About the Department

Overview
The Department of Community and Preventive Medicine is an integral part of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. The environment provides a "real world" setting rich with research opportunities. Maximum contact with clinicians is available, as is access to data from the University's own affiliated health care delivery system.

The national reputation of the University of Rochester coupled with its relatively small size and its emphasis on research allow for collaborative efforts among its many schools. The Department of Community and Preventive Medicine has strong relationships with other departments throughout the Medical Center as well as with the Eastman Dental Center, the School of Nursing, and the Simon School of Business. These relationships provide strength and diversity to the training and research activities of the Department.

Programs and Degrees
Four degree programs are offered by the Department: a Masters Degree in Public Health, a Master of Science in Clinical Investigation, a PhD in Health Services Research and Policy, and a PhD in Epidemiology. We also have a residency program in Preventive Medicine and a postdoctoral program in Preventive Cardiology. In addition, several of our PhD students are medical students in the joint MD/PhD program. The PhD program in Health Services Research and Policy is supported in part by a federal training grant from the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. For a complete listing of programs, degrees, and certificates offered by the Department please consult our Programs page

Research Activities
The Department of Community and Preventive Medicine serves as the focus for research activities relevant to population health at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Usually, these have included behavioral sciences, epidemiology, and health services research. However, in conjunction with these core disciplines, a wide range of the social sciences are represented in faculty research interests, including economics, history, policy, ethics, nutrition, sociology, and anthropology. This fosters the Department's role as linkage to the undergraduate campus in many of these disciplines. For more information please visit our Research page.

Mission Statement
Our mission is to improve the health and the understanding of the health of populations locally, nationally, and internationally both through research and by training outstanding researchers, educators, administrators, policy makers, clinicians, and practitioners.

Educational Mission
Our overall educational mission is to contribute to relevant programs at all levels of the institution including undergraduate, baccalaureate, MPH, MD, Ph.D. and post-doctoral training.

Research Mission
In research, using various theoretical approaches and fields of study, as well as multidisciplinary collaborations, the Department pursues basic and applied knowledge about clinical medicine, health services and policy, epidemiology, and social and behavioral medicine.

Community Service Mission
The Department will provide leadership and support for community public health programs and initiatives such as "Rochester as the Healthiest City in the U.S. by 2020" and, as well, contribute in similar capacities regionally, nationally and internationally.