Careers in Community and Behavioral Health

A degree in Community and Behavioral Health from the University of Iowa opens a variety of doors for those looking to improve public health.

With a master’s degree, you could:

  • Develop an outreach program in an urban community that reduces the incidence of diabetes
  • Collaborate with a rural community to locate funding for a walking trail that will improve physical activity levels
  • Generate a new menu and eating incentives at an industrial work site that improve the nutrition habits of workers
  • Train inmates in the prison system as peer educators, so that they can educate peers about prevention and treatment of STDs
  • Implement programs in a developing country that improve the safety of female refugees and their children
  • Organize a media campaign that reduces teen tobacco use
  • Build a collaboration of lobbyists that secures funding for a new family violence prevention program
  • Coordinate with local substance abuse treatment providers to ensure the adoption of empirically supported treatment and prevention methods
  • Evaluate existing public health programs, to recommend improvements and verify effectiveness.

With a doctoral degree, you could:

  • Conduct research on the effectiveness of various community based intervention trials
  • Write research grants, articles and books
  • Develop new theories
  • Consult on research or evaluation projects
  • Mentor new scientists as a professor at a research university

Sample Positions

Below is a listing of sample positions that graduates of our master’s and doctoral programs would be qualified for. Positions similar to these have been advertised in the past two years on the American Public Health Association’s Career Mart and have been offered to CBH graduates.

Master’s Level Sample Positions

Estimated starting salary range: $45,000–$60,000.

  • Public Health Educator II in a state health department
  • Research Program Manager at a state partnership against tobacco
  • Coordinator of Health Promotion Programs at a private college
  • Health Education Materials Developer at an education and research company
  • Health Program Coordinator at a kidney disease foundation
  • Research Assistant at a research university
  • Prevention Specialist at a national public health agency
  • Health Educator at an HMO
  • Program Coordinator II for a state-wide prevention program
  • Program Manager at a nonprofit community-based women’s health care organization

Doctoral Level Sample Positions

Estimated salary starting range: $70,000–$90,000.

  • Postdoctoral Research Scientist at a research university
  • Tenure-track Assistant Professor at a research university
  • Research Scientist within a mental health institute at a research university