The University of Memphis School of Public Health offers two dynamic master degrees: Master of Public Health and Master of Health Administration. Occupations in the health care field continue to be in high demand and the School is poised to prepare graduates to take on leadership positions that will make a great impact in our society.

MPH Careers

• Public Health is the science of protecting and improving the health of communities through education, promotion of healthy lifestyles, and research for disease and injury prevention. Public health professionals analyze the effect on health of genetics, personal choice and the environment in order to develop programs that protect the health of families and community.

• Overall, public health is concerned with protecting the health of entire populations. These populations can be as small as a local neighborhood, or as big as an entire country.

• Public health professionals try to prevent problems from happening or re-occurring through implementing educational programs, developing policies, administering services, and conducting research, in contrast to clinical professionals, such as doctors and nurses, who focus primarily on treating individuals after they become sick or injured. It is also a field that is concerned with eliminating health disparities and a large part of public health is the fight for health care equity, quality, and accessibility.

• Perhaps never has there been a more exciting time to pursue a career in public health. Why? Because....

• Public health is an exciting and growing field of study. The field challenges its professionals to confront complex health issues such as improving access to health care, controlling infectious disease, and reducing environmental hazards, violence, substance abuse, and injury.

• Public health is a diverse and dynamic field. Public Health professionals come from varying educational backgrounds and can specialize in an array of fields. A host of specialists, including teachers, journalists, researchers, administrators, environmentalists, demographers, social workers, laboratory scientists, and attorneys, work to protect the health of the public.

• Public health is a field geared toward serving others. Public health professionals serve local, national, and international communities. They are leaders who meet the many exciting challenges in protecting the public's health today and in the future.

• Public health is a rewarding field. The field of public health offers great personal fulfillment; working towards improving people's health and well being is a rewarding day's work.

Our MPH graduates have secured positions with the following titles:

Some job titles that MPH graduates are qualified for are:

Biostatistics
Data Management Director, State Health Dept.
Director of Clinical Trials, Industry/Corporate
Program Evaluation Analyst, Federal Government

Epidemiology
Director of Infectious/Chronic Diseases, Local/State Health Dept.
Outcomes Researcher, Industry/Corporate
CDC Investigator, Federal Government

Health Systems and Services
Hospital/Managed Care Administrator, Health Facilities
Program Evaluation & Planning, State Health Department
Information Systems Manager, Industry/Corporate
Health Services Research Analyst, University
Policy Analyst, Federal Government

Social and Behavioral Sciences
Community Development Specialist, Local Health Department
Health Promotion Specialist, Industry/Corporate
Program Planner and Evaluator, Federal Government, Local or State Health Department
Research Manager, University or Medical Center

Environmental Health
Waste Management Specialist, Local Health Department/Environmental Agency
Pollution Control Program Director, State Health Department/Environmental Agency
Industrial Hygienist, Industry/Corporate
EPA Researcher/Administrator, Federal Government

MHA CAREERS

Health Administrators plan and supervise the delivery of services by doctors, nurses, and technicians. They have careers in health clinics, doctors office practices and major medical centers. Each health services organization needs someone to track trends in an ever-changing industry and to keep the facility running smoothly. Healthcare administrators play an important role in keeping the community healthy.  Employment prospects are excellent with over 90% employment rate for graduates.  Some of the positions graduates of MHA programs are qualified for are:

    * Hospital administrator

    * Department or division director

    * Manager

    * Chief executive officer

    * Chief financial officer