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About Us: Public Health Science

Welcome to Public Health Science! 

Public Health Science is a unique interdisciplinary program at the University of Maryland, offering a bachelor of science degree at both our College Park and Universities at Shady Grove campuses. We are proud of our program’s incredible diversity, with over sixty percent of our College Park majors and over eighty percent of our Shady Grove majors identifying as women of color.  Strongly rooted in the natural sciences and coupled with a broad view of public health, our students use a scientific lens to investigate and propose solutions to today’s public health challenges. 

The Public Health Science degree program began in 2009 on the Universities at Shady Grove campus, and established the groundwork for the program to flourish on the College Park campus starting in 2014. The Public Health Science program on the Shady Grove campus prides itself on its personalized approach to working with dedicated transfer students who are interested in a small program, close to where they live and work in Montgomery County. The Public Health Science program on the College Park campus is now the fourth largest undergraduate major at the University of Maryland, with over 1200 engaged majors. 

Our graduates have pursued careers in hospitals, government agencies, non-profits, research, healthcare consulting and health informatics. They are working at local and national companies like Westat, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Deloitte and many more. We remain impressed and inspired by our students’ commitment to using their public health education to help others. 

As we embark on the second decade of this program, we are committed to the values of TerrapinSTRONG and providing an environment that is welcoming and supportive of  all students. Additionally we aim to offer a quality education that provides students on both campuses with the knowledge that excites them and the skills that employers and professional schools are expecting.

For students interested in public health who also appreciate the value of a scientific education, we do hope you will reach out. Our advising team and student ambassadors are here to answer questions and help as you begin your path toward impacting the world.

Kristin Cipriani, M.A., M.B.A

Director, Public Health Science, College Park

Jennifer Hodgson, Ed.D., MPH

Director, Public Health Science, Shady Grove

Kristin Cipriani, Director of PHSC at College Park
Kristin Cipriani
Jennifer Hodgson, Director of PHSC at Shady Grove
Jennifer Hodgson