UCLA Public Health Programs: Shaping the Future of Health

The UCLA Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health (FSPH) stands as a leading institution dedicated to advancing public health through education, research, and community engagement. Located within the Center for Health Sciences building on UCLA's Westwood campus in Los Angeles, California, the school has a rich history of innovation and impact.

A Legacy of Public Health Education at UCLA

UCLA's commitment to public health dates back to 1946, when it began offering undergraduate instruction in the field. For fifteen years, public health education at UCLA was part of a University of California system-wide program. In 1957, UCLA initiated its own program leading to an advanced degree in public health. The School of Public Health was officially established on March 17, 1961, with Lenor S. (Steve) Goerke as its founding dean. In 1993, there was an announcement of a plan to merge the School of Public Health into the School of Public Policy. The school received a transformative gift of $50 million from the Fielding family on February 16, 2012, marking the largest single donation since its creation in 1962.

A Diverse and Globally Engaged Community

The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health is a global hub for public health education, attracting students from 27 countries. The school fosters collaborations with institutions worldwide, holding 19 Memoranda of Understanding with partners in countries such as Cambodia, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Germany, Mexico, and the Philippines. The school benefits from its location on UCLA's Westwood campus, which houses the schools of medicine, law, nursing, business, dentistry, and engineering.

Academic Departments and Degree Programs

The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health offers a comprehensive range of academic programs through its five departments:

Biostatistics: Focuses on the development and application of statistical methods to address public health challenges.
Community Health Sciences: Emphasizes community-based approaches to promote health and prevent disease.
Environmental Health Sciences: Examines the impact of environmental factors on human health.
Epidemiology: Investigates the patterns, causes, and control of diseases in populations.
Health Policy and Management: Addresses the organization, financing, and delivery of health services.

The school offers three degree types:

Read also: MPH Curriculum at UCLA

Master of Public Health (MPH): A professional degree that prepares graduates for careers in public health practice.
Master of Science (MS): A research-oriented degree that provides a foundation for doctoral study.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD): An advanced research degree that emphasizes in-depth knowledge and research skills.

UCLA Fielding also offers two undergraduate majors (Public Health BA and Public Health BS) and an undergraduate minor in Public Health.

Master of Public Health (MPH) Programs

The Master of Public Health (MPH) program is UCLA Fielding’s professional degree, preparing graduates for careers in which they address public health issues in wide-ranging settings. Students receive broad training in public health, as well as specialized knowledge in a public health discipline as represented by the five FSPH departments. A required applied practice experience allows students to apply their classroom-obtained knowledge to real-world problems with a community partner.

For professionals seeking to advance their careers by earning an MPH while continuing to work full time, UCLA Fielding features two executive programs: The Master of Public Health for Health Professionals (MPH-HP), offered by the Department of Community Health Sciences; and the Executive Master of Public Health (EMPH), offered by the Department of Health Policy and Management.

The EMPH program taught business planning and management, program evaluation, and strategic thinking. The local and global perspectives to healthcare and being taught by such influential individuals in the healthcare field are inspirational. There are so many ways to make a difference in Public Health and this program provides an opportunity to realize the abundance of career paths. One of the things that I learned and experienced in the program was the cross section between a variety of healthcare professionals. This allowed for great dialogue in and out of the classroom. By the end of the program, I had gained greater confidence as a result of gaining a solid foundation of healthcare knowledge from the political realm, payer sources, hospitals, the VA, and community health care settings.

The EMPH Program is a unique collaboration between a strongly motivated group of students and equally motivated faculty, who want them to learn what they need to succeed. It's much more than a collection of academic courses.

Read also: Guide to UCLA Public Health Major

Dual Degree Programs

Through any of nine dual degree programs, students can combine the MPH with a Doctor of Medicine (MD), Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Social Work (MSW), Master of Public Policy (MPP), or Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP), or with Master of Arts (MA) programs in African, Asian American, or Latin American studies. These programs provide students with the opportunity to gain expertise in both public health and another discipline.

Online Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA)

The online Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) equips graduates with the knowledge and skills that are in highest demands for administrative roles in healthcare.

Research-Oriented Degrees: MS and PhD

UCLA Fielding offers three research-oriented degrees, emphasizing theoretical issues and the application of disciplinary methods to the study of contemporary public health issues. Students choose an UCLA Fielding department in which to specialize, with the exception of the interdepartmental PhD in Environmental and Molecular Toxicology where students may choose a department from several UCLA colleges. The Master of Science (MS) is an academic, research-oriented degree that many students pursue in preparation for the PhD. The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is an advanced research degree emphasizing depth of knowledge and research skills. The interdepartmental PhD in Environmental and Molecular Toxicology provides an integrated curriculum in several disciplines, taught by faculty from UCLA Fielding as well as from multiple departments in the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and UCLA College of Letters and Science.

Undergraduate Programs: BA and BS in Public Health

UCLA Fielding's BA in Public Health equips students to apply public health to general and global issues for which some scientific background is necessary to understand the importance of the health factors involved. Students interested in science-based approaches to public health can apply to UCLA Fielding’s BS in Public Health. The BS in Public Health is designed for those who are interested in working to improve health in diverse populations. The BA and BS differ in the amount of science preparatory coursework required. For students who complete all or a portion of the Life Science Core, the additional science preparation will equip them to take more science-focused upper division electives and select a capstone experience that draws on greater preparation in the sciences.

UCLA Fielding School of Public Health has established degree requirements that largely mirror the requirements of the UCLA College. Transfer students who complete IGETC and submit their IGETC certification to UCLA Undergraduate Admission will be exempt from the School’s Writing I and II, Quantitative Reasoning, and General Education requirements. Students must earn a minimum of 180 units for the bachelor’s degree. At least 60 of the 180 units must be from upper division courses, numbered 100 through 199. A maximum of 216 units are permitted. To earn the bachelor's degree, students must earn at least a 2.0 ("C") grade-point average (GPA) in all UC coursework. Admission to the BS will include a comprehensive assessment based on a holistic review of student applications. The admissions committee will evaluate each application based on progress toward completing the preparatory courses, overall academic performance, and interest in public health.

Admission to both majors is based on a cohort model; the School therefore does not allow students to double major. Public Health majors can study abroad during Summer. Students should apply to their first-choice program (either of the two majors or the minor), but may not apply to multiple programs at the same time.

Informal Certificate Programs

Informal certificate programs - open to UCLA Fielding as well as other UCLA graduate students - provide knowledge and skills in a particular area of public health.

Research and Impact

UCLA Fielding School of Public Health faculty and students are involved in projects that span bench science, applied research, policy analysis, and community-based local and international projects. Examples of research areas include:

Access to healthcare
Environmental quality
Reproductive health
Cancer
Health disparities
Children's health
Genomics
Global health
Emerging infectious diseases

Notable Faculty

The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health has been home to numerous influential faculty members who have made significant contributions to the field. These include:

Abdelmonem A. Afifi
Roslyn Alfin-Slater
Lester Breslow
Ronald S. Brookmeyer
E. Richard Brown
Gladys Anderson Emerson
Jonathan Fielding
John Froines
Jody Heymann
Amy S. Kelley
Frank Jones Massey Jr.
Jack Needleman
Linda Rosenstock
Milton Roemer
Ninez A. Ponce

Alumni Spotlights

UCLA Fielding School of Public Health has produced many notable alumni, including:

Natalie Sanchez, MPH - Class of 2015
Matthew Yu, DO, MPH, Class of 2019
Asha Vitatoe, MPH Class of 2022
Vishnu Reddy, DDS, MPH Class of 2023
Jake Naparstek, MPH, Class of 2023
Yelena Korotkaya, MD, MPH, Class of 2020
Sandra Garcia, MPH, Class of 2022
Jessica Arzola, RN, MPH Class of 2021
Ryan Nguyen, MPH Class of 2024
Vy Le, MPH, Class of 2024

Public health achievements

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 combatted 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.

Careers in Public Health

Public health professionals pursue a wide array of careers. An MPH in Biostatistics prepares graduates for positions as statisticians and researchers in fields such as genetic research, bioinformatics, and medicine, working in academia, industry, government organizations, or allied scientific disciplines. Graduates of the MPH in Environmental Health Sciences program pursue private- and public-sector careers as community educators, activists, managers, policymakers, and practitioners. With an MPH in Epidemiology, graduates work in settings that include international health agencies, state and local health departments, federal government agencies and health programs, health maintenance organizations, colleges and universities, and research institutions. and abroad.

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