USF is home to the first accredited undergraduate public health degree program in Florida. In 2015, the USF undergraduate public health degree ranked #1 among nation’s best for veterans, according to College Factual’s Top 10 Veteran-Friendly Public Health Schools.

A founding member of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, the COPH is ranked by U.S. News and World Report at #1 in the state of Florida, #2 public school in the southeast, and #16 nationally among Council on Education for Public Health accredited schools.

The online MPH is ranked #2 in the U.S. by Nonprofit Colleges Online (2016). COPH was the first in the U.S. to offer a distance-based MPH via satellite technology. Currently, more than 5,000 students are enrolled in online courses leading to a certificate or degree.

A jewel in the crown of the University of South Florida, the COPH was founded in statute by the Florida Legislature in 1984 as the first school of public health in the state. The college offers 27 certificate options, including 13 fully online graduate programs.

Military Times named USF the best four year college in the U.S. for veterans. In 2015, the COPH undergraduate public health degree ranked #1 among nation’s best for veterans, according to College Factual’s Top 10 Veteran-Friendly Public Health Schools.

More than 6,000 COPH alumni are improving the public’s health throughout the U.S. and in remote areas around the world. They serve the public as practitioners, researchers, analysts and policymakers with hospitals and health care providers, NGOs and other non-profits, academia, military, consulting firms, health insurance companies, and, of course, local, state and federal government. Outside of Florida, the largest concentrations of alumni work in metro-Atlanta with CDC-related organizations and in metro-Washington, D.C.