Tufts University Community Health Department

The Department of Community Health at Tufts is one of the oldest multidisciplinary programs at the university. Since 1975, CH has provided students with a diverse, integrative experience in learning. The department's relatively small size encourages a sense of community among fellow students, faculty, and staff. As a multidisciplinary program, CH touches on diverse aspects of health and society, and encourages the exploration of health issues from a variety of perspectives. CH is an ideal major for students interested in pursing careers in health-related fields including but not limited to: public health, health policy, health economics, social work, health care or medicine. Through classes and field work, the Program exposes students to: (1) analyses of the major health issues of today and of the institutions that plan and deliver services; (2) the variety of social, psychological, environmental, cultural and political factors that influence decision-making about health and health care as well as (3) the ways people maintain health and cope with illness. The program is multidisciplinary in nature, drawing students from all academic majors, and includes courses in economics, public health, epidemiology, medical ethics, history, and sociology as they relate to health and health care. CH courses span many disciplines, including anthropology, nutrition, medicine, classics, sociology, biology, psychology, history, economics, engineering, philosophy, political science, and public health. Through courses and an internship, CH students analyze the following: 1) the factors that determine health and illness, 2) how communities define and try to resolve health-related problems, 3) the formation of health care policy in the United States with a comparative look at other countries, and 4) the institutions that plan, regulate, and deliver health care services.