Public Health

Public Health focuses on the prevention of disease; it aims to promote and protect the health of Canadians and populations across the globe. The U of L offers the only undergraduate degree in public health in Alberta!
 

Program Planning Guides Book an Advising Appointment Admission & Application Information

The core of our work in public health is to take steps to prevent chronic and infectious disease before it occurs. Come be part of this exciting and rapidly expanding field and have a positive influence on your world! We also offer several graduate programs to prepare students to design, implement, and evaluate health programs and learn how to analyze and consider the ethical implications of health policies. 

Graduates of the program will gain skills in health research, program planning, and leadership, and have an interdisciplinary understanding of health at the individual, organizational, and societal levels.

The Health Sciences and Management combined degrees program is one of very few degree programs in Canada to blend public health and management, and the only one to offer the degree at an undergraduate level. The program combines public health theory and practice with organizational behavior, informational technology, accounting, marketing, management policy, and human resources management. Graduates of the program will have the practical managerial skills and the theoretical public health knowledge needed for employment in a wide range of non-clinical public health roles in a variety of settings and agencies.

The major in Health Sciences is Public Health. The major in management is General Management or Human Resource Management and Labour Relations. Students who choose to complete a Management major other than General Management or Human Resource Management and Labour Relations may be required to extend their program beyond 50 courses.

Consult the appropriate Program Planning Guide for your calendar year for a listing of required courses and sequencing plan. 

Visit the Future Student website for admission & application information

This program is only available on the Lethbridge campus.

Applicants to the Public Health major who have previously completed an undergraduate degree will have the opportunity to complete an individualized 20-course program in just two years. Prospective students must apply for admission prior to receiving a personalized program plan. Contact the academic advisor at health.sciences@uleth.ca for more details.

If you have been awarded a diploma from a recognized post-secondary institution, you may be considered for admission to Post-Diploma Degree admission. Applicants to the Post-Diploma program must have a minimum diploma GPA of 3.00 on the University of Lethbridge 4.00 scale. If you are considering applying to the program with a diploma GPA below 3.00 (but not less than 2.00), you may be considered for admission if you have extensive practical experience in a relevant field.

Learn more about the Post-Diploma pathway here.

 

Note: This program cannot be completed fully online; however, several courses may be offered online. 
International Applicants: Please be advised that due to the blended nature of this program, graduates may not be eligible to apply for a post-graduation work permit after completing this program depending on the proportion of courses delivered online. The number of courses offered via online delivery may vary and exceed 50% of the program for some students. Prospective international students interested in this program are advised to contact the International Centre before submitting an application to this program

This exciting program is offered on both our Calgary Campus and on our Lethbridge Campus. Our Calgary Campus is in downtown Calgary. Classrooms are located in Bow Valley College North Building (332 - 6 Avenue SE, Calgary, AB) and our administrative office space is located in Bow Valley College South Building (Suite S6032, 345 - 6 Avenue SE, Calgary, AB). Visit ulethbridge.ca/calgary to learn more!

Resources for Public Health majors

Program Handbook

The Program Planning Guide (PPG) outlines the courses required to complete the program, along with a sequencing plan. You should keep your Program Planning Guide up to date and refer to it for course registration and general program planning.

2023/2024 Program Planning Guides

See ulethbridge.ca/ross/ppgs for all other calendar year PPGs. Your calendar year will be the year of your most recent admission to uLethbridge.

A practicum placement provides students with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the field of public health and to link concepts and theory to real-world experiences. Learn more about the optional practicum in the public Health major at ulethbridge.ca/healthsciences/practicum.

A career in public health can include designing and implementing programs that promote health, collecting and analyzing health data, and shaping policy. Graduates in public health often work for governments, private-sector and non-profit organizations. Career opportunities focus in areas such as: 

• Aboriginal/Immigrant Health    
• Epidemiology & Biostatistics
• Environmental Health
• Health Policy
• Health Promotion
• Health Services Administration
• Infectious Disease Control
• Global Health
• Program Management & Evaluation
• Wellbeing/Healthy Eating