The public health system is designed to ensure that the health of society is addressed through providing its members education, hygienic living conditions, and the assessment of behavioral environmental factors and chemical factors.
A degree in public health lets students start a career in a field where highly skilled professionals can impact their community in a positive way. Public health officials can help with complicated issues such as disaster control and even drug addiction. Professionals come up with policies, educate the public, and evaluate factors that assess the public’s general health.
Types of Public Health Degrees
A Bachelor of Science in Public Health prepares students to work as public health officials. This online degree program normally takes about 4-5 years to finish and requires a high school diploma or GED. With this degree, students can usually expect to find entry-level employment in a variety of settings upon graduation.
Some schools do offer online associate degrees in Public Health and these take a considerably less amount of time to finish. Some students end up using their associate degrees to pave their way for bachelor degrees on down the road.
There is also a Master’s Degree in Public Health that allows students to focus on public health practices. A master’s degree will prepare students for administrative roles, and help them offer effective services for the organizations that they will be employed with. The Master of Science in Public Health is characteristically more academic than professional and focused on research. A master’s degree usually takes about 2 years to finish.
Some degree programs are: the Bachelor of Science in Health Studies, Bachelor of Arts in Health Care Administration, Associate of Science in Public Health, and the Master of Arts in Policy Analysis and Administration.
Specialized fields in the Public Health degree program can determine what sector you eventually find employment in. Some of these fields include: environmental health, health administration, biostatistics, and international health.
Requirements
To enroll in a bachelor’s degree program in Public Health online potential students will need either a high school diploma or GED. For a master’s program, it is necessary to possess a bachelor’s degree in a related field.
Potential candidates should have a strong desire to work in the public sector. Aside from having managerial duties, students should be interested in scientific subject matters as well, with a strong emphasis in Biology.
Coursework for online degrees in Public Health might center on public policy issues, biological factors, substance abuse, toxic waste, and environmental threats.
Employment Opportunities
There are many job opportunities available for those that graduate with an online degree in Public Health. Your own particular online degree and area of interest will dictate the jobs that you want and are qualified for. The field itself is very diverse, however, and you could find work in a variety of settings. Popular job titles in the Public Health sector include: Non-profit director, researcher, air pollution engineer, drug and alcohol specialist, and Epidemiologist.