Brown traces its School of Public Health to 1916, when the Corporation established a course of study leading to a Doctorate in Public Health.[4] In 1971, Brown founded the Department of Community Health as a constituent department of the university's Alpert Medical School.[5] The Program in Public Health was relocated from Brown's main campus on College Hill to a downtown location at 121 South Main Street in 2006.[6] Further programs were developed over the subsequent decades, culminating with the establishment of the School of Public Health in February 2013.[7][8][2] The school was awarded CEPH accreditation in 2016.[9]
In 2017, the school established a center for the study of mindfulness.[10] The center draws on experts in the fields of psychiatry, the social sciences, and epidemiology to examine the effects of contemplative practices such as mindful meditation.[11] The Mindfulness Center also offers evidence-based mindfulness training.[10]
In 2021 Brown acquired the adjacent property to accommodate future growth of the school.[12] The same year, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the school saw a 116% increase in applications for its Master's in Public Health Program. Accordingly, the school announced a planned expansion of the program to roughly 90 students.[13]
In August 2021 the University established the Long Covid Initiative with a $1 million grant from the Hassenfeld Family Foundation. The initiative will compile and communicate research on post-COVID-19 syndrome and develop policy recommendations.[14][15] The same month, researchers at the school were awarded a $4.9 million grant from the CDC to study the duration of protective immunity offered by COVID-19 vaccines among nursing home residents.[16]
In 2022 the school announced the launch of an online-only Master of Public Health program.[17]
Since the school's founding, three individuals have served as deans. Terrie Fox Wetle served as the school's inaugural dean from 2013 to 2017. In 2017.[18] she was succeeded by Bess Marcus who served as dean until 2020.[19]Ashish Jha was appointed the school's third dean in 2020.[20][21] In March 2022, Jha was selected by Joe Biden to serve as the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator; during Jha's assignment, Ronald Aubert served as interim dean of the school.[22]
Brown's School of Public Health offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and dual-degree programs.
Two of Brown's undergraduate majors are offered through the School of Public Health: Public Health (A.B.) and Statistics (Sc.B.). The school also offers undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue a Master of Public Health degree during a fifth year. At the postgraduate level, the school offers masters programs in Public Health (MPH), Biostatistics (Sc.M.), and Clinical and Translational Research (Sc.M.). Doctoral (Ph.D.) programs are offered in Behavioral and Social Health Sciences, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Health Services Research.
Constantine Gatsonis, Henry Ledyard Goddard University Professor of Biostatistics, Chair of Biostatistics and Founding Director for the Center for Statistical Scientists
^"Our History". School of Public Health | Brown University. Archived from the original on March 19, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
^"Explaining expansion". The Brown Daily Herald. November 2, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2021. the Program in Public Health continues to relocate to 121 South Main St
^Jha, Ashish (February 3, 2021). "SPH Leadership Announcements". Dean of the School of Public Health. Providence, Rhode Island: Brown University School of Public Health. Retrieved February 10, 2021. I am pleased to announce that Dr. Megan Ranney has agreed to serve as Associate Dean for Strategy and Innovation.
^"Office of the Dean". Yale School of Public Health. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University. Archived from the original on July 1, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.