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Recognizing the growing career opportunities in the field, the听is launching a public health undergraduate major and relaunching the full-time Master of Public Health program (MPH) during the fall 2025 semester.听

鈥淎 lot of our students were ending up public health adjacent roles, and this will provide a pathway for those students who are interested in roles that may be outside a hospital or managerial setting,鈥� says Robert McGrath, professor of health management and policy. 鈥淭hat could mean community health, environmental health, public policy or other expanding areas of public health.鈥澨�

The requirements for the new undergraduate major will include existing courses from the CHHS curriculum and a public health capstone. Additionally, students can select from a wide range of interdisciplinary electives across UNH coursebook. For example, students in the program can take courses like Globalization and Global Population Health (anthropology), Environmental Pollution and Protection (civil and environmental engineering), and Data Analysis for Life Science (biology), to name a few courses.听

The curriculum will allow students to explore topics such as:听

• Community health: Addressing health disparities and social determinants of health.听

• Environmental health: Examining the impact of air, water and land use on well-being.听

• Health policy & advocacy: Influencing policies that shape public health outcomes.听

• Epidemiology & data analysis: Using research and technology to track and prevent disease.听

鈥淲e saw this as the right time to launch the program because of the increasing emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration,鈥� McGrath says. 鈥淧ublic health connects with many other fields 鈥� environmental health, public policy, sustainability 鈥� across the university, not just within HHS. Our goal was to leverage existing resources and build a strong program that creates meaningful partnerships with other majors.鈥澨�

Associate Professor Mark Bonica, chair of the health management and policy department, says the new program aligns with the World Health Organization鈥檚 (WHO) definition of health: "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."听听听

鈥淗ealth is bigger than just preventing the spread of disease. It鈥檚 overall well-being and human flourishing,鈥� Bonica says. 鈥淪tudents who choose this new public health degree will have the opportunity to explore the broader themes of health.鈥澨�

For the capstone experience, McGrath says students will have the flexibility to tailor their learning through independent research with faculty mentorship, service-learning projects in partnership with local organizations or internships at hospitals, state agencies and nonprofits to gain hands-on public health experience.听

Bonica says the new program will benefit from the existing partnerships the department already has with hospitals, health facilities and state and regional public health agencies.听

"One of the real strengths of our department is the strong relationships we have with our alumni, many of whom hold leadership roles in the field,鈥� Bonica says. 鈥淭hese connections will help students find meaningful opportunities when they reach the capstone level."听

Alongside the new undergraduate major, UNH is restructuring its Master of Public Health (MPH) program into a one-year intensive format at the Durham campus, replacing the previous part-time model.听

鈥淎 student can come to UNH, complete their undergraduate degree in public health, and stay for one additional year to earn an MPH," Bonica says. "Even if they aren鈥檛 public health majors, the new MPH structure makes it easier for students from other disciplines to transition into a graduate public health program."听

The interdisciplinary approach behind the new public health major could also serve as a model for future programs. Bonica says preliminary discussions are underway about applying a similar structure to other fields, such as aging services, which could bring together expertise from health management, social work, and recreation management.听听