“What career are you interested in?”

It’s a question teachers and counselors often ask students, and it’s one students often can’t answer. 

At the University of Iowa College of Public Health, we find that many students know what they want to do, but they don’t yet have a name for it. Many want to:

• Make the world a better place,
• help people lead healthier lives, but
• don’t want to be a doctor or nurse (or work with blood!).

We think many of those students are a good fit for public health. That’s a good thing, because public health is one of the fastest-growing professions in the United States with a wide variety of jobs available to suit every interest. Your students might have heard of public health, but they might not know what it is. That’s where we — and you — can help.

Public health is the science of preventing disease and promoting the health of entire communities or populations, not just one patient. In public health, we focus not on the injury or the symptom of the disease, but what caused that injury or disease in the first place.

We use research to find the root causes of illness, injury, and health disparities. We then use education and public policy to create a healthier world for all people, so that everyone can reach their full potential.

Public health plays an important role in the promotion of health, prevention of disease, and protecting the health and safety of populations around the world.

With a degree from the University of Iowa College of Public Health, students will have the power to create real, positive change.