In response to increased student interest in the field of public health, the University recently created a five-year B.A./B.S. master's program in public health. The program, to begin next fall, comes on the heels of the new global public health minor, which was first offered last fall.
"Undergrads have been showing dramatic interest in [global public health] and have come and asked for courses," said Ruth Gaare Bernheim, director of the division of public health policy and practice.
Associate Dean Richard Handler, who helped develop the master's program, said he hopes it will allow students to combine their interests in medicine and service.
"U.Va. students are becoming more and more interested in social justice, globalization and public service -- careers that are a little different from traditional medicine," he said.
Both programs bridge a number of fields, including epidemiology, anthropology, ethics and politics, and students from any school in the University can apply.
"Public health is about bringing many different disciplines together to help us have a healthier society," Gaare Bernheim said. "U.Va. is unique in its ability to bring so many different fields together."
The minor program is sponsored by the department of public health sciences and co-sponsored by the College of Arts & Sciences, the Center for Global Health and the Institute for Practical Ethics and Public Life. The new master's program will be sponsored by the department of public health sciences.
"U.Va. is participating in a national effort to offer more public health courses in undergraduate curriculum," Gaare Bernheim said. "What's exciting is how the many perspectives from this program provide students with a foundation to do fieldwork and internships as undergraduate students."
Through her contacts from the global public health minor, third-year College student Danielle Brown said she received a grant to evaluate existing drug rehabilitation programs in Russia next summer.
The minor program is "very individualized," said Brown, who said she plans to apply for the master's of public health program. "We do a lot of practical work."
The five-year master's program, slated to begin next fall, will allow students to participate in research and fieldwork for a few years, a longer period of time than would be possible in separate undergraduate and graduate programs, according to Gaare Bernheim.
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