Mission, Vision, and Values of the Undergraduate Major in Public Health

The Bloustein School’s Undergraduate Public Health Program offers a dynamic learning environment that prepares public health students to tackle society’s most pressing contemporary health-related issues.

Our curricular goal is to assure that students graduate with the core skills and competencies needed to meet the public health challenges of the present and the future. Instilling these competencies requires an understanding of the interrelatedness of policy, planning, and health. We provide a liberal education rich in sciences and the humanities to promote an understanding of key public health principles.

Mission

  • Recognizes the environmental and social context of public health including measures, education and policies that improve the health and wellness of individuals, families and communities;
  • Nurtures critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis at multiple levels from the global to the local;
  • Integrates interdisciplinary scholarship with application and practice that prepares students for future employment and professionalism; and
  • Develops ethical and culturally competent leaders who embrace diversity and advocate to improve public health.

Vision

  • To engage, inspire and prepare undergraduates as public health leaders.

Core Values

Our teaching-and-learning community values:

  • Diversity, equity and human rights;
  • Cultural responsiveness and agility;
  • Collaboration and inclusion;
  • Integration of methods, ideas, and disciplines;
  • Shared and equitable responsibility for the mission of the program;
  • Academic freedom;
  • Diversity in academic contributions; and,
  • Making a difference at the local and global levels as practitioners, policymakers and advocates.

Competencies Required to Earn the Bachelor of Science Degree in Public Health from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy

We adopt these foundational competencies from the Council on Education for Public Health: Upon the successful completion of our program, our public health majors will have the mastery to:

1. Communicate public health information, in both oral and written forms and through a variety of media, to diverse audiences.
2. Locate, use, evaluate and synthesize public health information.

In addition, the Public Health faculty of The Edward J. Bloustein School requires these program competencies for achievement of the B.S. Degree in Public Health from Rutgers University. A graduate of our program will be able to:

1. Analyze how social determinants impact health disparities in different populations.
2. Apply core epidemiological principles to understanding a health problem and discuss how this knowledge informs prevention efforts.
3. Advocate to address a public health priority.