University of Minnesota School of Public Health

Mayo Memorial Building at sunrise with biker in the foreground
Mayo Memorial Building, main home of the School of Public Health
University of Minnesota School of Public Health
MissionThrough excellence in education, research and community engagement, the University of Minnesota School of Public Health advances health — from scientific discovery to public impact — by enhancing population health and preventing disease in the U.S. and globally.
TypePublic, public health
Established1944
DeanMelinda Pettigrew
Academic staff
123 primary
Students1,025
Address
Mayo Building
420 Delaware Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
,
CampusUrban
Websitewww.sph.umn.edu

The University of Minnesota School of Public Health (SPH) is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a politically and socially progressive city, and it is fully accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. In 2022, the school enrolled more than 1,000 students from 48 different countries. Its 123 full-time faculty members manage the #3 most highly funded research portfolio at the University of Minnesota.[1] Within 12 months of graduation, 99% of the school’s students are employed in their fields.

The school is principally located in the Mayo Memorial Building on the east bank of the Mississippi River, though many of its divisions and centers are located elsewhere on the University campus and the University Research and Outreach Center. The school was built within the traditional homelands of the Dakota people and the School of Public Health has the enduring responsibility to respect and support the Dakota people’s tribal rights.

In 2021 and in the wake of George Floyd’s murder fewer than five miles from the School of Public Health, the school launched its Strategic Plan for Antracism (SPAR) to actively make diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and antiracism central to the school’s operations, culture, and mission, and to help it live up to its guiding value that health is a human right. SPAR helps guide the school’s decision making, day-to-day operations, and planning for the future.

The School of Public Health is one of the only top ranked schools of public health between Chicago and Seattle. It has a close relationship with the Minnesota Department of Health and many Fortune 500 companies. Minnesota is the birthplace of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and many of the nation’s top healthcare organizations, including the Mayo Clinic, and medical device innovators, such as Medtronic. There is a natural, underlying current of health awareness and action across the state.

The School of Public Health is among only a handful of schools in the country that shares a campus with five other health sciences schools — nursing, dentistry, medicine, and veterinary medicine — giving students and faculty opportunities for collaboration and innovation with a diverse array of topic experts.

The school is home to more than 20 renowned research centers, including:

Recently founded centers that are addressing long-existing and emerging public health challenges include:

  1. ^ Annual Report on the State of the University Research Enterprise FY2022: Vice President for Research, Shashank Priya https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WkBJ_LfWpYY67p-lO8eVjQPEyEK2a3Yn/view