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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 finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in public health. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #6 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Harvard is a great university overall.

There were approximately 372 public health students who graduated with this degree at Harvard in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public health degree program at Harvard University make $63,075 above the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

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 pursuing a degree in public health. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.

There were approximately 625 public health students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public health major at Columbia University in the City of New York earn $25,201 more than the average 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 large city of Atlanta. This university ranks 2nd out of 68 schools for overall quality in the state of Georgia.

There were approximately 436 public health students who graduated with this degree at Emory in the most recent year we have data available. Those public health students who get their degree from Emory University receive $9,528 more than the standard 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 pursuing a degree in public health needs to take a look at 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 roughly 187 public health students who graduated with this degree at UTHealth in the most recent data year. Those public health students who get their degree from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston earn $6,773 more than the standard public health grad.

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 large 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 schools nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.

There were roughly 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 above the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

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

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
58 Public Health Degrees Awarded
$124,176 Median Starting Salary

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

There were about 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 receive $81,018 more than the standard public health grad.

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 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 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 standard public health grad.

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 large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Louis. A Best Colleges rank of #17 out of 2,217 colleges 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 data year. Those public health students who get their degree from Washington University in St Louis receive $5,035 more than the average public health grad.

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 fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the 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 roughly 85 public health students who graduated with this degree at Yale in the most recent year we have data available. Public Health degree recipients from Yale University earn a boost of approximately $32,235 over the average income of public health majors.

More information about a degree in public health from Yale University

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

Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 colleges 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 midsize city of Providence. A Best Colleges rank of #21 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Brown is a great university overall.

There were approximately 144 public health students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent year we have data available. Public Health degree recipients from Brown University receive an earnings boost of around $7,819 above the average income 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 medium-sized 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 get $14,953 above the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

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 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 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 308 public health students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, public health degree recipients typically make an average of $41,172 in the first five years of their career.

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 very large public university located in the large city of Seattle. This university ranks 1st out of 51 schools for overall quality in the state of Washington.

There were about 436 public health students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent year we have data available. Those public health students who get their degree from University of Washington - Seattle Campus make $5,300 more than the typical public health student.

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

There were approximately 665 public health students who graduated with this degree at GWU in the most recent data year. Public Health degree recipients from George Washington University get an earnings boost of around $29,265 over the typical earnings of public health majors.

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

17
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 fairly large student population. This university ranks 6th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were about 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 earn $13,460 more than the standard public health student.

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 roughly 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 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

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 schools for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were roughly 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 grad in this field shortly after graduation.

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 very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 224 public health students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Those public health students who get their degree from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor make $9,641 more than the standard 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 data year. Those public health students who get their degree from University of Maryland - College Park receive $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 roughly 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 receive $6,666 more than the standard 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 very large public university located in the medium-sized city of College Station. This university ranks 3rd out of 115 colleges 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 make $11,818 more than the typical public health graduate.

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

24
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
55 Public Health Degrees Awarded
$56,228 Median Starting Salary

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

There were about 55 public health students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public health degree program at University of Pennsylvania get $13,070 above the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

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 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were roughly 132 public health students who graduated with this degree at Tufts in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public health degree program at Tufts University get $10,298 above the average college graduate 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

43
44
45
46
47
48
49
Temple crest
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA
50

Additional Award Winners

This section represents the rest of the schools 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.

RankCollegeLocation
51Georgetown UniversityWashington, DC
52San Diego State UniversitySan Diego, CA
53Touro University CaliforniaVallejo, CA
54University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignChampaign, IL
55The Graduate Center, CUNYNew York, NY
56University of Alabama at BirminghamBirmingham, AL
57University of Nevada - RenoReno, NV
58Thomas Jefferson UniversityPhiladelphia, PA
59Wayne State UniversityDetroit, MI
60University of MiamiCoral Gables, FL
61Baylor UniversityWaco, TX
62University of Maryland - BaltimoreBaltimore, MD
63Cornell UniversityIthaca, NY
64Santa Clara UniversitySanta Clara, CA
65University of Illinois at ChicagoChicago, IL
66University of North Texas Health Science CenterFort Worth, TX
67Virginia TechBlacksburg, VA
68University of RochesterRochester, NY
69University of UtahSalt Lake City, UT
70East Carolina UniversityGreenville, NC
71Drexel UniversityPhiladelphia, PA
72Indiana University - Purdue University - IndianapolisIndianapolis, IN
73University of Puerto Rico - Medical SciencesSan Juan, PR
74SUNY Downstate Health Sciences UniversityBrooklyn, NY
75University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesLittle Rock, AR
76Creighton UniversityOmaha, NE
77Oregon Health & Science UniversityPortland, OR
78Brigham Young University - ProvoProvo, UT
79Eastern Virginia Medical SchoolNorfolk, VA
80Oregon State UniversityCorvallis, OR
81A T Still University of Health SciencesKirksville, MO
82University of South Florida - Main CampusTampa, 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.

RankCollegeLocation
83California State University - NorthridgeNorthridge, CA
84San Jose State UniversitySan Jose, CA
85George Mason UniversityFairfax, VA
86The University of AlabamaTuscaloosa, AL
87University of KentuckyLexington, KY
88New York Medical CollegeValhalla, NY
89Florida State UniversityTallahassee, FL
90University at BuffaloBuffalo, NY
91California State University - FullertonFullerton, CA
92University of Cincinnati - Main CampusCincinnati, OH
93Simmons UniversityBoston, MA
94Saint Louis UniversitySaint Louis, MO
95The College of New JerseyEwing, NJ
96University of Wisconsin - La CrosseLa Crosse, WI
97University of Missouri - ColumbiaColumbia, MO
98Benedictine UniversityLisle, IL
99University of San FranciscoSan Francisco, CA
100University of California - DavisDavis, CA
101Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health SciencesBoston, MA
102Northern Arizona UniversityFlagstaff, AZ
103Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA
104Michigan State UniversityEast Lansing, MI
105American UniversityWashington, DC
106University of Massachusetts - LowellLowell, MA
107University of DelawareNewark, DE
108University of Virginia - Main CampusCharlottesville, VA
109Keiser University - Ft LauderdaleFort Lauderdale, FL
110University of California - San FranciscoSan 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

MajorAnnual Graduates
General Public Health22,778
Public Health Education and Promotion4,563
Other Public Health3,432
Health Services Administration3,119
Community Health and Preventive Medicine2,272
International Public Health/International Health1,599
Environmental Health1,344
Behavioral Aspects of Health814
Health/Medical Physics258
Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene211

View All Public Health Concentrations >

Related MajorAnnual Graduates
Nursing322,592
Health & Medical Administrative Services89,359
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services84,492
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants84,274
Allied Health Professions82,308
Health Sciences & Services35,945
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions29,833
Mental & Social Health Services29,053
Medicine28,629
Dental Support Services26,399

View All Public Health Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
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