to prepare the next generation of practitioners, researchers, and leaders in social and behavioral sciences.

Our vision is to be a leading social and behavioral science program that promotes physical, mental, and social health and well-being and demands health equity for all people in our local and global communities. 

We value:

  • Celebrating and promoting a culture of diversity and inclusion in the department
  • Achieving greater strength through diversity and inclusion among all members of our school and communities
  • Holding ourselves accountable to the underlying foundations of public health and the values of the communities with whom we work
  • Supporting health as a human right and believing that everyone has the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
  • Assessing and understanding the impact of our collective actions
  • Thinking forwardly and acting innovatively toward disruption
  • Expecting excellence, professional ethics, and personal integrity
  • Designing interventions at all levels of the socio-ecological model to improve the health of all populations 
  • Participating in multidisciplinary collaboration to guide thinking and practice
  • Committing to racial and social justice and equity as key principles guiding public health practice in all forms
  • Understanding how to effectively apply social and behavioral theory to guide us on how to design evidence-based intervention strategies and effective public health programs
  • Conducting transformational research that radically changes our ability to understand and address complex health problems and eliminate health disparities
  • Ensuring transparency, contributing to collaboration, cooperation, and collective decision making

 

Our Degree Programs

BCH Poster Session Student of the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland

Bachelor of Science, Public Health Practice

Three students wearing graduation caps

Accelerated BS/MPH Program

Students wearing caps and gowns at a commencement ceremony smiling at camera

Master of Public Health, Behavioral and Community Health (Online Option Available)

Children playing on swings

Doctor of Philosophy, Behavioral and Community Health

Why I Chose Maryland


"Maryland stood out to me because of the location and how well I matched with the faculty's research interests. I really liked that the program had a diverse faculty and many professors had portfolios in tobacco research."

 

Heather Platter, alumna of School of Public Health at the University of Maryland

Connect With Us

Get in Touch WIth Our Graduate Program Directors

Brit Saksvig, PhD, MS
Associate Clinical Professor, Director of Graduate Student Services

bsaksvig@umd.edu
(301) 405-2491

Katherine Sharp 
Clinical Professor and Director of Graduate Studies

ksharp1@umd.edu
(301) 405-2464

Dina Borzekowski
Director of Online MPH Program 

dborzeko@umd.edu
(301) 405-8729

Katherine Sharp 
Clinical Professor and Director of Graduate Studies

ksharp1@umd.edu
(301) 405-2464

Plan a Visit!

Dept. of Behavioral and Community Health
SPH Building, 4200 Valley Drive, Rm 1234
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742-2611

Contact: Karen Mackey
Email: klmackey@umd.edu 
Phone: (301) 405-2463

Find directions and parking information on the SPH visitor page.

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