The growth of Australian public health graduates and courses, 2001-2018: implications for education and employment opportunities

Abstract

Objectives To describe the numbers of degree completions, variety of available courses and demographics of students who study public health in Australia.

Methods We utilised national completions data from universities between 2001 and 2018 and analysed data for students who had completed degrees labelled as public health at the bachelor's and master's by coursework level.

Results There have been 21,000 master's by coursework public health graduates since 2001, and 15,770 public health bachelor's degrees. Nearly two‐thirds of all students study in a ‘broad’ degree, such as a Bachelor of Health Science or Master of Public Health. There has been an increase in the proportion of overseas students and a decreasing proportion of Indigenous students over this time.

Conclusions Given the growth of graduates with public health degrees, there should be an increased focus on relevant job opportunities, as supply may be outpacing demand. Show more