Pitt Public Health to change name to reflect new undergraduate program

With the addition of its new undergraduate degree program, Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health announced that it will take “Graduate” out of its name and become the Pitt School of Public Health.

The school introduced the new Bachelor of Science in Public Health degree program last month. The four-year program, which will begin to enroll students this fall, provides undergraduate students with a foundational education in the discipline of public health along with several study abroad and research opportunities.

Founded in 1948, Pitt Public Health includes about 650 students, 160 faculty and 320 staff across its seven departments. The school’s departments include behavioral and community health sciences, biostatistics, environmental and occupational health, epidemiology, health policy and management, human genetics, infectious diseases and microbiology. 

According to Maureen Lichtveld, the school’s dean, the name change comes with the expansion to include an undergraduate student body, and marks the beginning of a “new era” for the school to continue to cultivate public health leaders. 

As interest in the public health field grows due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the school hopes to embrace both undergraduate and graduate students who are passionate about public health and inequality in medicine.