About Public Health

Mission

The mission of the Department of Public Health (formerly Health Education) at San Francisco State University is to promote health and health equity at the individual, community and structural levels through transformative education, research, scholarship and service — all of which value diversity, engage communities and are grounded in cultural humility.

Our mission, goals and objectives reflect the following public health values:

• We affirm that health is a human right. Public health practitioners must be motivated by profound compassion and the desire to create a world in which human rights and social justice are the norms.
• We believe the health of the public demands a workforce that is intellectually rigorous, socially engaged. and culturally and linguistically diverse. An educated citizenry is critical to the improvement of public health. 
• We embrace an ecological approach in the preparation of public health professionals.
• We honor community wisdom about the causes and solutions to the problems we face.
• We partner with communities to co-create new knowledge to build the evidence necessary to advance public health, health equity and social justice

Career Outlook

Students graduating from the Bachelor of Science program use their public health training in a variety of career pursuits. Results from a recent survey of our program graduates indicate that they hold positions as health educators, program planners, public health researchers, assistant administrators, assistant personnel directors, in-service education coordinators, community outreach workers, health counselors, health writers, environmental health advocates and pharmaceutical-medical detail professionals. Employers include hospitals, community organizations, government agencies, school districts, private industries and some individuals are self-employed.

Graduates of the B.S. in Public Health program also select careers outside the health field. The professional skills and critical thinking developed in the degree programs have numerous applications in non-health employment settings. Additionally, many health education graduates continue graduate studies in public health, administration, social services, dentistry, medicine and law.

Graduates of the Master of Public Health program are prepared for advanced-level public health professional positions in diverse settings, such as a variety of community-based organizations, government agencies including public health departments, academic and research institutions, health maintenance organizations, hospitals, and medical centers and private consulting firms. The critical importance of prevention and population-based health with an eye on creating greater health equity makes the professional skills of community health education and public health a societal priority.