Advancing Public Well-being through Knowledge and Action

The School of Public Health  traces its origins to the Department of Preventive Medicine of Jiangxi Medical College, established in 1959. The department was reinstated in 1984 and admitted its first cohort of undergraduate students in Preventive Medicine the following year. In 2002, it was upgraded to the School of Public Health of Jiangxi Medical College. After the merger that formed the new Nanchang University in 2005, it was officially renamed the School of Public Health, Nanchang University.

The School currently comprises five academic departments:

— Epidemiology and Health Statistics

— Occupational and Environmental Health

— Maternal and Child Health, Population Nutrition and Food Safety

— Health Policy and Management

— Medical Laboratory Science and Quarantine

It also includes 11 teaching and research divisions, an Experimental Teaching Center, the Institute of Preventive Medicine, the Center for Evidence-Based Medicine, the Public Health Skills Training Center, key discipline platforms under national development initiatives for central and western China, and the Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Disease Prevention and Public Health.

The School offers the doctoral program in Public Health and Preventive Medicine, and master's degree programs in both acdemic and professional tracks under the same first-level discipline. In addition, it hosts second-level master’s programs in Social Medicine and Health Management and Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics. The discipline of Pharmacology and Toxicology ranks among the top 1.41‰ globally in ESI.

At the undergraduate level, the School offers Preventive Medicine (Bachelor of Medicine) and Medical Laboratory Technology (Bachelor of Science), both recognized as National First-Class Undergraduate Programs. In the latest ShanghaiRanking’s Best Chinese Undergraduate Programs Rankings, these programs rank 26th and 20th nationwide, respectively. The School has also been awarded two National Virtual Simulation Experimental Teaching Projects, along with multiple provincial-level recognitions, including a featured major, a brand major, a first-class major, and a high-quality course. It serves as the affiliated institution for the Jiangxi Provincial Nutrition Society and the Health Statistics Committee of the Jiangxi Preventive Medicine Association.

The School boasts a strong faculty team, with 70 staff members, including 46 full-time faculty. Among them are 11 professors, 23 associate professors, and 30 faculty members holding doctoral degrees (65%). Half of the faculty have overseas study or research experience. The Schools includes national-level talent awardees, members of national teaching advisory committees, recipients of special government allowance, and multiple provincial high-level talent program awardees. Faculty members have received prestigious honors such as the Baosteel Outstanding Teacher Award and provincial high-level teaching awards.

The School currently enrolls 685 undergraduate students and 375 graduate students. It is committed to fostering well-rounded student development through innovative educational initiatives and student engagement programs. Signature activities include Party-building educational programs, peer mentoring initiatives, integrated moral education pilots, and comprehensive public health knowledge and skills competitions. The School maintains active partnerships with domestic and international universities, public health agencies, government institutions, and industry partners to enhance talent cultivation. Students have achieved outstanding results in national competitions, including gold and bronze awards in major medical and innovation contests.

In the past three years, the School has secured over 140 research projects, including 14 grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, with total research funding exceeding RMB 18.5 million. Faculty members have published over 210 academic papers, including more than 130 SCI-indexed articles, and have received provincial and national scientific awards.

The School places strong emphasis on international collaboration. It is a member of the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH) and maintains long-term exchange programs with the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) and the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM). A "4+1+1" joint bachelor-master training pathway has been established in collaboration with UHM. Graduate courses such as Environment and Global Health are taught by international partner faculty. The School also maintains partnerships with institutions including Texas A&M University, with frequent faculty exchanges and joint student training programs, resulting in collaborative SCI publications.