Public Health: Take the Path to a Rewarding Career

If you’re looking for a fulfilling and meaningful career, the B.S. in Public Health is right for you. As a student, you’ll prepare for careers that promote wellness, prevent diseases and address health disparities on a local, national and global scale. 

Public Health Career Options

Earn a B.S. public health degree and gain the skills and knowledge to thrive as a community health professional, epidemiologist, medical and services manager and many other careers. Some of our students pursue graduate studies in public health and health sciences.

Stefany Campbell at the edge of a road holding a device to measure water samples

UMass Lowell graduates work in a variety of settings, including:

  • Community health centers
  • Local and state public health departments
  • Corporate wellness organizations
  • Nonprofit organizations
  • Long-term care facilities
  • Hospitals
  • Technology sector
  • Academia
More Information on Public Health Careers

Choose a concentration that fits your career goals

Two pairs of hands covered in soapy bubbles from hand washing

With the public health major, you can choose between two concentrations, each leading to a wide range of career opportunities.

  • Community Health/Health Promotion Concentration — Prepare for a career as a community health professional in a variety of settings, including community health centers, hospitals, and public health departments. You’ll learn skills in communication and teaching related to health promotion and disease prevention in community settings. Gain experience with the community health practicum.
  • Health Sciences Concentration — Focus on health sciences with flexibility of selecting courses in an area of your interest within a public health framework. Courses prepare you to work in the field of public health including areas such as epidemiology and disease surveillance. This concentration serves as a pathway to graduate programs in health sciences, including medical school, physician assistant, nursing and other postgraduate professional health programs.  

Courses you'll take

The B.S. in Public Health offers courses that provide a solid foundation in critical thinking, advocacy, leadership, teamwork, research, statistics, biological and life sciences, social and behavioral sciences and communication.

Check out our degree pathways—a suggested four-year schedule—for a possible pathway toward your B.S. in Public Health.

In the final semester, you will participate in a required capstone experience, spending several hours per week in a setting that is associated with your career goals. 

Visit the Academic Catalog to view all Public Health courses and learn about the Public Health minor and Population Health Informatics and Technology minor.

Find all degree pathways, including those from prior enrollment years.

Why study public health at UMass Lowell?

Public Health students at UMass Lowell collect water samples outdoors

Experiential Learning

Gain skills and career connections through learning experiences with our partner organizations, including: 

  • Premier healthcare facilities
  • Laboratories and clinics
  • Non-profit organizations
  • Government agencies
  • Health science industry  


UML Assoc. Teaching Prof. Arlee Dulak shows nursing student Fritza Jeudy a new anatomy model

Health Sciences Hub

Prepare for success in our Health Sciences Hub, a designated space in the Health and Social Sciences building where you can: 

  • Meet with your advisor
  • Get tutoring help
  • Access anatomical models
  • Attend workshops on topics such as nutrition, wellness and mental health
UMass Lowell student Nery Rodriguez reads with a child

Fun Outside the Classroom

Put your learning into practice. Check out some of the fun ways UML students come together.

UMass Lowell student Rabia Haider

Bachelor’s-to-Master's Program

Get on the fast track to an advanced degree with our accelerated bachelor's-to-master's program.

  • Available to juniors and seniors with a grade point average of 3.000 or higher
  • Offers a continuous, coordinated sequence of courses
  • Reduced credit-hour requirements can save you time and money

Meet Our Students

Alytah Noum seated outside of Coburn Hall at UMass Lowell
Alytah Noum '23
Public Health

For her practicum course experience, Alytah Noum was hired by the Lowell Community Health Center as a community health worker.

I have had so many valuable experiences in this internship that will contribute to my career development in public health.
Read More About Alytah Noum 
Lawreta Kankam in front of shrubs at Health and Social Sciences Building
Lawreta Kankam '22
Public Health, Pre-med

Lawreta Kankam is passionate about public health. She plans to go on to medical school so she can provide both care and preventive health programs for underserved groups.

My whole life, I’ve wanted to be a doctor. But real health is more than medicine; it’s prevention.
Read More About Lawreta Kankam 
Omolade Adeniyi playing volleyball at UMass Lowell
Omoladé Adeniyi '19
Public Health, Health Sciences Concentration

Omoladé Adeniyi is looking to make a difference in health care for those who are underrepresented.

College is really a time for you to figure out who you are. UMass Lowell allowed me to do that.
Read More About Omoladé Adeniyi 
UMass Lowell student Edward Judge sits at a desk.
EJ Judge ’19, ’21
Applied Biomedical Sciences, Master of Public Health

EJ Judge received his Master of Public Health degree during the pandemic, which provided real-world opportunities to learn what epidemiology is all about.

I wanted to get into a field where I could help people. I was supported by professors who quickly became mentors.
Read More About EJ Judge 

ceph-bach-masters-accredited-logo.jpg  

UMass Lowell's Master of Public Health and BS programs are accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. Visit the CEPH website for more information.

Add a Minor in Population Health Informatics and Technology

Pair the Public Health major with a minor in Population Health Informatics and Technology (PHIT) and gain solid knowledge in IT for solving public health problems. Join one of the fastest-growing fields of Health informatics and develop innovative ways of collecting, storing, analyzing, and sharing public health data.