The Public Health Studies Program at JHU dates back to 1974, when the first cohort of undergraduates declared “public health” as a major. Back then, students would combine a major in Natural Sciences or Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Homewood campus with coursework at “the School of Hygiene and Public Health” (now the Bloomberg School of Public Health).

Over the years, the major has grown and evolved, officially becoming the “Public Health Studies” program in 2000. With close to 500 declared PHS majors today, the program continues to grow and change along with the field of public health itself.

In 2024, we celebrated 50 years of undergraduate public health education at JHU. To recognize the history and significance of our program, a documentary film was created by Vinnie Parikh (PHS ’23) and Will Taggart (PHS ’26), with interviews of students, alumni, staff and faculty. We invite you to watch the 17-minute documentary below: