The College
ORGANIZATION
The College of Public Health (CPH) is one of the nine degree-granting units of the University of the Philippines Manila. The other degree-granting units with which the College has collaborative and coordinating relationships are the College of Dentistry, the College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Health Sciences, the National Teachers Training Center for Health Professions, the College of Allied Medical Professions, and the College of Arts and Sciences. The non-degree granting units with which the College has a similar relationship are the Philippine General Hospital and the National Institutes of Health.
The Dean who is the Chief Executive Officer of the College is assisted by the Assistants to the Dean, College Secretary, Administrative Officer, Library and Special Projects staff, Standing Committees and the Executive Committee composed of chairs of the various Departments.
The Executive Committee which is chaired by the Dean acts as a policy making body. The Unit Assembly which includes the faculty, the administrative staff, the research and extension professional staff (REPS) and students, provides the forum for discussion of issues and problems of concern to the members.
The primary services of teaching, research and extension are provided by the full time faculty members who comprise the CPH Council. Aside from the regular full time teaching staff of each department, the faculty of the College of Public Health is reinforced by faculty from the other units of the University of the Philippines Manila and Diliman, and lecturers from the Department of Health, Department of Labor and Employment and other government and non-government organizations.
VISION
CPH is the Center of Excellence and Leadership in public health strategically responsive to national and global development
MISSION
The College of Public health will trailblaze in public health education, translational research and community health development through the health systems approach
CORE VALUES
To achieve Excellence thru Integrity, Mentorship, Commitment, and Professionalism”
- Honor
- Excellence
- Nationalism
- Commitment
- Professionalism
ACADEMIC DEGREE PROGRAMS
The College of Public Health offers courses leading to the degrees listed below. An AcademicProgram Committee oversees the administration of each of the degree programs.
Undergraduate Program
Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH)
Graduate Programs
- Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) with specialization in: Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Health Promotion and Education, Medical Microbiology, Medical Parasitology, Nutrition
- Master of Public Health (MPH) - student may specialize in Tropical Medicine
- Master of Occupational Health (MOH)
- Master of Hospital Administration (MHA)
- Master of Arts in Health Policy Studies (MAHPS) - Health Sciences Track
- Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) with specialization in: Biostatistics, Nutrition, Medical Microbiology, Medical Parasitology, Environmental Health
- Master of Science in Epidemiology (Public Health)
HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS
The College was established in June 1927 as a unit of the University of the Philippines for the training of medical officers in the Philippine Health Service. It was originally called the School of Sanitation and Public Health. In 1929, the name of the School was changed to School of Hygiene; in 1938, to Institute of Hygiene; in 1971, to Institute of Public Health; and in 1986, to College of Public Health. Several years before its establishment, Dr. Hilario Lara, then District Health Officer of La Union Province was sent as a government pensionado to study at the School of Hygiene and Public Health of the Johns Hopkins University. Upon his return to the Philippines, he was appointed Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Hygiene of the College of Medicine, University of the Philippines. With a resolute determination to establish a school of public health in the Philippines, Dr. Lara, with the help of Dr. Fernando Calderon, then Dean of the College of Medicine, was able to draw support from the health officers through a resolution addressed to the Philippine Legislature. The resolution embodied an item in the budget of the Bureau of Health, the sum of P20,000 designated as “Contribution to the University of the Philippines for the establishment and sole operation of the School of Sanitation and Public Health.” In June 1927, the school was formally opened with the certificate in Public Health program as the initial offering. The School was organized around the Department of Hygiene of the College of Medicine as nucleus. The building which it now occupies was built in 1931 through the Rockefeller Foundation. The original teaching force was organized from the available qualified personnel in the staff of the College of Medicine, Philippine Health Service, Bureau of Science, reinforced by lectures from various health agencies including the U.S. Army Medical Corps and the Quarantine Service. Later, from 1929 to 1930, several prominent scholars in the field of public health served on the faculty with support from the Rockefeller Foundation.
The combined Certificate in Public Health (CPH)/Master of Public Health (MPH) was initially offered in 1945 but the Certificate in Public Health was subsequently abolished in 1972. MPH still continues to be offered by the college. Since 1951, the college has offered an undergraduate course leading to the degree of BS Hygiene which was later changed to BS Public Health.The next four and half decades have witnessed tremendous growth in the development of the college. Proof of this was the rapid growth of academic programs which include (in the order of institution): Certificate in Hospital Administration, Master of Hospital Administration, Master of Public Health Engineering, Master of Science in Hygiene (later changed to Master of Science in Public Health), Master of Occupational Health, Certificate in Dental Public Health (later changed to Diploma in Dental Public Health), Master of Public Health Veterinary Medicine, Doctor of Public Health, Master of Science in Epidemiology (Public Health) and Master of Arts in Health Policy Studies.
A noteworthy milestone which the college is very proud of was its designation as a National Center for Public Health by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) in 1965, which was later changed to a Regional Center in 1993. As a result of this, the college now functions as the SEAMEO Regional Center for Public Health, Hospital Administration and Environmental and Occupational Health. Thus, students from SEAMEO member countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia) and other Asian countries (Pakistan, Korea, Sri Lanka, India, Mongolia and People’s Republic of China) have been admitted to the various graduate programs of the college. Students from Western Pacific countries (Papua New Guinea, Western Samoa and Tonga), African countries (Somalia, Kenya and Nigeria) and the United States of America have likewise enrolled in the College.
From a school to an institute and finally, a college, the College of Public Health’s cornerstone remains the same: a leader and trailblazer in the training of public health practitioners, scholars and researchers.