Articulation of Undergraduate and Graduate Education in Public Health

Abstract

The rapid growth of individual undergraduate courses, minors, and baccalaureate degrees in public health presents a new issue for graduate public health education: how does a graduate or professional program address previously completed undergraduate public health coursework? A review of college directories found listings for 154 North American baccalaureate degrees in public health, public health education, and public health nursing. This article addresses the purposes of public health undergraduate education as ( 1) general liberal arts education, ( 2) education complementary to other non-public health graduate degrees, ( 3) preprofessional education, and ( 4) professional education preparing undergraduates for entry-level careers. Following a discussion of reasons to consider articulation of undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as barriers to articulation, the article presents potential strategies for articulation and future issues to consider in addressing admission of undergraduate public health students to master of public health programs.