Program in Public Health

Established in 2003, UCI Public Health is dedicated to the achievement of health equity for all populations through research, teaching, service, and public health practice – locally and globally. While UC Irvine is ranked #10 among public universities, its Program in Public Health is ranked #6 on the 2023-2024 U.S. News & World Report Graduate School Rankings for public health schools in California and #41 nationally out of 188 public health schools and programs.

The only one of its kind in Orange County and one of four in the University of California system, UCI Public Health has experienced considerable growth over the past five years. Our four departments make up the foundation of public health: Environmental and Occupational Health; Epidemiology & Biostatistics; Health, Society, & Behavior; and Population Health & Disease Prevention.

As part of the Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, the UCI Program in Public Health is fully accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health and is a member of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health. As one of the largest, first, and most diverse undergraduate programs of public health in the country, current undergraduate offerings include bachelor’s degrees in public health policy and public health sciences as well as minors in global health, public health, and public health informatics.

Its flagship Master of Public Health degree splinters into four emphases in biostatistics, environmental health, epidemiology, and sociocultural diversity and health; and its doctoral degrees in public health, environmental health sciences, and epidemiology round out the graduate degrees. There are also options to earn a dual degree, including an MD/MPH degree in conjunction with the UCI School of Medicine and a JD/MPH degree with the UCI School of Law

Faculty members and alumni are pioneers in crucial areas of public health, taking part in innovative research policy analysis, global environmental assessments, community-based participatory research, occupational health, and clinical and translational sciences that impact our region, nation, and world.

Armed with 90+ full-time and affiliated faculty members, 100+ staff members, 40+ researchers, and more than 1,500 students, we are ready to shepherd a new era at UCI Public Health with the official establishment of the UC Irvine School of Population & Public Health, which is expected by the start of the 2024-2025 academic year.

Dean Bernadette Boden-Albala

Dr. Bernadette Boden-Albala is the Director and Founding Dean of the Program in Public Health and future School of Population and Public Health, within the Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, where she is a Professor of Health, Society & Behavior; Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics; and a Professor of Neurology.

Boden-Albala looks forward to mobilizing the entire UCI Public Health community’s commitment towards health equity, social justice, academic excellence, and passion for the growth and transition of this Program to a world-class School of Population and Public Health.

Distinctions

• Awarded research contracts and grants topped $30 million in the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
• Received a landmark grant of $14 million to establish seven endowed chairs to recruit and retain leading experts in the field who are dedicated to health equity and well-being for Orange County residents.
• Awarded a $7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which helped establish the workforce development program in public health informatics and technology training with an emphasis on diversity among its students.
• Home to the Center for Environmental Health Disparities Research & Air Pollutions Health Effects Laboratory: Two research centers, housed under Public Health, were established to promote health equity, environmental justice and environmental exposures through public health research and practice.
• Presence on a state-wide task force that evaluates proposed health insurance benefit mandates and repeals.
• Home to GHREAT, the Global Health Research Education and Translation, a program that promotes global health awareness and aims to develop comprehensive global health research, education and training. GHREAT has projects in Africa, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North and South America.
• Led regional response campaigns to address the global COVID-19 pandemic, including partnerships with the Orange County Health Care Agency and the City of Santa Ana.
• At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, created a regional Health Equity Contact Tracing Workshop to train local public health practitioners, students, community leaders, and residents to perform COVID-19 contact tracing through the lens of health equity.

Dedicated Centers & Institutes

• Air Pollution Health Effects Lab (APHEL)
• Center for Environmental Health Disparities Research (CEHDR)
• Center for Health Ethics
• Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH)
• Center for Population, Inequality, and Policy (CPIP)
• Global Health Research, Education, and Translation (GHREAT)

Affiliated Membership

• Center for Liberation, Anti-Racism & Belonging
• Institute for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research
• Institute for Future Health
• Institute for Precision Health
• Institute for Clinical and Translational Science
• Institute for Transportation Studies
• UC Global Health Institute
• UCI Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Water UCI