School of Public Health
In 2022 the University of Texas System Board of Regents approved plans to create a School of Public Health, a collaboration between The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, also called UT Health San Antonio, and The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). The first cohort of students will be admitted in fall 2024 for the Master of Public Health program. The School of Public Health provides academic instruction relevant to public health, engages in research activities directed toward community health problems and maintains and grows relationships with entities interested in public health. Through its coursework, the School of Public Health provides a unique public health education by integrating advanced health research, collaborating on new academic programs to serve a diverse population, and building public health leaders who understand and are dedicated to finding positive interventions to mitigate our greatest public health challenges.
Our Mission, Vision & Values
Perform meaningful scholarship that discovers, disseminates, and applies evidence-based, equity-driven scalable solutions and policies that can be implemented in a timely manner to advance the health of the planet and its human populations, especially those that belong to historically underserved, marginalized and vulnerable groups.
Serve public health needs and promote a culture of health and well-being locally and regionally, acting as a steward and serving as an anchor while thinking nationally and globally.
Educate, develop and train the next generation of diverse public health leaders and professionals in systems thinking, social justice and health equity, and precision public health so they can face the public health opportunities and threats of today and tomorrow.
Graduate Programs
The Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree, a minimum of 45 semester credit hours fundamental professional degree. Additional offerings, including M.P.H. specializations, doctoral degree programs and professional certifications, are in the planning stage.
The School of Public Health’s Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) program is specifically designed to serve the San Antonio and South Texas communities. Locally relevant public health data are incorporated throughout the curriculum to create concrete and tangible application of public health concepts and strategies such that students will experience learning that is practical, research that matters for the San Antonio and South Texas region, and service that counts, is valued, and materially impacts the unique communities across the region.
Students will gain skills in meaningful scholarship that discovers, disseminates, and applies evidence-based, equity-driven scalable solutions and policies that can be implemented promptly to advance the health of the planet and its human populations. The curricular design emphasizes educating and training the next generation of diverse public health leaders and professionals in systems thinking, social justice and health equity, and precision public health so that they can face the public health threats and opportunities of today and tomorrow. UT SPH SA graduates will receive training with direct relevance to the unique public health needs of South Texas, itself a microcosm of the future of the nation.
Public Health Profession:
The American Public Health Association defines public health as “promoting and protecting the health of people and the communities where they live, learn, work and play.” Rather than treating a person after they’ve become ill or hurt, public health endeavors to prevent sickness and injury in the first place. The interdisciplinary and varied nature of public health as a profession enables graduates to participate in the workforce across a variety of settings, including the public sector (e.g., health department administration, public nursing, or disaster preparedness), non-profit and community-based organizations, academia, and the private sector (e.g., insurance companies, manufacturing, or health care facilities).