Georgia Southern, Abraham Baldwin College of Agriculture’s New Agreement Accelerates Graduation for Students in Public Health Programs, Strengthens State Health Workforce | Writing
A new agreement between Georgia Southern University and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC), located in Tifton, Ga., Will help students earn graduate degrees in public health and strengthen the health workforce at the State.
The agreement, signed in May, will allow ABAC students who earn a bachelor’s degree in rural community development with a community health track and who meet all Georgia Southern criteria, to get expedited consideration for admission to Jiann- Ping Hsu College of Public Health (JPHCOPH) Masters in Public Health (MPH) or Certificate in Public Health programs.
“As a result of the recent pandemic, it has become clear how essential trained public health professionals are, especially those serving rural and underserved communities in Georgia,†said JPHCOPH Dean Stuart Tedders, Ph.D. “Students in ABAC’s BS in Rural Community Development program are uniquely qualified to fit into this niche. With the accelerated inclusion of qualified ABAC students in our Masters of Public Health or Graduate Certificate programs, we look forward to seeing them continue their education at Georgia Southern.
The partnership comes at a time of heightened interest in higher level public health programs across the country.
“Public health education has recently gained more interest, as evidenced by the 20% nationwide increase in the number of applicants for the master’s degree in public health in the fall of 2020, making admissions to graduates in public health more competitive, â€said Gulzar Shah, Ph.D., chair of JPHCOPH’s department of health policy and community health. “Through this agreement, ABAC students will benefit from faster admission decisions and JPHCOPH will attract and train a greater proportion of the rural public health workforce who are more likely to stay and serve communities at through Georgia. “
Leaders from both institutions are optimistic that their unified efforts will have a positive impact on Georgia’s students and growing population.
“We are very excited about this new agreement, which will help open doors for ABAC students interested in pursuing graduate studies and careers in public health,” said ABAC School of Arts and Sciences Dean Matthew Anderson , Ph.D. “Georgia Southern’s public health programs are excellent, and we hope that by keeping ABAC students in Georgia for their graduate studies, they will be more likely to stay on afterwards and use their skills in the future. benefit our local communities. “