The UNC School of Public Health is committed to public health service and practice in North Carolina, the United States and around the world. 

Public health scholarship and practice go hand in hand. By bringing together academic and practice communities, the school helps to inform scholars and empower practitioners for the common purpose of improving the public's health and well-being.

The North Carolina Institute for Public Health (NCIPH), the school's service and outreach arm, offers programs that bridge the worlds of isolated academic disciplines, practice and human service organizations.  As a key public health information resource, the school, via the institute:

• Provides the largest, most comprehensive professional development program in the country for public health professionals
• Works to raise public awareness and stimulate discourse about public health issues, policy, and practice
• Provides consulting services that rely on the identification and dissemination of best practices
• Provides high quality program planning and evaluation services.

As part of the state's flagship university, the school has a particular focus on service to North Carolina.