History

In 1995, LSUHSC proposed a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree. Approved by the LSU Board of Regents, enrollment was initially limited to students concurrently pursuing graduate degrees in the Schools of Allied Health, Dentistry, Graduate Studies, Medicine and Nursing. During this period, the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in the School of Medicine offered and administered the MPH degree.

By 2003, LSUHSC reorganized the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine to create the School of Public Health, the new home of the MPH degree. Since then, the school has grown and developed to offer MPH degrees within the following five concentrations: behavioral and community health sciences, biostatistics, environmental and occupational health sciences, epidemiology, and health policy and systems management.

Students may also opt to pursue a Master of Science (MS) in biostatistics, or a PhD in biostatistics, community health sciences, or epidemiology. The PhD in biostatistics was first offered in 2008, with the PhD in epidemiology beginning two years later in 2010. The PhD in community health sciences program is currently accepting applications for its inaugural class in fall 2011.

Mission

This mission of the LSUHSC School of Public Health is to advance the public’s health and well-being through education, research, and service with a focus on issues affecting Louisiana.