About the Department

The Department of Population and Public Health Sciences (DPPHS) is a leader in public health education and research. The department is home to the first Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) program in southwest Ohio, a rigorous undergraduate public health curriculum, and two nationally recognized research centers.

We leverage our alumni network, public health partners, and research centers to provide our students a unique hands-on educational experience. Graduates of our programs go on to become leaders in medicine, public health, health care, insurance, and non-profit agencies - building the public health workforce for our region.

Our History

Founded in 2005, the Department of Population and Public Health Services was established with the generous support of Oscar Boonshoft, the namesake of our School of Medicine. With his charge, Wright State embraced the challenge to lead—advancing science, improving healthcare, and expanding access to quality care. The department has also been shaped by other significant gifts from local families, including Zoe and Bob Hittner, the Levin Family, and John Bullock.

As the first M.P.H. program in southwest Ohio, we've championed interdisciplinary education and impactful research while forging strong community partnerships across the Miami Valley. Today, we reflect on two decades of leadership, innovation, and service as we look forward to what is to come.

Mission

Provide interdisciplinary education, research, and service, through leadership and community collaborations

Vision

A community of population health leaders that promotes and protects health for all

Values

1. Student-Centered: The central focus of our program is our students and their future as public health professionals.
2. Community Engagement: We believe that preparation of students is achieved through an academic-public health practice partnership in which students, faculty and practitioners interact in a life-long cycle of learning and service.
3. Integration: The health of populations is best served when medicine is integrated with public health programs and policies.
4. Leadership: We strive to be recognized as the leader of public health initiatives across the university and southwest Ohio.
5. Research and Scholarship: We strive to make meaningful public health discoveries and believe that students engaged in the pursuit of discovery will continue to pursue their own research.
6. Equity: We believe that to create communities where all members thrive, all members of society need to be represented and their differences considered.

Contact Us

If you are interested in speaking to someone about one of our degree or certificate programs, please reach out to our program coordinators.