Message from the Chairman
Welcome! At Public Health, our faculty and staff are committed to excellence in providing student-centered teaching, mentoring public health leaders, practitioners, and carrying out and supporting innovative research. In 2008, I was honored to be the founding chair of this department to provide Master of Public Health (MPH), one of its kind in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Since then, the department has worked to attract a well-qualified faculty (PhD holders from well-known Western Universities and Academic Institutions), contribute significantly to teaching, research and community service. In 2011, the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties accredited our program for specialization in public health.
Our master program enables students to understand principles and practices of public health in relation to epidemiology and biostatistics; environmental and community health; health education and promotion; health management and informatics; and other public health related topics. Our graduates are already in key positions at major sectors such as Ministry of National Guard, Ministry of Health (MoH), Ministry of Defense, Saudi Health Council, Saudi Food & Drug Authority, and Universities. Our unique general MPH was developed over the last 8 years in collaboration with well-known national and international experts and universities to reflect needs and challenges facing public health professionals nationally and internationally. It aims to build a cadre of public health professionals who can serve in many ways to contribute to a healthy nation. In its capacity building plan, the department sent a number of scholars to best universities in USA and Europe for their PhDs to prepare them to return as well qualified faculty.
Public health has been a hot topic recently in KSA due to many challenges such as MERS outbreaks, chronic diseases, road traffic accidents, high cost medical care, and others. Well qualified public health professionals are essential for a sound public health system that responds cost- effectively to the above mentioned challenges and, indeed, to the unforeseen ones. Our department, with its well qualified and committed faculty and staff, is giving high priority to produce and mentor such professionals in addition to research and community services that respond positively to public health challenges. If you are interested to contribute to a healthy nation join us. For more details of our program and activities please contact us or visit and we (faculty and staff) will be more than happy to respond.
All the best.
Dr. Ali M Al-Shehri, MD, MSc in primary care (KSA), MPhil in medical education (UK), MRCGP, FRCGP, MFPH (UK), AACHE (USA)
Chairman,
Department of Public Health