The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) Board of Councilors has accredited the School of Public Health at Georgia State University. “I am so proud of the incredible team effort that led to our accreditation,” said Dr. Michael P. Eriksen, founding dean of the school. “With our strategic location in Atlanta, we are committed to becoming a world-class School of Public Health.”
At the CEPH Board’s June 16-18 meeting, the school received a “met” finding, the highest possible, on all criteria evaluated. The school-level accreditation extends through July 1, 2021.
The school began the process to transition from its Master of Public Health (MPH) program-level accreditation to school-level accreditation in 2013. The CEPH Council decision is the culmination of that process, which involved faculty, staff, students, alumni and community partners.
Georgia State is the first public university in metro Atlanta to earn CEPH accreditation, which assures the public the school has met the most up-to-date standards established by the public health profession in instruction, research, service, governance and administration. It gives the school’s students and researchers eligibility for a greater number of funding and fellowship opportunities. Accreditation also assures students and their future employers the school’s curriculum equips graduates with the skills and knowledge needed for public health jobs.
Over the past decade, public health at Georgia State has grown dramatically, from a graduate certificate program with a handful of students to more than 300 students enrolled in a full complement of programs, including the graduate certificate, an MPH degree programs in five distinct areas of public health knowledge and a Ph.D. degree program in three concentration areas. This fall, the school will enroll students in a new Bachelor of Science in Public Health degree, with an emphasis on urban and global health issues.
Georgia State’s MPH program is one of the largest accredited programs in the Southeast. The Ph.D. program began awarding doctorates in December 2014, with those alumni going on to competitive post-doctorate and employment positions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, major universities and other organizations. The ranks of Georgia State public health alumni also continue to grow, with more than 500 graduates to date, most working in Georgia.
The school’s student body is one of the most diverse among the nation’s public health schools. More than half of all students are minorities and 16 percent are from countries outside the United States.