Next information sessions

Jun 26 2025
EOHS Virtual Fair Express - June
Thursday, 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
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Public health degree programs

Centered in the nation's largest urban medical district, our work starts at home in Chicago neighborhoods. Across numerous CDC, NIH and World Health Organization projects and global collaboration spanning 65 countries, our mission remains the same: to confront and mitigate social, economic and political barriers to health through research, teaching, service, and practice.
An aerial view of the Illinois Medical District, with the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan in the background.

Our latest efforts

Crissy Turino Headshot
SPH Alum Crissy Turino Honored with UIC Rising Star Leadership Award
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Crissy Turino, MPH ’16, has been named a recipient of the University of Illinois Chicago’s prestigious Rising Star Leadership Award, recognizing her exceptional leadership, dedication to public health, and commitment to advancing equity in healthcare
Two graduates pose with their graduation caps on on UIC's campus
UIC School of Public Health grads champion advocacy, motherhood
Friday, May 16, 2025
Hill and Castillo graduate from UIC SPH with more than a degree, but also with the tools and passion to bring accessible care to the communities they serve.
Dean Giles and Holden Thorp sit in red chairs on stage and are talking
Science editor-in-chief discusses state of US research with Dean Giles
Thursday, May 15, 2025
Even though research is facing trials, both in funding and public support, Thorp remains inspired by visits to institutions like UIC, he said during a UIC Chair Chat with SPH Dean Giles.

Policing and public health

The deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in encounters with police captured the nation's conscience in 2020. But even these high profile cases cannot alone illuminate the scale of the effects on public health that can be caused by law enforcement activity. SPH faculty are building a surveillance system for Chicago, Illinois and the nation to systematically track and describe civilian injuries and deaths in interactions with law enforcement.
Timeline graphic that displays a chronological sequence of events.

Law Enforcement Epidemiology Project

An underpass on Chicago's south side contains a mural showing a wide variety of people, with differences in age, size and ethnicities.

Democratizing population health data

We believe citizens should play an active role in improving the public health of their own neighborhoods and communities. SPH's PHAME Center is strengthening access to timely, detailed and understandable health data.

Advancing health justice

All people should have the power and resources to have agency over their health, which requires addressing systems of oppression such as classism, racism, sexism and xenophobia.

Public health isn't an action performed on others

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the need for citizens to be collaborators in public health. We're building capacity for citizen scientists as researchers and contact tracers.

Global health

SPH students, faculty and staff are collaborating in 65 countries around the world. Our global health concentration builds on-the-ground experience for MPH and MS students, and our bidirectional emphasis is strengthening training of public health leaders in other nations, notably Indonesia, Cuba and Mexico.
A health screener meets with a female worker in Kisumu to talk about personal health outcomes.
A streetscape in Cuernavaca, Mexico
An artisanal gold miner sifts through silt combined with mercury as part of a gold mining process.
MPH student Colin Hendrickson poses for a photo holding up two vials of water at a water purification station in Kenya.

SPH Program in Kenya

SPH students travel to Kisumu City each year, working with community partners on HIV/AIDS interventions, sexual and reproductive health, safe water access, interpersonal violence, tobacco cessation and LGBTQ health.

Learn More About SPH Program in Kenya

SPH Program in Mexico

In partnership with Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, SPH students travel to Cuernavaca, capital of Morelos state, to work with community partners addressing community health challenges in the region and country.

Learn More About SPH Program in Mexico

World Health Organization Collaborating Center

SPH's World Health Organization Collaborating Center focuses primarily on occupational and environmental health and is a global leader in training occupational health practitioners to address the health and safety needs of informal workers around the world.

Learn More About World Health Organization Collaborating Center

Global Health Research Portfolio

SPH leads the way in developing and testing interventions and programs to investigate causes of disease, improve health and deliver acceptable, feasible and affordable services. Underlying our efforts, we prioritize equity, compassion and idealism as we address health equities and human rights worldwide.

Learn More About Global Health Research Portfolio

Environmental justice

All too often, the burdens of pollutants, toxic emissions and climate change disproportionately impact people in low and lower-middle income communities. At SPH, we're committed to strengthening environmental justice, the principle that all people should be protected from environmental pollution and have the right to a clean and healthy environment.
An SPH water quality expert holds up a bottle of water holding a sample of Lake Michigan water to be tested for bacteria.
Cars travel down Hasted street at night past UIC's campus.

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Home page image credits include:

Richard Hurd © Creative Commons
Peter Dahlgren © Creative Commons
Randy von Liski © Creative Commons