Established in 1968, the Department of Public Health Sciences (originally called the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology) has evolved from a small program with a focus on teaching medical students to a much larger research-based department that contributes to the teaching of a diversity of graduate and undergraduate students.

The Department of Public Health Sciences currently offers four graduate degree programs including:

• a thesis-based Master of Science degree in PHS (Specialization Epidemiology);
• a non-thesis based Master of Science degree in PHS (Specialization Biostatistics, Collaborative with Department of Mathematics and Statistics);
• a professional Master of Public Health degree (MPH), and;
• a PhD in PHS.
   

The Department also contributes to education in the undergraduate medical curriculum as well as the undergraduate Life Sciences (Faculty Arts and Science) and Health Sciences (Faculty of Health Sciences) curriculums.