Public Health

Public health professionals must be good communicators and like working with people. They need to be able to comfortably speak to individuals and groups and must have excellent writing skills. Further, those majoring in public health are usually committed to their own health and are excited about helping others improve theirs. Creativity is a real plus for public health professionals, as it often takes creative thinking to motivate and help individuals or communities to change health behaviors.

Graduates of this program can work in a variety of settings including public health departments, health organizations, non-profit organizations, voluntary health agencies, hospitals and insurance companies.

Potential career opportunities include:

• Public Health Practitioner
• Health Educator
• Research Coordinator
• Health Services Administrator
• Epidemiologist
• Prevention Specialist
• Health Care Administrator

We offer a minor in Public Health.

Opportunities for internships are outstanding in the Greater Cincinnati area. Internship locations include Northern Kentucky Health Department, American Heart Association, Cincinnati Health Department, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cradle Cincinnati, PreventionFIRST!, TriHealth, The Center for Closing the Health Gap and other outstanding companies and agencies.

Another advantage of studying at UC is the fact that the public health program is offered at the undergraduate and masters levels. This provides students with the opportunity to obtain advanced degrees and to interact with graduate-level public health students.

All graduates of the program are eligible to sit for the national certification exam to become certified health education specialists (CHES). The Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) examination is a competency-based tool used to measure possession, application, and interpretation of knowledge in the Seven Areas of Responsibility for Health Education Specialists. There is a 90-Day Eligibility Option offered to students scheduled to graduate within 90 days of the exam date, please speak with an Academic Advisor regarding this opportunity.

Eta Sigma Gamma
ESG is a national student health education honorary organization with a chapter (Gamma Eta) at UC. The mission of the honorary is to promote the discipline of health education by elevating the standards, ideals, competence and ethics of professionally prepared men and women in health education.

Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health - Gamma Rho Chapter
This organization strives to preserve, promote, and improve the health and well-being of the vulnerable populations, communities, and individuals in the Tristate area and Greater Cincinnati. To fulfill this mission, we foster collaborations among the public health and health professions in education, research, and service.

Global Public Health Brigades
GPHB strives to increase the quality of life of impoverished rural communities locally and abroad. This will be accomplished through student brigades to different communities, focusing on education about global and public health.

Healthcats
Healthcats is a pre-health student organization that focuses on health promotion, volunteerism, and undergraduate collaboration in the Cincinnati community. We strive to create an environment where students are able to learn about different healthcare career paths and apply teamwork skills through a variety of health-related group volunteer events. Our general body meetings aim to share opportunities and information with our members that may advance their undergraduate careers, as well as foster relationships between pre-health students that they may utilize in their future professional endeavors.

Admission to this program is generally available for students transferring to the University of Cincinnati if they were admissible directly from high school and have a 2.0 cumulative GPA (all prior institutions combined).

Students who were NOT admissible directly from high school must have:

• 24 semester (36 quarter) hours earned
• at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA (all prior institutions combined)

Admission to this program is generally available for University of Cincinnati students enrolled in other colleges of the University of Cincinnati if they were admissible directly from high school and have a 2.0 cumulative GPA (UC and any prior institutions combined).

Students who were NOT admissible directly from high school must have:

• 24 semester (36 quarter) hours earned
• at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA (UC and any prior institutions combined)

International students should contact the University of Cincinnati Office of Admissions for details. 513-556-1100.