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. Implications for public health: We note three potential issues with public health education and practice in Australia. Firstly, there may be an oversupply of graduates relative to opportunities. Secondly, there may be inconsistencies in the delivery of public health courses. Thirdly, curricula may need to be revised, owing to differences in student composition.