The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health is pleased to announce approval of a new undergraduate BA and BS in Public Health! The school will be accepting applications for admission in Spring 2023, with primary consideration given to second-year students who complete Public Health 50A in Winter 2023 and enroll in Public Health 50B in Spring 2023. PH 50A meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 11:50 a.m., with a scheduled one-hour discussion section in Winter 2023. Students who are unable to enroll in Public Health 50A in Winter 2023 may still submit an application for admission to the major, but are encouraged to speak with a school advisor first; admissions decisions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The undergraduate minor in public health will be accepting applications from all students, also in Spring 2023.
What is Public Health?
The field of public health is experiencing extraordinary levels of interest for its role in the COVID-19 pandemic; however, public health researchers and practitioners have long sought to improve population health by understanding the behavioral, biological, economic, environmental, and social factors that impact the health and wellness of communities — both local and global. The field has long combated pandemics, sought education and policy solutions to reduce mortality and disease (morbidity), and advocated to reduce barriers to healthcare access. In the past 40 years, major public health initiatives have demonstrated links between smoking and disease and the impacts of poor air, food, and water quality on health outcomes; and has slowed global pandemics like such as HIV/AIDS, and epidemics like such as Ebola, H1N1, MERS, SARS and Zika. The number of achievements expands well beyond this list. The next generation of public health professionals will face these and new challenges — climate change, environmental degradation, emerging epidemics, food insecurity, growing health disparities, homelessness, and violence, among others.