Program Overview
The MHS One Health concentration emphasizes working across public health, veterinary health, and environmental health disciplines to tackle difficult health problems. See video link. Such One Health thinking is strongly endorsed by prominent supporters of the One Health concept including the US CDC, NIH, USDA, and many academic and professional organizations:http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/supporters.php
Graduates with an MHS in One Health will find wonderful opportunities for employment in many venues. In particular, academic centers and the US government need broadly trained individuals to tackle in a multidisciplinary fashion, today’s most difficulty public health problems. Trainees in this degree program will likely have employment opportunities in US universities, federal, state and county health departments, food and pharmaceutical industries, federal agencies, consulting and research companies, occupational safety, and other industries. Trainees will also likely have international employment opportunities. These professionals will work in teams and interact with professionals from many different organizations.
The MHS in One Health degree program is part of the portfolio of training programs in the Department of Environmental and Global Health Department in the College of Public Health and Health Professions. Many faculty in the concentration are also members of the Emerging Pathogens Institute, the Aquatic Pathobiology Laboratory, or the Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology. Some of the faculty hold joint appointments in other UF Colleges including the College of Veterinary Medicine and College of Medicine.
The MHS One Health curriculum addresses a diverse range of health issues but has a strong focus upon infectious diseases. Courses and other educational experiences are carefully structured to enable students to develop competence in very specific health skills. Recommended undergraduate prerequisite training for One Health degrees include basic biology, chemistry, physiology, and college algebra.
The program offers particular depth in how infectious diseases are transmitted at the human-animal interface; how the environment impacts such disease transmission; and how we can predict and mitigate new and current disease threats. An emphasis is placed upon agricultural industries, biosecurity, entomology, zoonotic diseases, animal health, food production, pathogen detection and identification, and environmental controls. Through elective courses, students may draw on the extensive expertise of University of Florida faculty from diverse disciplines to gain special training in a specific field of interest. Where possible, students will emerge well versed in One Health problem solving via partnerships with industry.
