Protect and improve community health through prevention, policy, and population-level interventions. Colorado leads in public health innovation.
Median Salary
$68,349
Statewide industry median
10-Year Growth
+19%
Statewide projection
Pathway Roles
14
Pathway roles
Required Education
Master's (MPH)
Public Health/Epidemiology
Explore Colorado Public Health
Students learn to serve communities across disease prevention, environmental health, epidemiology, and emergency preparedness — with real lab work, internships, and research opportunities.
Here, students can build careers across the whole field:
Community health worker median
$52,910
Entry-level public health positions in Colorado per OEWS data.
Colorado School of Public Health
Tri-institutional
Spans CU Anschutz, CSU, and UNC with MPH, MS, DrPH, and PhD pathways.
CDPHE opportunities
Internships + research
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment offers student placements across agencies statewide.
State Public Health Laboratory
Lab-based science
Colorado's lab provides advanced testing, quality assurance, and workforce anchoring in disease surveillance and environmental testing.
Beyond the clinic
Public health sits at the intersection of epidemiology, environmental protection, emergency response, and health education. Students work on disease prevention, water safety, food protection, and community resilience — not individual patients.
Disease surveillance, testing, expertise
The laboratory performs advanced testing, data analysis, and outbreak investigation. It is a real workplace where students can intern, learn quality systems, and practice epidemiology.
CU Anschutz, CSU, UNC partnership
Tri-institutional degrees (MPH, MS, DrPH, PhD) mean students can study near home while accessing faculty across Colorado's research universities. This unusual partnership strengthens workforce access statewide.
Bilingual, trusted, grounded
Community health workers live in the communities they serve, speak the languages, understand the barriers, and help people navigate health systems. Colorado values this role because it bridges science and trust.
Drinking water, food safety, air quality
Colorado's water systems, food production, and environmental quality connect directly to public health. Students with GIS, data, or environmental science skills find strong career pathways.
Data, outreach, program coordination
People from healthcare, social services, environmental work, and community organizations often transition well. Data literacy, program evaluation, bilingual communication, and trust-building are unusually valuable.
Career paths · where you fit in
People from healthcare, social services, environmental work, and data roles often transition well because public health values community trust, program evaluation, bilingual communication, and the ability to see patterns in data that help whole populations.
Essential resources for your educational journey
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