Undergraduate programs in public health are growing rapidly. At colleges and universities throughout the United States, both the number of programs and the number of students have expanded greatly in the past decade. In response to this trend, the Council for Education of Public Health (CEPH) has begun to accredit undergraduate public health programs, with the first programs approved in 2014. Around the country programs exhibit wide variation, from concentrations in liberal arts colleges to pre-clinical foundations at doctorate-granting universities to undergraduate programs in accredited schools of public health. Faculty, both new and seasoned, are fully aware of the need to integrate undergraduate education in public health with graduate education—but the roadmaps of exactly how to do so are still nascent. The purpose of this Research Topic is to gather articles describing this variation, with the intent that the collective body of work will facilitate analysis and discussion of what makes a quality education and builds a competent workforce.

This current Research Topic does not derive directly from Boyer’s Model of Scholarship, but nonetheless represents a well-timed exploration and example of where higher education has progressed in bringing the innovative, integrative conceptualization of higher education scholarship and practice laid out by Boyer, to realization through the growing arena of undergraduate public health programs. At the same time, the authors included here were invited to specifically address a second arena of scholarly practice associated with additional elements of Boyer’s legacy, effective High-Impact Practices (HIPs) - practices that engage students, faculty and often broader communities in integrative learning that connect academic and extra-academic learning environments. Undergraduate public health programs are perfectly positioned to provide a framework for integrated learning through High-Impact Practices. Such practices encompass not only the essential learning outcomes that employers continue to demand – critical thinking, working with diverse others, written and oral communications, ethics, analysis, etc. – but also a curriculum that is scaffolded and replete with opportunities to practice and enhance performance and application of knowledge and abilities to important personal, social and global challenges and needs.

Rabionet, Elizabeth Reisinger Walker, Richard Riegelman, Kathleen Ryan, Nelly Salgado de Snyder, Rachel Schwartz, Lisa M. Sullivan, Tanya Uden-Holman, Luann White, James Wolff, Randy Wykoff

Public Health 101: Improving Community Health, Fourth Edition by Riegelman and Kirkwood provides a big-picture, population perspective on the determinants of health and disease and the tools available to protect and promote health. Through a unique set of case studies, vignettes, and extensive examples, readers will come away with a clear understanding of how public health affects their everyday lives. They will learn and apply frameworks for thinking about public health issues and gain a deeper understanding about the health news they are exposed to each day.

From clean drinking water, to seat belts, to immunizations, the impact of public health on every individual is undeniable. For undergraduates, an understanding of the foundations of public health is an essential step toward becoming an educated citizen. Public Health 101 provides a big-picture, population perspective on the determinants of health and disease and the tools available to protect and promote health. It examines the full range of options for intervention including use of the healthcare system, the public health system, and society-wide systems such as laws and taxation.