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Master of Public Health program makes top 100 list by U.S. News & World Report

A view of Weiskotten Hall.

U.S. News & World Report has ranked Upstate Medical University’s Master of Public Health program in the top 100, according to the 2020 Best Graduate Schools rankings released earlier this month.

The ranking is an accomplishment to be proud of, especially given the program’s size, age and competition, said Upstate Chair of Public Health Christopher Morley, PhD, MA.

“There are some schools of public health that are nearly the size of our entire College of Medicine,” Morley said. “We managed to beat some of those by making it into the top 100, which means we’re ahead of several places that are much bigger and have been around a lot longer.”

Upstate’s Master of Public Health Program, which is part of the College of Medicine, is fairly new, having accepted its first class in 2009. It was accredited by the Council on Education in Public Health in 2014 and has graduated about 150 students to date. There are usually between 50 and 60 students enrolled in the program at one time, Morley said.

Morley said Upstate’s inclusion on the U.S. News & World Report list—a first for the Master of Public Health program—can be attributed to efforts to raise the profile of the program in many ways. That has occurred by faculty attending national conferences, engaging in dialogue with peers and publishing work. Upstate’s cadre of public health graduates is also contributing to the program’s growing reputation, Morley said.

“When you achieve a ranking like this one it means that when we publish papers‚—and because we’re small we don’t publish a lot—it means people took notice of what we do,” he said. “And we’re in the mix with some much larger programs. It’s heartening that we at Upstate could pull it off and I’m proud of the department for doing it.”

The program includes eight full-time faculty and a handful of staff. The program’s relatively small size can be very attractive to students looking for personalized attention and mentoring—something Upstate values and nurtures. The ranking would not be possible without the program’s dedicated faculty, Morley said.

“The fact that a small program can make a mark is a real testament to the faculty,” he said. “You don’t get ranked unless your faculty get out there and are visible and move the field like they’re doing.”

U.S. News and World Report included several Upstate Medical University programs in its recent rankings: Physician Assistant (No. 46); Public Health (No. 89); Physical Therapy (No. 101); and Biological Sciences (No. 130). Upstate tied with other schools in each of the categories and rankings.

Upstate’s Master of Public Health Program takes 24 months to complete with full-time study. Part-time students have up to five years to complete the program. For more information about the program, visit www.upstate.edu/cnymph/.

Caption: For the first time, Upstate Medical University’s Master of Public Health program has ranked in the top 100 by U.S. News & World Report in its 2020 Best Graduate Schools rankings released earlier this month.

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