Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Harvard T.H. Chan
School of Public Health
Coat of arms
Former names
Harvard–MIT School for Health Officers (1913–1922)
Harvard School of Public Health (1922–2014)
TypePrivate
Established1913; 113 years ago (1913)
Parent institution
Harvard University
DeanAndrea Baccarelli
Location
Boston
,
Massachusetts
,
U.S.

42°20′07″N 71°06′10″W / 42.335390°N 71.102793°W / 42.335390; -71.102793
Websitehsph.harvard.edu Edit this at Wikidata
HSPH courtyard entrance from Harvard Medical School

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school at Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after Hong Kong entrepreneur Chan Tseng-hsi in 2014 following a US$350 million donation, the largest in Harvard's history at the time.

The school grew out of the Harvard–MIT School for Health Officers, the country's first graduate training program in population health, which was founded in 1913 and became the Harvard School of Public Health in 1922.

History

20th century

Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health traces its origins to the Harvard–MIT School for Health Officers, which was founded in 1913. Harvard calls it "the nation's first graduate training program in public health." In 1922, the School for Health Officers became the Harvard School of Public Health.

The school was part of Harvard Medical School until 1946, when it became a fully autonomous institution with its own dedicated public health and medical faculty.

21st century

In 2014, the Harvard School of Public Health was renamed the "Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health" in honor of a US$350 million donation, the largest in Harvard's history at the time, from the Morningside Foundation, run by Harvard School of Public Health alumnus Gerald Chan (Harvard SM '75, SD '79) and Ronnie Chan, both of whom were sons of Chan Tseng-hsi (T.H. Chan).

Announced in May 2016, beginning in fall 2017, the School of Public Health, in partnership with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, consolidated its five Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) research doctorate programs—Epidemiology, Environmental Health, Global Health and Population, Nutrition, and Social and Behavioral Sciences—into a single Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program in Population Health Sciences. Students already enrolled in Doctor of Science programs were not transitioned into the new program and constituted the final cohort to receive the research doctorate, concluding the degree's 144-year history at the Harvard University. Both the Doctor of Science and the Doctor of Philosophy degrees at Harvard University were first awarded in 1872, the year the university established what was then known as the Graduate Department.

In 2023 and 2024, the school partnered with the National Healthcare Security Administration to train members of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC). The partnership led to United States congressional scrutiny in May 2025, as XPCC is sanctioned for human rights abuses under the Magnitsky Act.

Curriculum

The Master of Public Health program offers ten fields of study:

Degree programs offered by specific departments:

The school offers a variety of degrees with criteria designed to target unique curriculum needs and a wide range of student populations, including online and hybrid degrees. The Harvard Chan School's master's of public health (MPH) and master's in health care management (MHCM) are designed for those aiming to spend their career in professional practice, while master's of science (SM) degrees are geared for aspiring researchers. The number of credit hours required for MPH and SM degrees depends on students’ prior academic training, such as whether they hold a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree.

In addition, the school offers two doctoral degrees: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Doctor of Public Health (DrPH). PhD programs are offered under the aegis of the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Previously, the school also offered the Doctor of Science (ScD) degree, which has since been replaced by the centralized PhD offered through the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

The DrPH was launched in 2014 as a multidisciplinary degree providing advanced education in public health along with mastery of skills in management, leadership, communications, and innovation thinking. The program is a cohort-based program emphasizing small-group learning and collaboration. The program is designed for three years – two years at Harvard, plus one year in a field-based doctoral project – although some students may take up to four years to complete the program.

Research projects

People

List of deans

The deans of the school are listed below.

No. Name Start End
1 David L. Edsall 1922 1935
acting Roger I. Lee 1922 1923
2 Cecil K. Drinker 1935 1942
acting Edward G. Huber 1942 1946
3 James S. Simmons 1946 1954
4 John C. Snyder 1954 1971
acting Richard H. Daggy 1971 1972
5 Howard H. Hiatt 1972 1984
6 Harvey V. Fineberg 1984 1997
acting James H. Ware 1997 1998
7 Barry R. Bloom 1999 2008
8 Julio Frenk 2009 2015
acting David Hunter 2015 2016
9 Michelle A. Williams 2016 2023
interim Jane J. Kim 2023 2023
10 Andrea Baccarelli 2024 incumbent

Notable past and present faculty

Notable alumni

There are over 13,484 alumni.

References

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  2. ↑ "Centennial". Centennial. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  3. ↑ "History, from About HSPH, reprinted online from HCSPH Fast Facts booklet, accessed 1/19/2016" (PDF). harvard.edu. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Who We Are". Admissions. May 15, 2015. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  5. ↑ [Who We Are, from HCSPH Admissions website, accessed 1/19/2016]
  6. ↑ "HSPH Catalog – Harvard School of Public Health". harvard.edu. Archived from the original on September 4, 2006. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Boston Orange 波士頓菊子: 晨興基金捐三億五 哈佛公衛學院冠名陳曾熙". bostonorange.blogspot.com. September 9, 2014. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  8. ↑ "The story of T. H. Chan". harvard.edu. July 19, 2016. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Hang Lung's Gerald Chan to Give $350M to Harvard". mingtiandi.com. September 9, 2014. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  10. ↑ "HSPH Set to Replace Doctor of Science with Ph.D. Program | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  11. ↑ Ghayrat, Shahrezad (May 1, 2025). "Uyghur activists condemn Harvard over training for sanctioned China group". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  12. 1 2 Martina, Michael (May 24, 2025). "Long advantageous, Harvard's China ties become a political liability". Reuters. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  13. ↑ Quinn, Jimmy (May 20, 2025). "Lawmakers Open Probe into Harvard for 'Providing Services' to CCP Group Sanctioned over Uyghur Repression". National Review. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  14. ↑ Areddy, James T. (June 7, 2025). "Harvard's China Ties Become New Front in Battle With Trump". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 9, 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  15. ↑ "Master of Public Health". Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Harvard University. May 26, 2015. Archived from the original on May 10, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Degree Programs". October 4, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Master of Science 80-Credit". August 7, 2024.
  18. ↑ Boston, 677 Huntington Avenue; Ma 02115 +1432-1031 (October 18, 2022). "Doctor of Public Health". Admissions. Retrieved July 18, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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  22. ↑ "Program on the Global Demography of Aging at Harvard University". Program on the Global Demography of Aging at Harvard University. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Family of Chinese oyster sauce empire gives $21 million to Harvard, Apr 25, 2016, 6:13am EDT". Bizjournals.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  24. ↑ "About the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness - Health and Happiness". April 29, 2016. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  25. ↑ "$21 Million Gift Launches Center for Health and Happiness - News - The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  26. ↑ Hamblin, James (April 26, 2016). "Harvard Just Launched a Center for Happiness". theatlantic.com. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  27. ↑ "INTERVIEW: Harvard University explores happiness, health with gifted $21 million. Osler, C. Daily Free Press, Boston University. April 28, 2016". dailyfreepress.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  28. ↑ "A quest for happiness". harvard.edu. April 22, 2016. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  29. ↑ "Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness". harvard.edu. April 25, 2016. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  30. ↑ "Health Systems Innovation Lab at Harvard University". June 29, 2024.
  31. ↑ "About Us". C-CHANGE | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. October 4, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  32. 1 2 Avenue, 677 Huntington; Boston; Ma 02115 (September 19, 2012). "Harvard Alcohol Project: Designated Driver". Center for Health Communication. Retrieved July 18, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  33. ↑ Barry, Ellen (October 16, 2023). "Harvard Cozies Up to #MentalHealth TikTok". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  34. ↑ Avenue, 677 Huntington; Boston; Ma 02115 (June 29, 2024). "Maternal and Child Health Center of Excellence". Maternal and Child Health Center of Excellence. Retrieved July 18, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  35. ↑ "School leadership – Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health". August 7, 2024. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
  36. ↑ "Changing the Face of Medicine | AliceHamilton". Nlm.nih.gov. October 14, 2003. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  37. ↑ "About Dean Jha". Dean Ashish Jha. Brown University School of Public Health. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  38. ↑ "George Chandler Whipple." (1925). Jour. American Water Works Association. 13:1, 93-4.
  39. ↑ "Alumni". About. Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Archived from the original on January 26, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  40. ↑ "Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc". Burlington, VT: Larner College of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
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  43. ↑ "Dr. Rochelle Walensky – Mass General Brigham Infectious Diseases Fellowship". Harvard Medical School. Archived from the original on October 15, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.

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