Letter From The Dean

For nearly 100 years Harvard School of Public Health has brought together dedicated experts from every discipline to educate new generations of public health leaders and produce powerful ideas that can transform the lives of millions.

The school offers access to an unparalleled community of students, scholars, and leaders. Our students come from around the world to learn, with the ultimate goal of advancing knowledge and creating solutions to complex public health problems. As a community of students and faculty, our shared mission is to find new and better ways to protect the health and enhance the quality of life for all people.

Students who come to the school find that they have a greater impact because of Harvard’s unique opportunities for learning and leadership. The intellectual interests of our faculty range from the molecular biology of vaccines to the epidemiology of cancer; from women’s and children’s health to nutritional biochemistry; from health care management to human rights. Students have the opportunity not only to take classes at the School of Public Health, but also to interact with students and faculty at other schools within the university, whether it be the Law School, Medical School, Business School, the School of Government, or others. This is all part of the transformative educational experience that awaits you at Harvard.

Helping students learn how to diagnose problems that affect everyone’s health is only part of the school’s mission. We also want to help students identify solutions that examine, as needed, biological and genetic influences, environmental and cultural forces, and the role of public policy and health care systems in improving health.

In our endeavors we are guided by the twin values of excellence and relevance. We are committed to making major investments in the next generation – to identify and develop new opportunities for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty. Our goal is to provide the highest level of education for public health scientists, practitioners, and policymakers.

The departments and programs described in this catalog reflect the full scope of the public health enterprise and the expertise of our faculty, ranging across life sciences, quantitative methods, population-level analyses, and social and policy disciplines. Our students, faculty, and staff approach all our programs with a deep sense of dedication and a mutual respect for different ways of contributing to our shared purpose.

In the last century public health has had a compelling effect on the quality and duration of human lives: longer gains in life expectancy were achieved than had been realized throughout the history of humankind. However, we cannot rest on past successes. We invite you to join us in confronting challenges to health as they unfold – and in advancing the solutions that will safeguard our community for the next century.

Best regards,
Julio Frenk, MD, MPH, PhD
Dean