The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) has approved the accreditation of a new Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) at the University of Miami’s School of Nursing and Health Studies.

School of Nursing and Health Studies Dean Nilda Peragallo has been working closely for the past year with UM Executive Vice President and Provost Thomas J. LeBlanc and the Office of Planning, Institutional Research, and Assessment in satisfying requirements for the new degree.

Public health is the practice of preventing disease and promoting wellness of populations.  Students of public health study the ways in which biological, social, psychological, environmental, and policy-level factors influence human health. An innovative and exciting component of the BSPH is the Field Experience in Community Health course, in which students will be engaged in real-world service in local and global communities.

“This is wonderful news for the University of Miami and the School of Nursing and Health Studies,” said Dean Peragallo. “The new degree will open a world of new possibilities for our students to obtain hands-on experience while exploring issues affecting public health not only in the United States, but globally.

“There is a skyrocketing demand for a well-trained public health workforce to tackle the 21st century’s most pressing health concerns, such as HIV/AIDS, obesity, terrorism, and reemerging infectious diseases,” Peragallo continued. “In order to effectively meet these challenges, professionals must be well equipped to address multiple health challenges at once.”

Traditionally public health programs have been offered only at the graduate level. Local government and private health agencies have expressed the need for entry-level professionals in the field, and UM’s nursing school has answered that call as the first institution of higher education in South Florida to develop a BSPH. Baccalaureate education in public health will position students to meet the field’s challenges head on by entering the workforce immediately after college and/or by seeking advanced graduate training in public health and/or allied health fields.

The University will begin accepting students for the new BSPH in fall 2012. The school has already assembled an outstanding team of faculty to provide the same high-quality education as the rest of the programs at the School of Nursing and Health Studies.