Portal to Public Health

Learn about exciting degree path in Public Health at The University of Texas at Austin!

Public Health is "the science and art of protecting and improving the health of communities and populations."

The mission of Public Health is to preserve, promote, and improve the health and well being of populations, communities, and individuals. To fulfill this mission, we foster collaborations among public health professionals and health professionals to promote public health education, research, and service.

Check out the B.S. in Public Health degree requirements. 

Are you passionate about keeping people healthy and safe?

Become a public health major!

Public Health Faculty in the News

• Dr. Marilyn Felkner
  • Interview on Austin PBS/KLRU-TV May 7, 2020
  • Interview on KUT April 14, 2020
  • Texas Science News March 29, 2020
  • Texas Monthly March 19, 2020
• Dr. Benjamin King
  • The Texas Tribune April 27, 2020
  • The Texas Tribune April 24, 2020
  • RA News April 17, 2020
  • Interview on Fox 7 News April 9, 2020
  • ProPublica April 3, 2020
  • Public Health Newswire: Equity at the intersection of race and housing May 1, 2020
  • The Medical Care Blog: COVID-19 and homelessness April 30, 2020

What students are saying...

“The biggest difference I’ve seen between public health and some other majors is how much I actively participate in my learning.  It’s not just about learning about public health, it’s about how you as an individual can make a difference in the field.”

“Public health classes aren’t your usual cut and dry classes—they are interesting, engaging, and very applicable.  You aren’t going to be memorizing hundreds of definitions; instead you will learn concepts and ideas...”

“The faculty is very knowledgeable and you can tell they want to be here for the students.”

Public Health Initiatives at UT Austin

BE INVOLVED WITH PUBLIC HEALTH ON CAMPUS! 

Join our TEXAS PUBLIC HEALTH Student Organization!

Check out END7 and Global Medical Brigade for more public health opportunities on campus.

COMPOSTING AT UT AUSTIN!

Did you know that you can compost on campus?  Here is a list of compostable material that may surprise you - pizza boxes, brown paper towels, food-soiled paper, biodegradable cups, forks, spoons, and plates.  Anything that you can eat or was once alive can be composted!  Contact Texas Public Health for more information and to help with this campus-wide effort. 

TOBACCO FREE UT!

UT Austin is a Tobacco Free campus! We have lots of resources to support our students that want to quit smoking and a reporting tool so you can let us know if you see smoking on campus. If you are passionate about our tobacco free campus, join our Peers Against Tobacco program.  

Quit together. Win together. Let’s Clear the Air. Follow us on Twitter: @UT_TobaccoFree

HEALTHY HORNS PEER EDUCATORS

The goal of the Healthyhorns Peer Educator program is for students to be health leaders on campus, empowering fellow UT students to make well-informed decisions about their health and wellbeing and positively influencing a healthy campus culture.

Healthyhorns Peer Educators fulfill the program's goal through receiving training in the foundations of public health, providing interactive and educational outreach activities such as presenting workshops to student groups, and developing and staffing initiatives that positively impact students' health.

Counseling and Mental Health Center Peer Educators

The goal of the Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC) Peer Education Program is to actively engage students in building the skills necessary to be effective mental health promotion leaders on campus. To fulfill this goal, CMHC has created a new academic course called Peer Health Leadership - Mental Health Promotion (HED 360K/SW 352K).

Students in the course gain an understanding of public health theory as well as mental health promotion. Students learn strategies to promote a campus culture where positive mental health is valued and practiced. Peer Educators have the opportunity to learn about and act on a variety of mental health topics impacting college students.

BEVOCAL BYSTANDER INTERVENTION PROGRAM 

BeVocal is a university-wide initiative to promote the idea that individual Longhorns have the power to prevent high-risk behavior and harm. BeVocal builds on the existing expertise of campus centers and departments at UT Austin and unifies these with consistent messaging and content. This means that while the issue or type of harm may vary in context, the promotion of intervention, the action steps, potential barriers and many resources will be consistent across issue areas. Our hope is that the reinforcement of bystander intervention by our numerous partners, we will increase the odds of a UT student intervening to prevent harm as well as create a culture of caring for each other's well-being.

UT Sustainability Office