Department of Public Health
The Department of Public Health recognizes the intersection of the systems and structures of society with people’s health and well-being. We equip students with knowledge and skills for health promotion and disease prevention through interventions that improve population health while advancing health equity.
Our Public Health Programs
The Department of Public Health offers both a Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) and a Master of Public Health (MPH). In the Bachelor program, students explore a unique combination of interdisciplinary liberal arts education with a specialty focus on public health. Our Master of Public Health Program equips students with core principles and practices of public health while preparing them to tackle social and structural determinants of health.
The BSPH program instills the conceptual foundations and empirical bases for analyzing the interplay between science, society, and health. Many pre-med and other health professions students also pursue the Minor in Public Health to augment their clinical education with this broad perspective. The B.S. in Public Health is offered on campus, as well as through our Complete Degree online program. Public Health majors may also fast-track their careers by pursuing master’s programs in Public Health or Nutrition through unique combined degree options.
The Department of Public Health offers a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree with a distinct focus on health equity. While students learn the general principles and practices of public health, they also learn to address structural determinants of health often situated in historical systems of oppression. This online program combines self-paced learning with interactive live class sessions with faculty and fellow students. MPH students also participate in two in-person immersion courses, one in Boston focused on racism, oppression, and health, and one in southern Arizona focused on immigration, health and restoration in the borderlands.
Why Public Health
There is a rising demand for graduates with degrees in Public Health, due to health inequities and global concerns regarding chronic and infectious disease, food and water safety, and sanitation and environmental health issues.
Students earning their Bachelor of Science Public Health degree learn how to interpret public health data, frame a public health issue, review and apply scientific literature, and present findings on approaches to improving public health. In the Master of Public Health program, students learn about the intersections of public health and social justice, and in partnership with organizations in the field, apply skills of policy analysis, community organizing, and community-based research methods.
Public Health graduates have the opportunity to enter a range of careers, including public health policy specialists, program managers, emergency management specialists, health educators, epidemiologists, community health workers, researchers, and public health communicators—all seeking to identify and solve important issues in public health.
Department Vision, Mission, Values, and Goals
Vision
Simmons Public Health advances a vision where all individuals and communities are assured a fair and equitable opportunity to achieve optimal health and well-being, ensuring inclusivity across identities, locations and circumstances.
Mission
Simmons Public Health trains public health practitioners to advance population health and health equity through innovative education, transdisciplinary collaboration, applied research and practice, community organizing and engagement, and health advocacy for systems change. Our programs prepare students in the general principles and practices of public health, and to address structural determinants of health often situated in historical systems of racism and intersectional forms of oppression.
Values
- Social Justice: We value social justice, a core concept of health equity, which embraces the uniqueness, dignity, and inherent value of all individuals and communities and challenges power differentials and structures that preclude fair opportunity for optimal health for all.
- Community Partnership: We strive always to work alongside communities seeking health equity, through partnered knowledge production, community-identified priority setting, and collaborative action towards social change.
- Scientific Rigor and Integrity: We strive for outstanding performance in enacting health equity that is built on the foundation of scientifically rigorous research, evidence-based public health practice, and personal and professional integrity and ethics.
- Critical Systems Thinking: We employ a critical lens to understand, assess and address broad systems and structures that produce and reproduce inequities and injustices in health.
- Transformative Leadership: We advance a model of leadership that challenges existing paradigms, imagines new systems and structures, and embraces innovative approaches to create sustainable change for health equity.
Goals
- Deliver a high-quality, online graduate program with in-person immersion and practice experiences that prepare students to advance health equity by addressing structural determinants of health.
- Deliver a high-quality bachelor's program with interdisciplinary coursework and practice experiences that prepare students in the general principles and practices of public health.
- Generate scholarship and applied practice expertise through research, policy development, service, and consulting to advance public health and health equity.
- Carry out community-engaged activities that advance public health and health equity, including community organizing, activism, community service, systems-focused health advocacy, workforce development, and/or collaborative partnership.
- Foster a climate of inclusivity and invite opportunities for civil discourse on challenging public health and health equity issues, including racism and oppression.
Public Health Requirements
Simmons University is nationally recognized for our exceptional Public Health programs that provide the conceptual and empirical foundation for analyzing the interplay between health, science, and society.
On-Campus Public Health Program Admission Requirements
Check out requirements and deadlines for undergraduate students and apply today!
Online Public Health Program Admission Requirements
Highlights of Simmons’ Public Health Programs
- Our Public Health faculty are dedicated scholars, mentors, and practitioners engaged in research, public health practice, and advocacy nationally and internationally across a variety of critical public health topics
- Undergraduate and graduate Public Health degree students participate in internships, service-learning, and research opportunities enhancing the in-classroom experience for deeper understanding of course concepts.
- Students who graduate from Simmons University’s Public Health Program have excellent employment prospects as researchers, community health workers, policy officers, health program managers, and much more.
Department of Public Health in the News
Scholars Emphasize that Women’s Health is Public Health
Shortly before the sixth annual Ifill Forum, an esteemed panel of Simmons scholars from diverse disciplines co-presented “Women’s Health is Public Health.” Dr. Ammina Kothari, Dean of The Gwen Ifill School of Media, Humanities, and Social Sciences, served as the event’s moderator.
The Ongoing Battle for Transparency in Women’s Health
Professor and Director Val Leiter shares her recent research on the FDA’s role in marketing women’s health medical devices and her efforts to determine whether gender discrimination influences the oversight of medical devices for women.
Simmons University’s School of Sciences and Health Professions Welcomes Six New Faculty Members
The new faculty members have joined the Behavior Analysis, Biology, Physical Therapy, Psychology, and Public Health programs.
Assistant Professor of Public Health Kristen Brewer is a Champion of Sex Education
Kristen Brewer joined the Simmons Department of Public Health faculty in spring 2024. She spoke with us about her passion for health education, the stigmatization of sexuality in the Southeast, and the importance of community engagement.
With HERE4Justice, MPH Students Work to Advance Social Justice
For many students in the Department of Public Health, activism begins at Simmons. In 2018, MPH students established HERE4Justice, a student-run organization that works to advance health equity, racial equity, and social justice. "Students started this collective because they saw...
Simmons Hosts Virtual Panel of Experts: Roe v. Wade Meets the Dobbs Decision
On the evening of September 22, Simmons hosted a virtual conversation with faculty, practitioners, policymakers, and providers who discussed the impact of the Supreme Court’s recent Dobbs Decision. The panelists drew attention to the intersectional issues of reproductive rights, same-sex marriage, and contraception.
Public Health Professor of Practice Carolyn Rodgers Shares her Thoughts on the Overturning of Roe vs. Wade
Dr. Rodgers researches health disparities, mental health, health and nutrition, substance use, and fitness. She is co-founder of the American Heritage Youth Foundation (AHYF), a non-profit organization that supports community-based interventions. Dr. Rodgers is especially passionate about education, health, equity, and uplift.
Passionate Leaders Project: Fall 2021 Cohort
The Passionate Leaders Project supports undergraduate students seeking to enrich their academic and professional interests by funding learning opportunities beyond the boundaries of the traditional classroom. Learn what the Fall 2021 Cohort is up to!
Upcoming Events
Public Health Faculty and Staff
Chair
Valerie Leiter
Professor and Chair of the Public Health Department and Director of the Bachelor's Program in Public Health
Full-time Faculty
Kristen Brewer
Assistant Professor
Leigh Haynes
Associate Professor of Practice and Director of the Master of Public Health Program
Edima Ottoho
Associate Professor of Practice
Dawna Thomas
Professor and Chair of the Department of Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Dolores Wolongevicz
Associate Professor of Practice and Director of the Health Professions Education Program
Contact Us
Department of Public Health
The Department of Public Health offers a Public Health Bachelor of Science program that is a unique combination of an interdisciplinary liberal arts education with a specialty focus on public health, and a Master of Public Health degree with a distinct focus on health equity. Online and on-campus options are available to both undergraduate and graduate students.