The Department of Public Health was established in 1973 with the aim of training well-educated public health workers to promote public health services and to improve both human health and environmental quality in accordance with government policies.

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In order to ensure the full integration of theory and practice, the first and second year students receive basic medical and scientific training, while the third and fourth year students receive specialized and practical training. At the completion of the third year, students are assigned, during the summer break, to various institutions for a 6-week practical training to experience public health in action.

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Students must complete at least 132 credits over their four years of study and a research report prior to the graduation. Required courses consist of 107 credits in compulsory courses and 28 credits in elective courses. Staring in 2007 Fall semester, the required courses will be approximately 70 credits. There are only 28 credits for general education. The compulsory subjects are those related to basic science, basic medicine, and specialty subjects.  Electives fall into six categories; health administration, health behavior, environmental health, epidemiology, biostatistics, and prevent medicine.

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Students’ career opportunities are subject to their interest and goal. They may work with public services by passing public service examinations. They may also work at private institutions. Some may choose to pursue graduate studies preparing for academic works.

Public employment: Graduates from the Department of Public Health usually obtain high scores in the ordinary and advanced public service examinations.  Those who pass these government-held examinations can enter health and environmental protection services.    Our students often obtain intermediately level posts at institutions associated with health, medicine, and environmental protection, and worker safety.

Technical personnel:     Those who pass the advanced examination can obtain posts as environmental or industrial technicians, fire-fighting technicians, and worker safety technicians, working freelance or in industry.

Environmental protection technicians: Qualifying graduates can enter various environmental protection organizations.

Industrial and mining safety technicians: Qualified graduates can enter services relating to worker safety.

Biostatistics and epidemiology: Graduates can find work in biostatistic and epidemiological research.

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With the changing needs by the time, a trend toward greater specialization and synthesis has developed.  In future, public health is likely to develop into six distinct sub-fields: health administration, health behavior, environmental health, biostatistics, epidemiology and prevent medicine. China Medical College has been reorganized into China Medical University since August 1, 2003. The present Department of Public Health were reorganized into the College of Public Health as a part of the university. This department offers training to students emphasize studies in environmental science and medicine, epidemiology and biostatistics and public health in general.

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