Public health emphasizes access to health care, disease prevention, and improvement of the health status of individuals and communities, relying on both research methods to identify significant causal health relationships and a community approach to health problems. Historically, public health has developed from a field limited to the prevention of communicable diseases through environmental sanitation to a profession with many areas of specialization.
Public health offers many opportunities for work and service to others in diverse areas.
Most schools also require one or more courses in health administration, environmental health and behavioral sciences. Students with almost any undergraduate major can pursue some type of public health training. It is important for prospective students to realize that some specialty programs are designed primarily to provide public health training for health professionals, such as physicians, nurses, and dentists. Therefore, students investigating educational and career opportunities in this field should carefully consider the orientation of different programs. Education at the master's level often leads to employment as a practitioner with mid-level responsibility in a specialty area.