ChooseWhy Choose This Program?
Why Study Public Health at Goucher?
Public health is a multidisciplinary field that evolves to meet the needs of people around the world. The primary goals of our public health classes include preventing disease and injury and promoting physical, mental, and social health at the population level. Practitioners work to research health trends and identify disparities in health, understand the direct and indirect causes of health problems, develop strategies to improve health, and advance the equity and quality of systems necessary to the success of those strategies. Distinctive features of Goucher’s public health major and minor include a strong emphasis on global health, social justice, and environmental sustainability, as well as hands-on learning activities and study abroad. With its diverse electives in multiple departments, the Public Health Program provides students with opportunities to curate their learning experiences and develop skills relevant to professional success.
LearnWhat Will You Learn?
What Will You Learn?
The public health courses introduce students to the core subdisciplines of public health and support the development of knowledge and skills essential for success in public health careers and graduate study. Students learn about the wide variety of career paths in public health in their courses and through hands-on learning opportunities, including internships and volunteer work. The curriculum for the public health major emphasizes the multidisciplinary nature of public health, providing opportunities for students to take courses in a wide variety of relevant traditional liberal arts disciplines in addition to core public health courses. Central to public health classes at Goucher are an emphasis on global health and a strong focus on social justice and environmental sustainability. Through public health study abroad programs, students have opportunities to develop cultural competency, improve their fluency in non-English languages, and learn about health challenges and health systems in other countries. Learn More
DoWhat Will You Do?
What Will You Do?
The major and minor in public health at Goucher prepare students for a wide variety of careers in public health and beyond, including but not limited to research, data analysis and visualization, outbreak response, health education, community mobilization, advocacy, health law, health care management, computer programming, fundraising, supply chain management, project management, and evaluation. The skills developed in public health classes at Goucher are also transferrable to many other careers, such as scientific writing, communications, education, or international development. Graduates of undergraduate public health programs nationwide work in settings that include government agencies, higher education, think tanks, nonprofits, foundations, the pharmaceutical industry, tech start-ups, consulting companies, health care institutions, insurance companies, and other for-profit companies.
Course Curriculum
Faculty
Major & Minor program contact
Jennifer Bess, Department Chair, Associate Professor of Peace Studies
Full-time Faculty
Jennifer Bess, Associate Professor of Peace Studies
Janet Hinson Shope, Associate Vice President for Institutional Research and Effectiveness, Professor of Sociology: gender, health, sexual violence
Part-time Faculty
Patty Greenberg
Study Abroad
Goucher’s international partner programs help students explore health from a global perspective and provide courses and experiential learning opportunities that complement Goucher’s curriculum. For further information, visit Study Abroad Programs.
Opportunities & Internships
Internships
Internships help students explore possibilities, apply classroom learning, and gain experience. Explore internships and credit options.
Goucher’s Career Education Office (CEO) provides support for students seeking internships or micro-internships (Career Education Office (CEO)).
- Baltimore Area Internships in Public Health (PDF)
- Bioko Island Internship (PDF)
- JHU Bloomberg School of Public Health Diversity Summer Internship Program
- Unite for Sight
- University of Michigan Summer PH Program
University of Maryland School of Public Health Affiliation
Goucher College has an affiliation agreement with the University of Maryland School of Public Health here in Baltimore. During the spring of their junior year, Public Health Program students can apply to take graduate level courses in the School of Public Health during the following summer or during their senior year. You may view more information on the University of Maryland Public Health Program website.
University of Maryland School of Public Health Articulation Agreement (PDF)
Sites where students have interned recently
Adventist HealthCare
Baltimore City Mayor's Office of Neighborhoods
Baltimore County Government: Public Works
Bare of Hope Consulting and Counseling, LLC
B-CIITY
BioSolution Designs
Calls of Care Organization
Catch a Lift Fund
Chase Brexton
Court Appointed Special Advocate
Crisis Text Line
CVS Health
Federal Defender Program, Inc.
Fund for Educational Excellence/ Under Armour
Getting Words to Work
HOPO Therapeutics
HSC Health Care System
Humanz Mediate
ICENGINE
The Ihangane Project/ TIP Global Health
Immune Deficiency Foundation
Integral Yoga Institute
International Rescue Committee Baltimore
Judith Heumann LLC
Keep Greenville County Beautiful
Latin American Youth Center
Living Classrooms Foundation
Maine Department of Labor: Division of Vocational Services
Maryland NOW
MedStar Health
Mental Health America of Fredericksburg
Network for Developing Conscious Communities
Next Generation Language Access
Parks and People Foundation
Rotary Peace Center
The Ruscombe Mansion Community Health Center
Secure Women
Talbert House
The Trevor Project
The University of Arizona
Urban Health Media Project
The VPI Firm
Youth Transforming Justice
Volunteer Opportunities
Baltimore City Health Department
The Baltimore City Health Department is one of the most progressive in the country. Through the health department there are a number of opportunities for volunteering. The department sponsors the Baltimore City Harm Reduction Coalition to help with a variety of issues in the city.
The department also offers training in in naloxone treatment.
International Volunteer Opportunities
There are many opportunities available for international work. Please be aware that many of these volunteer sites will charge students a significant fee for volunteering. Please be sure to put together a realistic budget before signing up with a program.
Child Family Health International (CFHI) is a non-profit organization that facilitates global health experiences for students. It has been in operation for over 20 years and sends 650 students abroad annually. They are partnered in five countries: Bolivia, Ecuador, India, Mexico and South Africa.
Student Employment
Student employment connects students to both on and off-campus opportunities. The Career Education Office provides resources and support to students with or without Federal Work Study to find jobs, submit applications, and learn more about the job search process. Students have access to Handshake — a website for job postings, events, resumes/cover letters, and career management.
Major & Career Exploration
Exploring career options, choosing a major, and making career decisions is a multi-step process in which all students are encouraged to engage early and often. Goucher students have a variety of resources available through the Majors and Career page to assist them in this process.
Job Search
A Goucher education prepares students for today’s job market and beyond. Students can explore job opportunities and access job search resources through the CEO Job Search page.
Graduate & Professional School
Students access resources for searching and applying to graduate and professional school through the CEO Graduate and Professional School page, through faculty and staff members, or utilizing their own resources, network and tools.
Johns Hopkins Carey Business School 4+1 BA/MS Program
Goucher College and Johns Hopkins Carey Business School are offering Goucher students a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree program. This 4+1 program combines a bachelor’s degree from Goucher with a master of science degree from Johns Hopkins in business analytics and risk management, information systems, health care management, finance, or marketing. Students can apply during their junior year. GRE or GMAT tests have been waived but applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better and have passed some quantitative reasoning courses with a grade of B or better.
I am a Global Changemaker
Marissa Spear ‘18
Senior Program Evaluator at UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation
“The perspective on public health [at Goucher] is about the discipline itself, but also about trying to understand it from every angle, from the person in the community to the policy level. Public Health is so widespread. You can work just on disease and chronic disease, but it also encompasses access to housing and food and safety.”
News
- October 3, 2024
Goucher's Biochemistry and Molecular Biology students have outpaced the national cohort on the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology exam.
- February 21, 2024
Goucher College has announced a new undergraduate major in public health that will explore the multidisciplinary field and the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities.