The following article is a featured story in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy’s annual magazine, Engage. To read the full 2022-2023 issue of Engage, click here.
Every county around Florida State University has residents in federally designated medically underserved areas. FSU Health has made its mission to improve outcomes in those areas and change lives.
An integral part of this initiative is the fast-growing Public Health program in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy.
“The College’s Public Health programs were created to help train a workforce in this fast-growing part of the nation’s health care infrastructure, with particular attention to public health needs and outcomes,” said Dean Tim Chapin, Ph.D. “Graduates go on to careers in local and state government, non-profits, and private industry, contributing to initiatives that promote better individual health behaviors and strengthen public health programs and policies.”
It all started with the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree, a professional, terminal graduate degree intended to prepare students for a lifelong career in the field. The first MPH students received their degrees in 2004.
“One of the unique aspects of our program is health policy, which is especially important due to our proximity to the Capitol and the state’s top decision-makers,” said Amy Burdette, Ph.D., Director of the Public Health Program and Professor of Sociology. “There aren’t many other programs that offer this curriculum, and it’s been a perfect fit given our location.”
The program quickly became a huge success with growth in enrollment every year and graduates going on to contribute to the goals set forth by the FSU Health initiative. FSU Health aims to transform the future of health care in North Florida and beyond by improving health education and conducting research to improve the quality of clinical care.
The program’s momentum and success prompted FSU to expand its offerings to provide a Bachelor of Science in Public Health for undergraduate students at FSU in 2019.
The University had long wanted a health-focused social science undergraduate degree, as there was a trend of former medicine and nursing students going elsewhere looking for health-related alternatives that weren’t offered at FSU.
“Many of those students came in wanting to do something in health but found out their original major wasn’t for them,” Burdette said. “These are students who want to do something in health and serve the public, and there are so many ways to do that through public health.”
The program differentiates itself from programs at other schools by embracing an interdisciplinary approach that includes a focus in five core areas: epidemiology, environmental health sciences, health policy and management, social and behavioral sciences, and biostatistics.
It’s been a perfect fit for students like NaTasha Kerr (B.S. Public Health ’23), who was part of the program’s first graduating undergraduate cohort.
“I decided to pursue a degree in public health because it shared the same ideals and aspirations as becoming a doctor without the patient care component,” she said. “I liked that I could contribute to society through healthcare while avoiding patient contact.”
The program also gives students research opportunities to help discover avenues to serve their community in ways they hadn’t considered.
“I’m interested in issues like how we can lower the use of single-use products while still being clean in hospitals and how we can help lower emissions,” said recent graduate Natalie Livingstone (B.S. Public Health ’23). “There is research we can do and policies we can create to change these things.”
Given the previous outflow of medical students, FSU administrators knew there would be demand for the program. What they didn’t expect was how great that demand would be.
During the planning stages for the undergraduate program, administrators projected enrollment in the program would be somewhere between 200-450 over the first four years. The program quickly blew past those numbers.
The first graduating cohort alone had 137 students and after just its fourth year there are 732 students in the program, making it COSSPP’s second-largest major and the eighth-largest at FSU overall.
“Just looking around at other programs around the country, we anticipated the demand and growth would be there, but I think COVID did drive more interest in public health,” Dr. Burdette said. “I’m not surprised at the growth we had, but I think COVID did play a role in accelerating it because of the increased awareness of public health among the general population and students as an alternative to traditional medicine for students.”
Though the undergraduate program is still in its infancy, the results have been undeniable.
Graduates have gone on to work at places like the Florida Department of Health, the Center for Disease Control, the National Cancer Institute, and the Florida Department of Health. Another great number of them have been accepted into dental, medical, and law schools.
“Through the FSU Public Health program, I gained in-depth public health knowledge and hands-on experiences, empowering me to create lasting changes within my community,” said MPH graduate Peyton Lurk (‘23), who now works at the Florida State Department of Health. “This journey has inspired me to pursue a fulfilling career focused on enhancing well-being and advancing public health outcomes for vulnerable populations. Moreover, the program nurtured my leadership abilities, positioning me to play a crucial role in guiding the State of Florida towards a brighter future in health improvement.”
And no matter how far from Tallahassee they travel, FSU Public Health graduates always carry the goals of FSU Health with them: to make their communities healthier and better places to live.
To learn more about the Public Health program, visit coss.fsu.edu/publichealth.