Master of Public Health Program

About the Program in Public Health

The Program in Public Health aims to improve population health by conducting research on disease risk factors and health promotion, educating future generations of health researchers and policy makers, and providing public service through the translation of research into public policy. At the core of the Program are Brown’s ten Public Health research centers – interdisciplinary research groups focused on public health issues. Emphasis is placed on disseminating and applying the findings of the centers to effect policy change and improve health practices. A vertically integrated academic program teaches this model to students at all levels of training, from undergraduates to medical and graduate students to post doctorates.

Brown University is home to Rhode Island’s only school of medicine and its first and only program in public health. The Program in Public Health enjoys a privileged relationship with the Rhode Island Department of Health. This partnership affords students exceptional research opportunities and participation in community service and data analytic internships through the Department of Health and other state and community agencies. Students experience first hand the day-to-day activities of a community public health setting, with an emphasis on understanding the availability, limitations, and application of population-based data to the development of health policy and practice.

The academic home of the Program in Public Health is the Department of Community Health within Brown Medical School. The department is responsible for educating undergraduates, medical students, students in the Master of Public Health Program (MPH), and those earning a master’s or doctorate in epidemiology or biostatistics. The Department of Community Health was recently ranked sixth in the country by US News and World Report. The undergraduate concentration (major) in community health was among the first such majors in the country and now serves as a model for emerging undergraduate majors across the country.

The Program in Public Health also offers a clerkship in community health required for all Brown medical students. Through core seminars with experts and on-site field experiences focusing on specific health issues, students gain practical experience, knowledge, skills, and an appreciation for the community context of health and health care.