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2024 Best Public Health Schools

553 Colleges in the United States
40,596 Public Health Degrees Awarded
$43,158 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #26 in popularity, public health is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 553 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for public health students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 40,596 degrees in public health to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Public Health School

Best Public Health Schools The public health program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Public Health rankings. For our Best Overall Public Health School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Public Health Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Public Health
Bachelor's Degrees in Public Health
Master's Degrees in Public Health
Doctor's Degrees in Public Health

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Public Health Schools list to help you make the college decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Public Health in the United States

The schools below may not offer all types of public health degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 Top Schools in Public Health

1
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
372 Public Health Degrees Awarded
1.6% Growth in Graduates

Harvard University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in public health. Located in the midsize city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #6 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Harvard is a great university overall.

There were roughly 372 public health students who graduated with this degree at Harvard in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public health program at Harvard University earn $63,075 more than the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public health from Harvard University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
625 Public Health Degrees Awarded
$68,359 Median Starting Salary

Columbia University in the City of New York is a good decision for students interested in a degree in public health. Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.

There were roughly 625 public health students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public health program at Columbia University in the City of New York get $25,201 more than the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public health from Columbia University in the City of New York

3
Emory crest
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
436 Public Health Degrees Awarded
22.0% Growth in Graduates

Emory University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in public health. Emory is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Atlanta. This university ranks 2nd out of 68 schools for overall quality in the state of Georgia.

There were roughly 436 public health students who graduated with this degree at Emory in the most recent data year. Those public health students who get their degree from Emory University make $9,528 more than the average public health graduate.

More information about a degree in public health from Emory University

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
187 Public Health Degrees Awarded
$49,931 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in public health needs to check out The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Located in the city of Houston, UTHealth is a public university with a medium-sized student population.

There were approximately 187 public health students who graduated with this degree at UTHealth in the most recent year we have data available. Those public health students who get their degree from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston make $6,773 more than the average public health student.

More information about a degree in public health from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,002 Public Health Degrees Awarded
$59,722 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #23 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.

There were about 1002 public health students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public health degree program at Johns Hopkins University earn $16,564 more than the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University

6
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
58 Public Health Degrees Awarded
$124,176 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #19 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Vanderbilt is a great university overall.

There were roughly 58 public health students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent data year. Those public health students who get their degree from Vanderbilt University earn $81,018 more than the typical public health student.

More information about a degree in public health from Vanderbilt University

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
203 Public Health Degrees Awarded
$81,449 Median Starting Salary

UCLA is a very large public university located in the city of Los Angeles. This university ranks 5th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 203 public health students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent data year. Those public health students who get their degree from University of California - Los Angeles receive $38,291 more than the average public health graduate.

More information about a degree in public health from University of California - Los Angeles

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
136 Public Health Degrees Awarded
17.6% Growth in Graduates

WUSTL is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Louis. A Best Colleges rank of #17 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means WUSTL is a great university overall.

There were approximately 136 public health students who graduated with this degree at WUSTL in the most recent year we have data available. Those public health students who get their degree from Washington University in St Louis make $5,035 more than the standard public health graduate.

More information about a degree in public health from Washington University in St Louis

9
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
85 Public Health Degrees Awarded
$75,393 Median Starting Salary

Yale is a large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of New Haven. A Best Colleges rank of #8 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Yale is a great university overall.

There were about 85 public health students who graduated with this degree at Yale in the most recent data year. Public Health degree recipients from Yale University earn a boost of approximately $32,235 over the typical income of public health graduates.

More information about a degree in public health from Yale University

10
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
28th Most Popular In CA
32 Public Health Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were roughly 32 public health students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in public health from Stanford University

11
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
144 Public Health Degrees Awarded
8.3% Growth in Graduates

Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Providence. A Best Colleges rank of #21 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Brown is a great university overall.

There were about 144 public health students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent data year. Public Health degree recipients from Brown University receive an earnings boost of around $7,819 above the typical earnings of public health majors.

More information about a degree in public health from Brown University

12
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
477 Public Health Degrees Awarded
$58,111 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were approximately 477 public health students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public health degree program at University of California - Berkeley earn $14,953 more than the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in public health from University of California - Berkeley

13
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
308 Public Health Degrees Awarded
$41,172 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 308 public health students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. After graduating, public health degree recipients typically earn about $41,172 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in public health from University of Southern California

14
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
436 Public Health Degrees Awarded
$48,458 Median Starting Salary

UW Seattle is a fairly large public university located in the city of Seattle. This university ranks 1st out of 51 colleges for overall quality in the state of Washington.

There were roughly 436 public health students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent data year. Those public health students who get their degree from University of Washington - Seattle Campus earn $5,300 more than the standard public health grad.

More information about a degree in public health from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

15
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In IL
107 Public Health Degrees Awarded

Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were approximately 107 public health students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in public health from Northwestern University

16
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
665 Public Health Degrees Awarded
14.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 8 colleges for overall quality in the state of District of Columbia.

There were about 665 public health students who graduated with this degree at GWU in the most recent year we have data available. Public Health degree recipients from George Washington University earn a boost of about $29,265 over the typical earnings of public health majors.

More information about a degree in public health from George Washington University

17
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
246 Public Health Degrees Awarded
$56,618 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. This university ranks 6th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were approximately 246 public health students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent data year. Those public health students who get their degree from Boston University receive $13,460 more than the typical public health grad.

More information about a degree in public health from Boston University

18
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
332 Public Health Degrees Awarded
35.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the small city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were about 332 public health students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public health program at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill earn $8,722 above the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public health from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

19
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
199 Public Health Degrees Awarded
$59,252 Median Starting Salary

UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Minneapolis. This university ranks 1st out of 52 colleges for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were approximately 199 public health students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public health degree program at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities get $16,094 above the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in public health from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

20
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
224 Public Health Degrees Awarded
0.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were about 224 public health students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year. Those public health students who get their degree from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor receive $9,641 more than the typical public health grad.

More information about a degree in public health from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

21
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
516 Public Health Degrees Awarded
$50,606 Median Starting Salary

Located in the suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 36 colleges for overall quality in the state of Maryland.

There were approximately 516 public health students who graduated with this degree at UMCP in the most recent year we have data available. Those public health students who get their degree from University of Maryland - College Park make $7,448 more than the average public health graduate.

More information about a degree in public health from University of Maryland - College Park

22
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
670 Public Health Degrees Awarded
11.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of New Brunswick, Rutgers New Brunswick is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 44 schools for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.

There were about 670 public health students who graduated with this degree at Rutgers New Brunswick in the most recent year we have data available. Those public health students who get their degree from Rutgers University - New Brunswick earn $6,666 more than the average public health graduate.

More information about a degree in public health from Rutgers University - New Brunswick

23
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
335 Public Health Degrees Awarded
15.8% Growth in Graduates

Texas A&M College Station is a fairly large public university located in the city of College Station. This university ranks 3rd out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were approximately 335 public health students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent data year. Those public health students who get their degree from Texas A&M University - College Station earn $11,818 more than the typical public health grad.

More information about a degree in public health from Texas A&M University - College Station

24
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
55 Public Health Degrees Awarded
$56,228 Median Starting Salary

UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.

There were roughly 55 public health students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public health major at University of Pennsylvania get $13,070 above the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public health from University of Pennsylvania

25
Tufts crest
Tufts University
Medford, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
132 Public Health Degrees Awarded
$53,456 Median Starting Salary

Located in the suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 4th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were about 132 public health students who graduated with this degree at Tufts in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public health degree program at Tufts University earn $10,298 above the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public health from Tufts University

Rest of the Top 50 Best Public Health Schools

26
27
Loma Linda University crest
Loma Linda University
Loma Linda, CA
28
29
30
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
31
32

33

34
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC

42
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY

43
44
45
46
47
48
Dartmouth crest
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH
49
Temple crest
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA
50

 

Additional Award Winners

This section represents the remainder of the colleges awarded a Best Public Health Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 553 different United States public health schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 Georgetown University Washington, DC
52 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
53 Touro University California Vallejo, CA
54 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
55 The Graduate Center, CUNY New York, NY
56 University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL
57 University of Nevada - Reno Reno, NV
58 Thomas Jefferson University Philadelphia, PA
59 Wayne State University Detroit, MI
60 University of Miami Coral Gables, FL
61 Baylor University Waco, TX
62 University of Maryland - Baltimore Baltimore, MD
63 Cornell University Ithaca, NY
64 Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA
65 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
66 University of North Texas Health Science Center Fort Worth, TX
67 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
68 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
69 University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT
70 East Carolina University Greenville, NC
71 Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
72 Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN
73 University of Puerto Rico - Medical Sciences San Juan, PR
74 SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University Brooklyn, NY
75 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Little Rock, AR
76 Creighton University Omaha, NE
77 Oregon Health & Science University Portland, OR
78 Brigham Young University - Provo Provo, UT
79 Eastern Virginia Medical School Norfolk, VA
80 Oregon State University Corvallis, OR
81 A T Still University of Health Sciences Kirksville, MO
82 University of South Florida - Main Campus Tampa, FL

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Public Health Schools award.

Rank College Location
83 California State University - Northridge Northridge, CA
84 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
85 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
86 The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL
87 University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
88 New York Medical College Valhalla, NY
89 Florida State University Tallahassee, FL
90 University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY
91 California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA
92 University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
93 Simmons University Boston, MA
94 Saint Louis University Saint Louis, MO
95 The College of New Jersey Ewing, NJ
96 University of Wisconsin - La Crosse La Crosse, WI
97 University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO
98 Benedictine University Lisle, IL
99 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
100 University of California - Davis Davis, CA
101 Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Boston, MA
102 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ
103 Northeastern University Boston, MA
104 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
105 American University Washington, DC
106 University of Massachusetts - Lowell Lowell, MA
107 University of Delaware Newark, DE
108 University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA
109 Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, FL
110 University of California - San Francisco San Francisco, CA

Public Health by Region

View the Best Public Health Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

One of 34 majors within the Health Professions area of study, Public Health has other similar majors worth exploring.

Public Health Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Public Health 22,778
Public Health Education and Promotion 4,563
Other Public Health 3,432
Health Services Administration 3,119
Community Health and Preventive Medicine 2,272
International Public Health/International Health 1,599
Environmental Health 1,344
Behavioral Aspects of Health 814
Health/Medical Physics 258
Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene 211

View All Public Health Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Nursing 322,592
Health & Medical Administrative Services 89,359
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 84,492
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274
Allied Health Professions 82,308
Health Sciences & Services 35,945
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 29,833
Mental & Social Health Services 29,053
Medicine 28,629
Dental Support Services 26,399

View All Public Health Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
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Degree Guides by Major
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