USC ranks No. 2 best place to study public health

University of Southern California is once again the No. 2 school in the United States to major in public health, according to new rankings compiled by College Factual, a higher education research firm.

The ranking refers to the Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion & Disease Prevention, one of two undergraduate degrees in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Its sister degree program is the Bachelor of Science in Global Health.

“It is gratifying to be recognized for continuing excellence in undergraduate public health education at the Keck School,” said Elahe Nezami, associate dean for undergraduate, masters and professional programs at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

“Our faculty, staff, and administration work together to ensure students are prepared to respond to real-world health challenges, and this accolade highlights these efforts. We are excited to carry on the tradition of quality undergraduate education at Keck.”

USC’s program ranked second among 100 colleges and universities in the U.S. behind No. 1. University of California, Berkeley, and ahead of No. 3 Georgetown University. 

College Factual’s ranking methodology assesses education quality, average earnings of graduates, accreditation and other factors. The organization found USC public health graduates receive an earnings boost of nearly 26 percent over the average earnings of public health majors at other universities.

— By Larissa Puro