Earlier this week, ASPPH Board Chair Perry Halkitis (Dean & Hunterdon Professor, Rutgers School of Public Health) and Boris Lushniak (Dean, Maryland), Chair of our Advocacy Advisory Committee, submitted a letter on behalf of the Board to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) nominating the Department of Education Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code of public health as a DHS STEM Designated Degree Program.

In the letter, ASPPH made the case that public health is based on science and that all public health students develop competencies in a range of scientific fields, including biostatics, epidemiology, behavioral and environmental science, and many others. This change “would also allow an increased number of public health graduates from around the world to contribute to the nation’s health by enrolling in public health degree programs and working for an additional period of time through expanded STEM OPT (Optional Practical Training Extension).” The DHS will determine if there will be any changes in 2024.