The mission of the Drexel University School of Public Health is to promote the health of communities through an integrated program of education, research, service and practice. The school is committed to identifying societal conditions required for people to be healthy, and to advancing practices that improve the health of vulnerable populations. The school enhances the health of communities by creating partnerships based on community values, strengths, and assets. Our mission and our curriculum stress the importance of understanding and addressing the connection between human rights and health status.
This mission statement is the foundation of an interdisciplinary program dedicated to:
- Developing new knowledge in the principles and core functions of public health consistent with the evolving needs of the field
- Educating public health professionals (including faculty, students, and current practitioners) in the principles and delivery of population health services
- Undertaking research and evaluation to improve public health interventions
- Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of local, regional and national health care delivery and financing systems
Dr. Jonathan Mann served as the school’s founding dean. Dr. Mann is world renowned for linking public health and human rights, and his philosophy remains strong today in all aspects of the school. As such, the school is committed to creating rigorous and interdisciplinary academic, research and programs that emphasize the unique role of human rights in public health.
Upon its founding, the School of Public Health was dubbed "the school without walls," and the school’s programs remain based on a model that teaches students to work effectively with and within:
- Diverse communities and neighborhoods
- Healthcare financing and delivery systems
- Research institutions
- Governmental and community-based health and human service organizations
Students learn how to foster productive partnerships among each of these entities to enhance the population’s health status.
Today the school is reaching new milestones in student enrollment, faculty recruitment, research grants and community partnerships. The School of Public Health is fully-accredited and provides master’s and doctoral degrees that are based on an inquiry-driven, Problem-Based Learning (PBL) model, which integrates the five core disciplines of public health:
- Biostatistics
- Environmental and occupational health
- Epidemiology
- Health systems management and policy
- Community health and prevention