Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health

What Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health does

Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health is a private, non-profit graduate school of public health within Columbia University, founded in 1922 as the DeLamar Institute of Public Health and renamed in 1998 following a naming gift from the Mailman family. Located at 722 West 168th Street on the Columbia University Irving Medical Center campus in Washington Heights, New York City, the school operates across six academic departments: Biostatistics, Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology, Health Policy and Management, Population and Family Health, and Sociomedical Sciences. It offers MPH, MS, MHA, DrPH, and PhD degree programs in multiple formats (full-time, part-time, executive, dual, accelerated, and online via the Advanced MPH Online program), with a median MPH class size of 20 students and a 95% post-graduation employment or continuing-education rate.

The school generates revenue through three primary streams: tuition and academic program fees across its degree portfolio, federal and private research grants and contracts (notably the ARPA-H PROSPR program committing up to $144 million for healthspan research), and alumni philanthropy managed through the Office of Development and Alumni Relations. Its research infrastructure is anchored by large-scale data assets and multi-center collaborations, including the M3AD Study and Real-World Data Metaplatform for Alzheimer's and dementia research with Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia School of Nursing, University of Miami, and University of Chicago. The school also conducts externally partnered research with New York City on pedestrian safety, with UC Santa Barbara and Silent Spring Institute on chemical exposure in personal care products, and with HIDTA on cannabis policy.

The school's go-to-market motion is a traditional academic admissions funnel: prospective students engage through the Office of Admissions via virtual and in-person sessions, campus visits, and the Office of Financial Aid, followed by formal application. Distribution is anchored at the NYC campus with the Advanced MPH Online extending reach to working professionals globally. Its global alumni network of nearly 20,000 graduates and a centennial institutional history support both recruitment and fundraising. The school is led by Dean Jonathan Mermin, and is governed as a constituent school of Columbia University with no external ownership or venture backing.

Name

Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health

Legal name

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Website

https://mailman.columbia.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1922

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health is a non-profit graduate school within Columbia University, founded 1922, offering MPH, MS, MHA, and doctoral degrees across six departments, serving graduate students and conducting large-scale public health research with a global alumni base of nearly 20,000.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Health Graduate Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Schools of Public Health (EDAHAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health Administration & Health Policy Schools (MHA/MPH Policy) (EDAHAGAL), Workforce Development & Training Grants (Public Health) (HLAJALAM)

Keywords

• Public health education
• Graduate public health degrees
• Epidemiology research
• Health policy training
• Biostatistics programs

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Academic Programs: Revenue generated from tuition fees for degree programs including MPH, MS, MHA, and doctoral programs. The school offers various program formats including full-time, part-time, executive, and online options.
2. Research Grants and Contracts: Federal and private research funding through agencies such as ARPA-H PROSPR program for healthspan research, NIH grants, and other research contracts. The school conducts sponsored research across multiple public health domains.
3. Alumni Giving and Donations: Philanthropic contributions from alumni and supporters through the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, including the DeLamar Society recognition program for major donors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Columbia Mailman School of Public Health is a graduate school that delivers accredited public health degree programs—including the MPH (with formats such as 2-year, Accelerated, Dual, 4+1, and Advanced MPH Online), MS, MHA, DrPH, and PhD—across six academic departments, combined with sponsored public health research and Executive & Professional Education for working practitioners.

Product overview

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health is an academic institution offering a multi-layered educational portfolio centered around its degree programs. The core offerings include Master of Public Health (MPH) programs available in multiple formats including a traditional 2-year format, an accelerated option, and an Advanced MPH Online for working professionals. Supporting programs include Master of Science (MS), Master of Health Administration (MHA), and Doctoral Programs for advanced research careers. The institution also provides Executive and Professional Education, Applied Practice Experience (APEx) field placements, and publishes the Columbia Public Health Magazine. The school operates through six academic departments: Biostatistics, Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology, Health Policy and Management, Population and Family Health, and Sociomedical Sciences. Founded in 1922 as the DeLamar Institute of Public Health, the school has a median MPH class size of 20 students and reports 95% employment rates among graduates.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Master of Public Health (MPH) The school's flagship graduate degree, providing comprehensive public health education across concentrations including epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health sciences, and health policy, for students pursuing careers in public health practice.
• Advanced MPH Online An online Master of Public Health degree program designed for working professionals seeking flexible remote public health education.
• Master of Science (MS) A research-focused graduate degree program offering advanced scientific training in public health disciplines.
• Master of Health Administration (MHA) A graduate degree program preparing students for leadership roles in healthcare management and administration.
• Doctoral Programs (DrPH, PhD) Doctoral programs (DrPH and PhD) providing advanced research training for careers in academic public health research and teaching.
• Executive & Professional Education Continuing education programs for working professionals seeking specialized training in public health domains, including Executive MPH and Executive MHA formats.

Quantifiable outcome

• 33% reduction in fatal and non-fatal pedestrian injuries at intersections with leading pedestrian intervals
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• UC Santa BarbaramajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 April 2026Collaborative research study analyzing 'clean' beauty products for textured hair, finding that 70% contained fragrance despite retailer 'Clean' marketing claims.
• Black Women for WellnessmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 April 2026Community partner in research on hair products for textured hair, bringing perspective on health disparities affecting Black women and women of color.
• Silent Spring InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 April 2026Research partner specializing in environmental health, contributing expertise to studies on toxic chemicals in personal care products and their disproportionate impact on women of color.
• Vagelos College of Physicians and SurgeonscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 March 2026Columbia Mailman School collaborated with the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons to develop the M3AD Study and Real-World Data Metaplatform, one of the most comprehensive efforts to use large-scale clinical data for Alzheimer's and dementia research.
• Columbia School of NursingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 March 2026Collaboration on the M3AD Study and Real-World Data Metaplatform for Alzheimer's and dementia research, combining nursing research expertise with public health methodology.
• University of MiamimajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 March 2026Research collaboration on the M3AD Study bringing additional academic perspective and data resources to the Alzheimer's and dementia research metaplatform.
• University of ChicagomajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 March 2026Research collaboration contributing to the comprehensive Alzheimer's and dementia research data platform development.
• HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas)minorOthers · 10 March 2026Law enforcement data source providing cannabis seizure counts across all 50 states and Washington, DC from 2010-2023 for research on recreational cannabis law impacts.
• New York CitymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 July 2025Research collaboration with NYC analyzing pedestrian safety at over 6,000 intersections equipped with leading pedestrian intervals, demonstrating 33% reduction in pedestrian injuries.
• Silent Spring InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2025Continued collaboration on formaldehyde risk research in personal care products, identifying DMDM hydantoin as the most common formaldehyde releaser in products used by Black and Latina women.
• Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMailman School is part of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, providing integration with medical education, clinical research, and healthcare delivery across the Columbia ecosystem.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: Harvard's school of public health is a direct peer—offers the same graduate public health degrees, draws from similar Ivy League positioning, and competes for federal research grants and top faculty. Mailman's MHA and MPH programs sit in the same competitive cohort.
• Yale School of Public Health: Yale's School of Public Health is an Ivy+ peer with comparable graduate programs in epidemiology, biostatistics, and health policy. It is a direct competitor for federal grants and top students, with similar positioning as a research-intensive school embedded in a major research university.
• UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health: UNC Gillings is a top-ranked U.S. public health school with parallel MPH, MS, and doctoral offerings. It competes for federal research funding and prospective students in epidemiology, health policy, and environmental health.
• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School is the most direct comparable—also a top-tier U.S. school of public health offering MPH, MS, DrPH, and PhD programs with a similar research-intensive model, federal grant base, and global brand. It competes head-on with Mailman for faculty, students, and NIH funding.
• UC Berkeley School of Public Health: Berkeley's School of Public Health is a leading West Coast peer with comparable graduate degrees, strong environmental health sciences, and federal research activity. It overlaps with Mailman on biostatistics, epidemiology, and health policy offerings.
• Boston University School of Public Health: BU's School of Public Health offers comparable MPH, MS, and DrPH programs with a strong applied practice focus. While not Ivy-affiliated, it is a meaningful competitor in the same degree-granting public health category and competes for the same student and grant pools.
• Emory Rollins School of Public Health: Emory's Rollins School is a leading U.S. public health school with comparable MPH, MS, and doctoral programs. It is a direct competitor in epidemiology, biostatistics, and health policy, and competes for the same federal funding pool.
• University of Michigan School of Public Health: Michigan's School of Public Health is a top-tier U.S. public health school offering comparable MPH, MS, and PhD programs across biostatistics, epidemiology, health management, and environmental health. It is a credible peer in graduate education and NIH-funded research.

Broad incumbents

• Columbia University Irving Medical Center: CUIMC is Mailman's parent medical center and a broad incumbent in academic medicine. It hosts Mailman alongside medical, nursing, and dental schools, providing research infrastructure, faculty joint appointments, and clinical integration that no external peer can fully replicate.

Regional players

• Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons: Vagelos is Columbia University's medical school and a strategic research partner on the M3AD Alzheimer's/dementia metaplatform. While adjacent in mission rather than directly competitive, it is tightly coupled to Mailman through co-developed research and shared faculty.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights8 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/columbiamsph

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health