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2023 Best Public Health Schools

589 Colleges
$43,158 Avg Salary
$27,396 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Public Health School for You

In 2020-2021, 40,596 people earned a degree or certificate in public health, making the major the #25 most popular in the United States.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Public Health Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 589 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Public Health Schools in the United States

The following schools top our list of the Best Public Health Colleges.

Top 25 Top Schools in Public Health

Our 2023 rankings named Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine the best school in the United States for public health students. Located in the small city of Erie, LECOM is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Full Public Health at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Report

#2

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Out of the 589 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Full Public Health at Stanford University Report

The excellent programs at Touro University California helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best public health schools in the United States. TUC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Vallejo.

Read full report on Public Health at Touro University California

#4

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Harvard University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Public Health Schools list. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge.

Full Public Health at Harvard University Report

#5

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Vanderbilt University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Public Health Schools list. Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Nashville.

Read full report on Public Health at Vanderbilt University

With a ranking of #6, A T Still University of Health Sciences did quite well on this year’s best schools for public health students. Located in the remote town of Kirksville, A T Still University of Health Sciences is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read More…

#7

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best public health programs. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.

After completing their degree, public health graduates from Northwestern carry an average student debtload of $14,000.

Read More…

#8

Brown University

Providence, RI

Brown University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Public Health Schools list. Located in the midsize city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

The average amount in student loans that public health majors at Brown take out is $15,000.

Read full report on Public Health at Brown University

University of California - Berkeley ranked #9 on this year’s Best Public Health Schools list. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.

The average amount in student loans that public health majors at UC Berkeley take out is $11,875. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $304, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Public Health at University of California - Berkeley

#10

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

Santa Clara University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Public Health Schools ranking. Located in the midsize city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Public Health majors at SCU take out an average of $20,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best public health programs. Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

Read full report on Public Health at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

#12

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best public health programs. Dartmouth is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the town of Hanover.

Read full report on Public Health at Dartmouth College

#13

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago ranked #13 on this year’s Best Public Health Schools list. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Public Health at University of Chicago Report

#14

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, NC

Wake Forest University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for public health students. It came in at #14 on the list. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem.

Read full report on Public Health at Wake Forest University

With a ranking of #15, Illinois State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for public health students. Located in the suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public school with a very large student population.

The average amount in student loans that public health majors at Illinois State take out is $24,750.

Read More…

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Public Health Schools ranking. Located in the city of Albany, Albany College of Pharmacy is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read More…

#17

Yale University

New Haven, CT

Yale University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for public health students. It came in at #17 on the list. Yale is a large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of New Haven.

Full Public Health at Yale University Report

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best public health programs. UTHealth is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Houston.

Read full report on Public Health at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

#19

New York Medical College

Valhalla, NY

New York Medical College ranked #19 on this year’s Best Public Health Schools list. Located in the suburb of Valhalla, New York Medical College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that public health majors at New York Medical College take out is $19,596.

Read More…

University of Nebraska Medical Center came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Public Health Schools ranking. UNMC is a small public school located in the large city of Omaha.

Full Public Health at University of Nebraska Medical Center Report

Montana Technological University ranked #21 on this year’s Best Public Health Schools list. Located in the remote town of Butte, Montana Tech is a public college with a small student population.

After completing their degree, public health graduates from Montana Tech carry an average student debtload of $26,000.

Read full report on Public Health at Montana Technological University

Texas A&M University - College Station ranked #22 on this year’s Best Public Health Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public school with a very large student population.

Public Health majors at Texas A&M College Station take out an average of $19,500 in student loans while working on their egree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $347.

Read More…

University of California - Los Angeles landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best public health programs. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Read full report on Public Health at University of California - Los Angeles

Des Moines University - Osteopathic Medical Center came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Public Health Schools ranking. Located in the midsize city of Des Moines, Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Public Health at Des Moines University - Osteopathic Medical Center

#25

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

Johns Hopkins University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Public Health Schools ranking. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, public health graduates from Johns Hopkins carry an average student debtload of $16,088. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $585.

Read full report on Public Health at Johns Hopkins University

Rest of the Top 50 Best Public Health Schools

#27

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA
#28

Texas Wesleyan University

Fort Worth, TX
#30

Tufts University

Medford, MA
#31

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY
#35

University of the Sciences

Philadelphia, PA
#36

Emory University

Atlanta, GA
#40

Elon University

Elon, NC
#41

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA
#43

Duke University

Durham, NC

Additional Award Winners

This section shows the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Public Health Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 589 different United States public health schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 Loma Linda University Loma Linda, CA
52 University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA
53 Oregon Health & Science University Portland, OR
54 Harrisburg Area Community College Harrisburg, PA
55 Campbell University Buies Creek, NC
56 University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI
57 Radford University Radford, VA
58 Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ
59 University of Minnesota - Duluth Duluth, MN
60 New York Institute of Technology Old Westbury, NY
61 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX
62 Medical University of South Carolina Charleston, SC
63 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
64 SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University Brooklyn, NY
65 California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA
66 University of Maryland - Baltimore Baltimore, MD
67 Indiana University - Bloomington Bloomington, IN
68 Georgetown University Washington, DC
69 Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO
70 Ohio Northern University Ada, OH
71 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
72 University of Central Oklahoma Edmond, OK
73 Bronx Community College Bronx, NY
74 Thomas Jefferson University Philadelphia, PA
75 Fairfield University Fairfield, CT
76 Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, PA
77 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
78 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
79 Saint Ambrose University Davenport, IA
80 George Washington University Washington, DC
81 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA
82 New York University New York, NY
83 Creighton University Omaha, NE
84 West Coast University - Orange County Anaheim, CA
85 California State University - San Marcos San Marcos, CA
86 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
87 Trinity Washington University Washington, DC
88 Salus University Elkins Park, PA

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
89 The Graduate Center, CUNY New York, NY
90 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
91 New England Institute of Technology East Greenwich, RI
92 Utah State University Logan, UT
93 University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND
94 Rider University Lawrenceville, NJ
95 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH
96 Truman State University Kirksville, MO
97 American Public University System Charles Town, WV
98 University of North Texas Health Science Center Fort Worth, TX
99 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
100 Augusta University Augusta, GA
101 Alvernia University Reading, PA
102 Boston University Boston, MA
103 University of Florida Gainesville, FL
104 Winona State University Winona, MN
105 The University of Tennessee - Health Science Center Memphis, TN
106 Missouri Southern State University Joplin, MO
107 Lake Washington Institute of Technology Kirkland, WA
108 Chamberlain University - Illinois Addison, IL
109 St Petersburg College Clearwater, FL
110 Arcadia University Glenside, PA
111 College of Saint Elizabeth Morristown, NJ
112 University of Delaware Newark, DE
113 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Little Rock, AR
114 Sacramento City College Sacramento, CA
115 Carroll University Waukesha, WI
116 University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA
117 American University Washington, DC

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
Great Lakes

Public Health is one of 30 different types of programs to choose from.

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

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Article 25 Flickr.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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