A jewel in the crown of the University of South Florida, the College of Public Health (COPH) was founded in statute by the Florida Legislature in 1984 as the first school of public health in the state.

Innovative Learning

The COPH is home to the most faculty and staff who have earned the certified in public health (CPH) designation in the U.S.

• The University of South Florida College of Public Health was the first in the U.S. to offer a distance-based MPH via satellite technology
• COPH launched a new MPH curriculum to meet the changing landscape in public health (2014); students have a 100% pass rate on the CPH exam
• COPH contains several high-tech, active learning classrooms
• COPH’s online MPH ranked #1 in the country (2018, Master’s Programs Guide)
• COPH’s online master’s program ranked #2 in the country (2016, Nonprofit Colleges Online)

Community Engagement

• More than 100 COPH students annually travel to 20+ countries, including Panama, Belize, Uganda, Malaysia and Ecuador
• COPH partners with 170 international organizations for experiential learning and research
• COPH is a global resource with 12 centers and institutes, including two WHO Collaborating Centers for Social Marketing and Onchocerciasis Diagnostics
• COPH provides training and continuing education to more than 50,000 individuals each year
• COPH students annually dedicate 38,000+ hours to internships and 2,400+ hours to volunteer activities

Undergraduate Education

The College of Public Health is home to the first accredited undergraduate public health degree program in Florida.

• COPH Health Scholar Program was launched to give undergraduate students an edge
• COPH is home to the Peace Corps Prep Program
• COPH provides study abroad programs to Cuba, London, Japan and Panama
• COPH ranks in the top five best online bachelor’s in public health degrees (2017, College Choice) USF’s undergraduate public health degree ranked #1 among nation’s best for veterans (2015, College Factual’s Top 10 Veteran-Friendly Public Health Schools)

Graduate Education

The University of South Florida College of Public Health is a founding member of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health.

• The COPH is highest ranked public health degree program in Florida and is ranked nationally in the top 20 (U.S. News and World Report, 2021).
• COPH ranked #8 for best online master's in program health (2020, BestMastersPrograms.org).
• COPH MSPH in occupational exposure science is ranked #8 in the U.S. (2019, MPHonline)
• University of South Florida ranked #12 for Top 25 Campus MPH Programs (2019, MPHonline)
• COPH master's program is one of the top most affordable options in the country (2018-2019, HealthcareAdministrationEdu.org)
• Six Fulbright Scholars are earning advanced degrees at the COPH
• The only online MPH epidemiology concentration in the U.S. is housed at the COPH
• COPH offers Florida’s first and only fully-accredited MSPH with a concentration in genetic counseling
• COPH offers Florida’s first and only fully-accredited MPH with a concentration in nutrition and dietetics

Alumni

More than 6,200 University of South Florida College of Public Health alumni are improving the public’s health throughout the U.S. and in remote areas around the world.

•  Outside of Florida, the largest concentrations of COPH alumni work in metro-Atlanta with CDC-related organizations and in metro-Washington, D.C.
• Three immediate past-presidents of the Florida Public Health Association are either COPH alumni or current students