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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s School of Education, Health and Human Behavior’s undergraduate and graduate public health programs have received the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) accreditation. 

The CEPH is an independent agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. To become accredited, programs must undergo a rigorous multi-year review.

“We pursued CEPH accreditation for our students, and now they can be assured that their public health training is rooted in the highest standards in public health education,” said Alice Ma, PhD, MPH, CHES ®, assistant professor of public health and graduate program director. “This accreditation affirms our high-quality programs that can be recognized by employers and doctoral programs.”

SIUE’s undergraduate program received the initial CEPH accreditation in 2015. The master’s program, having earned accreditation this year, now makes SIUE one of 151 public health programs nationwide that are CEPH accredited.

“SIUE’s public health faculty holds the highest standards for their students and themselves,” said Huaibo Xin, DrPH, professor of public health and department chair of applied health. “Graduating from an accredited public health program makes our students much more competitive and marketable. Being accredited also creates more opportunities for diversity, equity and inclusion, and helps to assure the competency of future public health workforce.”

Photo: Alice Ma, PhD, MPH, CHES ®, assistant professor of public health and graduate program director.