20 Years of Undergraduate Public Health Education: A Look Back & Ahead
The modern undergraduate public health education movement can be traced to the 2003 report by the Institute of Medicine and National Academy of Medicine, which boldly declared that “… all undergraduates should have access to education in public health.”
In those days, this recommendation was — to say the least — aspirational. Most, if not all, readers, probably thought the “all” was a typo. Nonetheless, this recommendation catalyzed a movement that led to exponential growth in undergraduate public health education.
As public health organizations became engaged and the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) got involved, the stage was set for a national movement.
In 2006, the Consensus Conference on Undergraduate Public Health Education brought together leaders from the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the Association of Schools and Programs (ASPPH) to collaborate on the development of undergraduate public health education. The conference produced a roadmap that recommended the widespread development of introductory public health courses plus the development of minors and majors based on a liberal arts approach.
Growing Recognition of the Value of Public Health
Over the next decade, recognition of the value of public health education grew. Undergraduate public health education rose to national consciousness through special issues of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, articles in the AAC&U journal Peer Review, Healthy People 2020 objectives, and a front-page article in the Washington Post.
The second decade of the 21st century produced exponential growth in undergraduate public health education thanks to its integration into the continuum of public health education, from community colleges to doctoral education.
ASPPH developed annual undergraduate national public health meetings and created the ASPPH Undergraduate Public Health Network. The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) developed accreditation for undergraduate standalone bachelor’s degree programs at institutions without graduate public health education. This formally recognized the importance of providing public health education to undergraduates in institutions without graduate public health.
Student Interest Fueled Rapid Growth
Why did undergraduate public health education become so popular so fast? One explanation is that it was a student-driven movement. Students who took an introductory public health course often advocated for more courses and new experiential learning. Many saw public health education as a unique combination of idealism to improve the health of populations with pragmatism to develop careers not only in public health but also in a wide range of health- and nonhealth-related fields.
By the end of the 2010s, the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded in public health and related fields approached 20,000 — matching the number of MPH degrees awarded.
Then, as you might remember, something happened in early 2020 that upended life as we knew it. public health was suddenly — for better or for worse — front-page news.
In the Shadow of the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered enormous interest in public health, but it also spotlighted the limitations of our public health system and our ability to respond to a public health crisis on national and global levels. COVID-19 prompted many undergraduates to commit to an education in public health, beginning with a bachelor’s degree.
Today we are living in the shadow of the COVID pandemic. In this post-COVID world, we face challenges associated with:
- health disparities
- lack of an effective national public health system
- lack of an effective global pandemic response system
- misinformation and disinformation about health issues.
Undergraduate public health education can and should help students address all these issues, regardless of their ultimate career direction.
A Consistent Anchor for Learning
Throughout these 2 eventful decades, Jones and Bartlett Learning’s Essential Public Health series has supported and encouraged the growth of undergraduate public health education.
Since Essentials of Environmental Health was published in the 2005-06 academic year, Jones and Bartlett Learning has added 20 books to the series (the 4th edition will be available in 2026). Each text provides a wide array of ancillary materials to assist students and faculty.
The Essential Public Health series, now in its 20th year of publication, aims to provide the comprehensive range of educational materials expected by the Council on Education for Public Health.
As the dedicated editors and authors of these texts develop new content for this series, they create a wide range of student and faculty resources that incorporate technology updates that serve all users. The collective knowledge and dedication of these experts ensure a bright future for the Essential Public Health series.
Free Webinar: 2025 Undergraduate Public Health Education Update
To kick off the 20th anniversary celebration of the Essential Public Health series, Jones and Bartlett Learning will host a free webinar by series editor Richard Riegelman:
Undergraduate Public Health Update
Date: Oct. 23, 2025
Time: 1 pm to 2 pm Eastern
Register here
Click here for more information on Essential Public Health Series 20th anniversary events.
About the Author: Richard Riegelman, MD, MPH, PhD, is the series editor for Jones and Bartlett Learning’s Essential Public Health series. Dr. Riegelman is Professor of Epidemiology, Medicine, and Health Policy, as well as the Founding Dean of the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. He led the development of the Educated Citizen and Public Health initiative, which brought together arts and sciences and public health education associations to implement National Academy of Medicine’s vision for undergraduate public health education.
Dr. Riegelman earned an MD from the University of Wisconsin, and an MPH and PhD in Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University. He practiced primary care internal medicine for more than 20 years. Dr. Riegelman has authored or edited more than 70 publications, including six books for students and practitioners of medicine and public health.
The Essential Public Health series provides books and ancillary materials for the full spectrum of curricula for undergraduate public health. It also provides learning resources for the core and cross-cutting competencies covered on the Certified in Public Health exam by the National Board of Public Health Examiners.