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School of Public Health

SETTING

We are a nation of immigrants. Our cities – and none more than New York – have always been the gateway for those seeking new opportunities without losing their heritage. Brooklyn, one of the five New York City boroughs, is the equivalent of the 4th largest city in the United States. Over 100 different racial and ethnic groups from around the world join those already making their home here.

Located in the heart of Brooklyn, SUNY Downstate Medical Center was founded in 1860 to help people making their way in the new world by treating health problems carried from the old. SUNY Downstate Medical Center has never wavered from this mission to improve the lives of those it serves. As one of only 126 academic medical centers across the country, SUNY Downstate has four colleges: Medicine, Nursing, Health Related Professions, and Graduate Studies. The new School of Public Health joins these noted schools to provide highly trained and community-minded health professionals engaged in public health — for generations to come.

At SUNY Downstate, students live, study, and work in one of the most diverse, dynamic, and vibrant urban environments. Highly experienced faculty and health professionals in the program demonstrate their dual commitment to education and community. Representatives from local, state, and national organizations share their experience and knowledge in lectures, seminars, and the other special events that an international city such as New York attracts. Students graduating from this program can expect to understand and deal with the many issues facing public health professionals in diverse communities across the world.

SUNY Downstate offers:

  • The richness of intellectual experience that an academic medical center can provide. Because we teach health professionals, conduct research in laboratory and clinical settings, and provide direct delivery of the latest health care services, students will be able to see and participate in the practical application of theory into everyday practice.

  • A rich history of commitment to urban and immigrant health. Doctors who appreciated the special needs of Brooklyn’s immigrant populations founded SUNY Downstate. While the birthplace of many of our neighbors has changed over time, SUNY Downstate’s focus has not. We provide a series of reports on the health of our community — Brooklyn Health Reports – in an effort to increase public awareness of emerging disease trends and to create a collective will for their immediate response.

  • An ideal environment for pursuing an MPH with a focus on urban and immigrant health issues. Brooklynites represent almost every country in the world.

The Experience:
As you walk along Brooklyn streets, you can hear many languages, or simply different versions of English. The scent of jerk chicken, tortillas, borsht, knishes, shish kebab, burgers and fries swirls through the air underscoring the different customs, habits, histories, fears and problems that accompany such diversity. We cannot separate an individual’s health problems from the individual’s life. We must understand that individual’s customs, habits, and history, if we are to understand the health problems – especially those living in urban settings and those who are recent arrivals.

The health problems of our cities often become the health problems of our country. To promote and protect the health of all, we must understand the issues and pressures exerted upon those living in urban communities: environment, access to care, poverty, cultural and language barriers, lack of education, and more.

The time is now for such a focus. National data provide compelling evidence of the myriad health disparities, particularly in urban settings. These issues are only further complicated by an individual’s arrival from another country. Education, the environment, access to health care, socioeconomic conditions, and housing are but a few of the many elements that contribute to an individual’s and a community’s health status. Local, state, and federal governments recognize the need for directed and sustained intervention to ameliorate these disparities. This school educates students to meet these needs now and in the future.