Program overview
Public health is the discipline of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health. Unlike clinical medicine, which directly prescribes medication or performs surgery for individual patients, public health takes a population-level approach—analyzing factors that affect health (such as environment, behavior, and policy) and designing interventions. Core courses include epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, health education and promotion, and health policy and management. You will learn how to design surveys, analyze data, assess health risks, and formulate public health strategies. Studying public health as a graduate student in China offers a unique advantage: China has one of the world's most comprehensive infectious disease surveillance systems, having undergone major tests like SARS and COVID-19. Universities and Centers for Disease Control (CDCs) collaborate closely, giving you access to real-world cases and data. This program suits students who are numbers-oriented, enjoy solving complex social problems, and have the patience for field research. If you care about vulnerable populations and want to use scientific methods to improve public health, this major will be a great fit.