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College of Public Health

The College of Public Health, established in 1999, is a partner with the Carver College of Medicine and the Colleges of Dentistry, Nursing, and Pharmacy in striving to improve human health and well-being. Consistent with the interdisciplinary traditions of public health, the college also collaborates with non-health science colleges across the University and with other Board of Regents, State of Iowa institutions, state and local agencies, and the private sector.

A population-based approach to health is a distinguishing feature of public health and of the college. For public health practitioners—a wide range of professionals including physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, social workers, nutritionists, environmental scientists, health educators, and health service administrators—the primary focus is on the health of entire communities rather than individual patients. Tools that public health professionals use to improve and enhance quality of life include analytical methods to identify, describe, and monitor the health of communities and populations at risk; education and prevention programs, methods of assuring access to appropriate and cost-effective care; and formulation of sound public policies.

The public health approach has led to many important health improvements over the past century. Vaccination campaigns, improved sanitation, fluoridation of drinking water, and efforts to reduce tobacco use are among the most recognizable public health initiatives. Public health programs also have led to safer workplaces, reduction of deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke, improved motor vehicle safety, and creation of effective health systems to provide care to those who need it. Today, public health professionals play an important role worldwide in seeking better approaches to complex issues such as quality of life for the elderly, drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, new and reemerging infectious diseases, bioterrorism, health literacy, nutrition, and food safety.

The College of Public Health provides educational opportunities to students campuswide. In addition to training and educating public health students, the college welcomes students from the Tippie College of Business, the Carver College of Medicine, the Graduate College, and the Colleges of Dentistry, Education, Engineering, Law, Nursing, and Pharmacy who enroll in public health courses. Undergraduate students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and graduate students from programs such as anthropology, microbiology, and statistics also register for public health courses. The college's faculty members, staff members, and graduate and postdoctoral students contribute to teaching and research activities throughout the health sciences campus and provide services to Iowa and the nation. Partnerships for teaching and research extend across the campus. This background provides a rich array of educational opportunities.

The college includes the Departments of Biostatistics, Community and Behavioral Health, Epidemiology, Health Management and Policy, and Occupational and Environmental Health. It offers programs leading to four graduate degrees: Master of Health Administration (M.H.A.), Master of Public Health (M.P.H.), Master of Science (M.S.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). It also offers the Certificate in Agricultural Safety and Health, the Certificate in Biostatistics, the Certificate in Emerging Infectious Disease Epidemiology, the Certificate in Public Health, and the Certificate in Translational and Clinical Investigation.

The college is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), the accrediting body for the nation's schools and colleges of public health. Three programs in the college currently are accredited: the industrial hygiene M.S. training program is accredited by the Applied Science Accreditation Commission of ABET, the Master of Health Administration is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME), and the Occupational Medicine Residency is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

Admission

Each department in the College of Public Health has an admission committee. Admission criteria usually include a satisfactory cumulative grade-point average; Graduate Record Examination scores; references; résumés; and for applicants whose first language is not English, scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Other evaluation criteria may include oral and on-campus interviews, written statements, special emphasis on science and math courses, and a match of available faculty mentors with student interests. Application deadlines vary by department.

Applicants to College of Public Health programs must meet the admission requirements of the Graduate College. For detailed information about Graduate College policies, including application requirements and procedures, see the Manual of Rules and Regulations of the Graduate College or the Graduate College section of the Catalog.

Faculty

The college's faculty includes members with single appointments in the College of Public Health as well as those with joint appointments in other University of Iowa colleges, including the Carver College of Medicine and the Colleges of Dentistry, Engineering, Law, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Nursing, and Pharmacy. In addition, the college's faculty includes adjunct members from Drake University, Iowa State University, the University of Northern Iowa, the Iowa State Department of Public Health, the State Hygienic Laboratory at The University of Iowa, the Iowa Heart Center (in Des Moines), University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and the National Institutes of Health.

Research Centers and Institutes

The College of Public Health is home to 27 centers and institutes that conduct research and provide public service. These multidisciplinary centers and institutes—most of which are supported by federal grants—focus their investigative efforts on important public health topics. They conduct an array of outreach, service, and policy activities through which the College of Public Health engages with agencies, communities, and organizations throughout Iowa, the Midwest, the nation, and the world. Students are encouraged to explore opportunities for involvement with any of the college's centers and institutes.

For more information, see College of Public Health-Based Centers and Institutes on the college's web site.

Facilities

The College of Public Health Building, a state-of-the-art facility that opened in early 2012 on the University's health sciences campus, houses the college's administrative, departmental, and faculty offices. The college's research centers, institutes, and specialized laboratories are located in Westlawn, on the health sciences campus; in University Capitol Centre, on the east campus; and at the University of Iowa Research Park.

Eight student computer laboratories are housed at the college. More than 55 software packages are available for student use, most without charge. Software includes Microsoft Office products, SAS, and S+. Some specialty labs are equipped with RedHat Linux and are loaded with R, Macanova, Xlispstat, Mathematica, and other software.

Students, faculty, and staff draw on extensive library resources available across campus. Hardin Library for the Health Sciences serves as a central resource for all of the health sciences colleges. Hardin Library's Information Commons, a state-of-the-art health sciences educational technology facility, provides central support and delivery for courseware development, classroom instruction, health-related research, and independent learning. It offers high-end multimedia development workstations, networked electronic classrooms, a case-based learning and conference room, and information research workstations for searching health-related databases and the Internet.