Career Pathways
Careers in Public Health
The multidisciplinary nature of public health ensures a wide variety of jobs across a broad work arena. Common settings for public health practitioners include local, state, and federal government, hospitals and health centers, universities, research institutes, biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, healthcare consulting, as well as nonprofits.
Given our focus on health communication, nutrition, epidemiology and biostatistics, global health, and health services management and policy, our alumni can be found in just about every role related to public health. View some sample job titles of our recent graduates by sector.
Sample Job Titles
Sample Job titles of our graduates working in the government sector
- Prevention Specialist, CDC
- Communications Analyst, National Cancer Institute
- Policy Analyst, Boston Public Health Commission
- Health Care Quality Data Analyst, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance & Policy
- Health Promotion Disease Prevention Coordinator, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital
- Nutrition Epidemiologist, CDC
- Tobacco Control Specialist, RI Department of Health
- General Council Health Policy Advisor, MA State Senate
- Veterinary Corps Officer, US Army Veterinary Corps
- Paratransit Coordinator for Persons with Disabilities, MBTA
Sample Job titles of our graduates working in the nonprofit sector
- Program Coordinator, Boston Medical Center
- Program Manager, Massachusetts Children’s Trust Fund
- Study Manager, Dana Farber Cancer Institute
- Project Manager, Uphams Corner Health Center
- Research Associate, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute
- Policy Director, MA Association of Community Health Workers
- Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant, World Vision, Cambodia
- Nutrition Specialist, Save The Children
- Health Care Quality Data Analyst, Quincy Medical Center
- Nutrition Policy Advocate, California Food Policy Advocates
- Nurse Educator, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
- Clinical Nurse Specialist, Emerson Hospital
- Clinical Pharmacist, Tufts Medical Center (Pharmacy/Anesthesia)
Sample Job titles of our graduates working in the private sector
- Manager, Regulatory Affairs/Quality Assurance, FoldRX Pharmaceuticals
- Senior Associate Corporate Communications Specialist, Alkermes, Inc. Biotechnology Company
- Litigation Fellow, Center for reproductive Rights
- Epidemiologist, Decision Resources, Inc.
- Consultant, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
- Senior Consultant, Travelers Insurance
- Campaign Planner, Health Dialog
- Account Executive, Cohn Wolfe Public Relations
- Field Scientists, Research & Development in Health Outcomes and Pharmacoeconomics, Endo Pharmaceuticals
- Senior Health Writer, Communicate Health
- Principal/Owner, Chestnut Medical Communications
- Senior Clinical Project Manager, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
- Nutrition Scientist, North American R & D, Mead Johnson Nutritionals
- Field Scientist, Health Outcomes & Pharmacoeconomics (Research and Development), Endo Pharmaceuticals
- Owner/Acupuncturist, White Peony, PC Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine
Graduate Employment Statistics
Each summer, Career Services issues an employment survey to alumni of all programs who graduated one year ago. We are pleased to report that a majority of our graduates consistently find employment within the first three months after graduating. Take a closer look at the results of our surveys.
Master of Public Health
2016 MPH Graduating Class - Employment Statistics*
The Tufts Public Health Program collects employment data on graduates one year after their graduation date. The data below represents the graduating class of 2016.
96% of our students were either employed or continuing education within one year of graduation. 70% of our students were employed within 3 months of graduation.
Employment breakdown by industry
|
Nonprofit |
26% |
|
Hospital/Healthcare |
20% |
|
Continuing Education (PhD, MD, etc.) |
19% |
|
Academia/Research Institute |
15% |
|
Private (Consulting, Pharma) |
7% |
|
State & Local Government |
10% |
|
Federal Government |
3% |
Average starting salary (49% of respondents completed this section)
|
Mean |
$56,300 |
|
Median |
$58,000 |
Representative employers, class of 2016
- Abt Associates
- Amundsen Consulting
- Blue Shield of California
- Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Decision Resources Group
- Deloitte
- Massachusetts Department of Public Health
- Massachusetts General Hospital
- No Kid Hungry
- Partners Healthcare
- RTI International
- State of Rhode Island, Executive Office of Health and Human Services
- Tufts University, Friedman School of Nutrition
- U.S. Agency for International Development
*Response rate: Data collected on 98% of graduates through alumni survey and supplemental research per CEPH policy.
MS - Health Communication
2015-2016 MS in Health Communication Employment Statistics
Tufts Public Health Programs collects employment data on graduates one year after their graduation date. The data below represents the MS in Health Communication graduating classes of 2015 and 2016 in order to provide additional information to prospective students given the small size of the program.
This data represents 100% of graduates (students who responded to the one year out alumni survey, an average 78% response rate, plus additional research).
100% of those seeking were employed within one year of graduation.
Employment breakdown by industry
|
Healthcare |
13% |
|
Nonprofit (health related) |
24% |
|
University/Research Institution |
13% |
|
Private |
38% |
|
Independent/self-employed |
12% |
Starting salaries ranged from $60,000-$89,000 (60% of survey respondents answered this question)
Average amount of time to find post-graduate employment
|
72% |
0-3 months |
|
14% |
3-6 months |
|
14% |
7-9 months |
Representative job titles
- Communications Manager
- Consultant
- Editor
- Marketing and Communications Manager
- Medical Editor
- Project Manager
- Senior Associate, Strategic Communications
- Staff Writer
Sample Employers (includes employers from past four years of graduates)
- BBK Worldwide
- Beyond Type 1
- Boston Medical Center
- Care Content
- Cooperate Colorado
- Massachusetts General Hospital
- ReThink Health
- Student Health 101
- The Monday Campaigns
- Tufts Medical Center
- Verisk Health
- YWCA Boston
MS - Pain Research, Education, and Policy
The MS-PREP program graduates professionals who have applied their degrees to advance their career paths in a wide variety of fields that address pain issues.
PREP alumni work as:
- Physical therapists
- Pharmacists
- Nurse educators
- Nursing Directors
- Acupuncturists
- Health advocates
- Health policymakers, researchers and analysts
Representative job titles and employers of the 2010-2011 graduating class include:
- Clinical Nurse Director of Perioperative Services, Tufts Medical Center
- Founder, Stress Resources LLC
- Research Associate & Clinical Instructor, University of California, Davis
- Research Assistant, New England School of Acupuncture
- Director, Operations, Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development
- Psychiatric Consultation Liaison Nurse Specialist, Sisters of Providence Health System
Physician Assistant
The employment rate for the PA class of 2017 (graduated Feb 2017) was 96% within 6 months of employment:
Type of Employer
|
Teaching hospital |
38% |
|
Clinic (rural, community) |
38% |
|
Private practice |
13% |
|
Hospital |
11% |
|
|
100% |
Fields of Practice (respondents may have selected more than one field)
|
Emergency Medicine |
14 |
30% |
|
Surgery |
7 |
16% |
|
Family Practice |
4 |
9% |
|
Orthopedics |
4 |
9% |
|
Dermatology |
3 |
6% |
|
Hospitalist |
3 |
6% |
|
Urgent Care |
3 |
6% |
|
Internal Medicine |
2 |
4% |
|
Primary Care |
2 |
4% |
|
Pediatrics |
2 |
4% |
|
Gastroenterology |
1 |
2% |
|
Oncology |
1 |
2% |
|
Rheumatology |
1 |
2% |
|
|
47 |
100% |
Geographic Location
|
New England (CT, MA, ME, NH, VT) |
28 |
60% |
|
Mid Atlantic (NY, NJ, MD, DC, VA) |
5 |
11% |
|
West (CA, CO, NM, UT) |
5 |
11% |
|
Southeast (TN, FL, GA) |
3 |
6% |
|
Midwest (MN, IN, IL) |
4 |
9% |
|
Pacific Northwest (OR, WA) |
2 |
3% |
|
|
47 |
100% |
Average Salary
|
$50,000-$59,999 |
1 |
3.2% |
|
$60,000-$69,999 |
0 |
0 |
|
$70,000-$79,999 |
4 |
12.9% |
|
$80,000-$89,999 |
18 |
58.1% |
|
$90,000-$99,999 |
4 |
12.9% |
|
$100,000-$109,999 |
2 |
6.5% |
|
$110,000-$119,999 |
1 |
3.2% |
|
$120,000 or more |
1 |
3.2% |
|
I prefer not to answer |
1 |
3.2% |
Sampling of Employers
- Boston Medical Center
- Boulder Community Health
- Dermatology Associates
- George Washington University Hospital
- Maine Medical Center
- Massachusetts General Hospital
- Tufts Medical Center
- University of Colorado Hospital
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center