Bolstering the Public Health Workforce: Recruitment and Retention of Public Health Majors

Abstract

Undergraduate public health programs play a dual role in training the next generation of public health professionals while equipping nonmajors with basic public health knowledge. Our study aimed to understand if introductory public health courses were effective for recruitment and retention of majors. We used 5 years of institutional data to explore the public health course-taking and major enrollment patterns for students who enrolled in two introductory public health courses at a research-intensive, minority-serving institution. For students who enrolled in Principles of Public Health (PH1), 73% went on to take one or more additional public health courses. Trends show that most took Case Studies in Public Health Practice (PH2) after PH1 during their first 2 years in college, and the majority of nonmajors who took PH1 in their second year enrolled in PH2 within one quarter. Seventy-two percent of students who enrolled in both PH1 and PH2 graduated in public health regardless of their major at entry to the university, and 77% of public health graduates joined through a change of major. Importantly, 19% of all students took at least one public health course. Enrollment in both PH1 and PH2 may be important for major recruitment and retention, and efforts to encourage students to consider or stay in the public health major during these courses should be considered. Our analyses highlight that introductory public health courses provide critical opportunities for students to learn about public health and may serve as gateways to the major and possibly a public health career.