The University of Maryland School of Public Health is ranked No. 19 on the U.S. News & World Report 2023 list of Best Public Health Schools in the country released on March 29.
“We are proud to be ranked 19th among all our SPH peers–our best showing yet!” said Dean Boris D. Lushniak. “I believe that this ranking reflects our momentum and success as a young and rapidly growing school. As we approach our 15th anniversary this year, we are working hard to formalize and expand our public health practice and community engagement activities, grow our Global Health Initiative, advance health equity and justice and recruit and diversify new leadership and faculty. We are on the move thanks to the dedication and vision of our faculty, staff, students, and alums in fearlessly promoting health for all!”
The UMD School of Public Health is unique among its peers for also having a large undergraduate program in addition to our master’s and doctoral programs. Our bachelor’s degree program in Public Health Science was ranked No. 12 on the list of Best Public Health Bachelor's Degrees by study.com in 2021.
The School of Public Health was established at the University of Maryland, College Park in 2007 and offers four bachelor's, 13 master's, eight doctoral and four certificate programs. Students can earn a Master of Public Health in one of nine different concentrations, two of which are offered online. The school has been accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health since 2010.
The UMD SPH maintained its position among the best ten U.S. schools of public health at public educational institutions this year, and moved up one spot (from #20 to #19) since the past year’s ranking among all 195 schools and programs.
Here are just a few of the reasons why:
New Academic Programs Designed Meet Workforce Needs and Address Grand Public Health Challenges
Dual degrees
The accelerated BS-MPH program enables students to save time and money and earn two degrees that position them to enter the public health workforce with greater earning power and influence. Among the dual master’s degrees we offer, a recently approved MPH + Master of Community Planning (with the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation) gives students the tools needed to create healthy and sustainable communities combining the disciplines of public health and community planning.
New Certificate Programs and Online Master of Public Health options
A new certificate program in Health Data Analysis and another in Applied Epidemiology, both launching in Summer 2022, will offer working professionals with the opportunity to learn practical and much-needed skills in the public health workforce. The Health Data Analysis certificate provides the biostatistical skills needed to organize and analyze health data, including national health surveys and research data. The Applied Epidemiology certificate covers epidemiological methods and principles, including how to design studies and investigate and control disease outbreaks.
New Global Health Major to Meet Growing Student Demand
The School of Public Health is leading the development of a new UMD undergraduate program designed to embolden future world leaders to improve health and achieve equity in health for all people worldwide. Offered in partnership with the Colleges of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences; Agricultural and Natural Resources; Arts and Humanities; Behavioral and Social Sciences and the Office of International Affairs, the major will enable students to apply a culturally competent, collaborative, multidisciplinary perspective to address current and future global health issues. The program is anticipated to launch in 2023.
Support for Student Success; Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement
The School of Public Health launched the Students Transitioning into Effective Professionals (STEP) program - the first UMD program to offer a digital certificate as part of a new series that provides a credential students can put on their resume or LinkedIn profile to highlight their accomplishments to employers. With more than 25% of SPH undergraduates being the first in their families to attend college, the STEP program is providing much needed support and providing students with skills they’ll need after graduation, like personal finance, interview etiquette and resume writing.
Building Transformative Community-Academic Partnerships
With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the School of Public Health is accelerating the creation of the Office of Public Health Practice and Community Engagement. This office is coordinating with community stakeholders and practitioners and positioning the school to build transformative community-academic partnerships that make a seismic difference in our county, state, nation and beyond. The aim is to create new, innovative ways to improve health equity, strengthen the workforce and cultivate authentic and sustainable community partnerships and opportunities for students to gain experience in public health practice.
Leading Research Addressing Public Health Grand Challenges
Responding to COVID-19
Clearing the Air: Advancing the Science of Airborne Infection and Air Hygiene
Professor Don Milton and his Public Health Aerobiology, Virology and Exhaled Biomarker Laboratory team have been studying SARS-CoV-2 transmission since the beginning of the pandemic. Milton and other leading scientists have argued that not enough is being done to address airborne transmission by the WHO, the CDC and OSHA, the federal agency that protects workplace health. Milton has been a leading voice on the need to improve indoor air quality, contributed to the new Roadmap for Living with COVID-19, and continues to advocate for enhanced ventilation/air cleaning to protect people in indoor spaces.
Program to Make Barbers and Stylists Ambassadors for Public Health Goes Nationwide
A White House-backed partnership between the University of Maryland’s Maryland Center for Health Equity, the Black Coalition Against COVID and the beauty brand SheaMoisture recruited and trained hundreds of barbers and stylists nationwide to dispel myths about COVID-19 vaccination and encourage people to get COVID-19 vaccinations. The Shots at the Shop initiative built upon the Health Advocates in Reach and Research (HAIR) training program launched by MCHE Director Stephen Thomas more than 10 years ago. With funds from the Maryland Department of Health and the Cigna Foundation, MCHE is expanding the ways they engage marginalized and underserved communities and connect them to resources and care. This includes the development and dissemination of a culturally-tailored graphic zine (and companion website) that will be distributed through Maryland shops this fall.
Improving LGBTQ+ Mental Health Care
The UMD Prevention Research Center is a leader in the effort to improve the delivery of LGBTQ+ mental health and health care, reduce health inequities and improve access to high quality, culturally supportive care for these communities. Their Sexual and Gender Diversity Learning Community Evaluation Project is working to evaluate and implement an LGBTQ+ cultural competency training for mental and behavioral health care providers, beginning in Maryland but with a goal of expanding across the US.
Improving Maternal and CHild Health
Chatbot to Help New Moms, Babies
Quynh Nguyen, Elizabeth Aparicio, Xin He and other UMD researchers are developing a tech-enabled tool known as Rosie (named after the helpful robot from the Jetsons) intended to reduce postpartum depression among new moms and improve infant health with immediate, individualized and accurate information. Read more.
Understanding and Addressing Racial Disparities in Maternal Mortality
The maternal mortality rate among non-Hispanic Black women is 3.5 times that of non-Hispanic white women, according to a study co-authored by Marie Thoma, which found that these disparities were concentrated among a few causes of death including postpartum cardiomyopathy, preeclampsia and eclampsia. Thoma and colleagues urge the need to understand that racism is at the root of these health inequities and advocate for funding and programs tailored to support Black mothers’ health. Read more.
Using Twitter Data to Characterize Racial Climate Across US and Relationship to Health Outcomes
Using online and social media data and machine learning models, Quynh Nguyen and Thu Nguyen are measuring the prevalence of racial bias by US geographic areas and exploring how area-level racial bias impacts birth outcomes. Read more.
Advancing Environmental Justice & Dismantling Racism
Environmental Justice and Health Equity Initiatives Focus on Air Pollution, Mapping Risks and More
The Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health’s (CEEJH) is advancing environmental justice across the United States and developing and utilizing mapping and tech tools to support EJ issues in the mid-Atlantic region. Several new grants support CEEJH’s growth including: $1.75 million gift from Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook), a $800,000 gift from the Bezos Earth Fund and a $100,000 contract from the Environmental Protection Agency, among others.