Community & Practice News

U.S. News and World Report has named the Colorado School of Public Health among the top 20 schools and programs of public health in the nation. ColoradoSPH is now ranked 19th out of 195 Master of Public Health programs accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). 

ColoradoSPH moved up one space from No. 20 in 2021, when all schools and programs of public health were last ranked. The rankings are the result of peer assessment surveys sent to deans, other administrators, and faculty of CEPH-accredited public health degree programs or schools. 

Schools and programs of public health had been typically ranked by the publication once every five years but interest in public health has been sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic and rankings have now been released in 2021 and 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic put public health in the spotlight as did recognition of the urgent need to take on structural racism and other social determinants of health. Much of what the field does—preparedness and policy, epidemiology, workplace safety, and mental health—has become far more familiar over the last few years.

Also ranked this year, the school's Biostatistics PhD program is now ranked 26th in the nation out of 65 graduate schools and programs in biostatistics.

“I am delighted by this new ranking and our growing recognition,” said ColoradoSPH Dean Jonathan Samet, MD, MS. “I am proud of the role that the Colorado School of Public Health has played with many partners during the COVID-19 pandemic, and of all the work our school is doing in multiple areas of public health regionally, nationally, and worldwide.

The school, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2018, is now among the top 20 of all accredited MPH schools and programs in the country. ColoradoSPH has MPH and certificate programs at three Colorado universities including the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Colorado State University, and the University of Northern Colorado. The school also includes MS, PhD and DrPH programs at CU Anschutz. 

Since its inception in 2008, ColoradoSPH has been ranked by U.S. News and World Report in its last four rankings of graduate programs in public health as follows:

• 2014: No. 31 out of 50 graduate schools of public health (it was the first year ColoradoSPH was eligible after the school was established and accredited);
• 2019: No. 23 out of 177 accredited schools and programs in public health (tied for 23^rd with 8 others);
• 2021: No. 20 out of 188 accredited schools and programs in public health (tied for 20^th with 3 others);
• 2022: No. 19 out of 195 accredited schools and program in public health (tied for 19^th with 9 others).

“Our faculty, staff, and students are pushing us forward as an institution and our alumni are filling critical public health roles in Colorado and beyond,” added Dean Samet. “I have no doubt that we will continue to move up in rankings as we develop new programs, advance our research, and find innovative ways to train our students.”