Not long ago, getting a top-quality graduate degree or certificate without spending hours in a classroom was not an option. But technology and teaching have joined forces to meet the needs of students like you – many of whom are professionals already well into successful public health careers. Our goal is to help you get the additional training and education you need to lead your department, county or organization and to provide even better public health care.

The School of Public Health leads the University in our distance education – or e-learning – technology and curriculum. We offer on-line courses in every department and through the N.C. Institute for Public Health. Since 1998, our off-campus enrollment has grown nearly 1000 fold. Meanwhile, our on-campus enrollment has remained fairly constant. If this trend continues, by 2008, we will have as many students off campus as on.

While the technology allows distance learners to continue their careers without uprooting themselves and their families, it does not alter our responsibility to provide the same level of guidance and teaching that we offer students here on campus. We have published data proving that our distance education programs and courses have the same rigor as residential classes.  Whatever discipline you choose, you are committed to making a difference, and we are committed to helping you.

Our students, whether distance learners or studying on campus, are the public health leaders of tomorrow. You are the ones who will prepare us to survive hurricanes, floods and pandemics, to eradicate the threat of environmental toxins and to anticipate and defend against the myriad consequences of global warming. You are the ones who will set the health care policies of the future and run many of our health care enterprises. You are the ones who will erase health disparities and help to keep people healthy. You will discover new insights into the causes of cancer and translate those discoveries into useful applications. You will be the people who design and analyze many of the nation’s clinical trials and other experiments, and you will design new statistical methodologies as well. Your influence will be felt across North Carolina and around the world. 

It’s up to all of us, working together, to improve the health of those in our communities and around the world. We are here to help you so that you can help others.