25 Most Social Media Friendly Schools of Public Health

For colleges and universities trying to attract prospective students, social media is no longer optional. According to an article on Mashable, a recent survey revealed that about two-thirds of high school students check out colleges on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

So how do schools of public health stack up when it comes to social media? The staff at MPHprogramsList.com got down and dirty and compared 57 schools’ social media activity to bring you this list of the 25 most social media friendly schools of public health.

The scores take into account both the number of followers and the amount of activity on the three most popular sites: Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, as well as the number of followers on LinkedIn. Activity on Google Plus, Pinterest, and Flickr was also taken into account. The highest possible score for any site was 100 points, with up to 25 points for Facebook, 25 for Twitter, 25 for YouTube, 10 for LinkedIn, 5 for Google Plus, 5 for Pinterest, and 5 for Flickr. We rounded everything down to the nearest tenth of a point.

#1 Harvard School of Public Health

Harvard School of Public Health came out #1 overall, #2 on Facebook with a score of 17.5, #3 on Twitter with a score of 8.1, #2 on YouTube with a score of 12.1, and #3 on LinkedIn with a score of 5.8. The total seems a bit off, but it’s because individual scores are rounded to the nearest tenth of a point.

#2 University of Memphis School of Public Health

The University of Memphis School of Public Health took first place in Facebook due to posting frequency, with 68 posts so far this month. They also rank 4th on YouTube and 8th on Twitter.

#3 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Johns Hopkins ranked #1 on Twitter with a score of 18.9, #6 on Facebook with a score of 8.9, #9 on YouTube with a score of 1.9, and #9 on LinkedIn with a score of 2.4.

#4) University at Albany SUNY School of Public Health

The University at Albany SUNY School of Public Health came in 4th with a #2 rank on Twitter, #3 on Facebook, and #7 on YouTube.

#5) University of Michigan School of Public Health

The University of Michigan School of Public Health ranked #2 on both LinkedIn and Google Plus, #4 on Twitter, and #7 on Facebook.

#6) East Tennessee State University College of Public Health

East Tennessee State University College of Public Health ranks #3 on YouTube and #5 on Facebook.

#7) UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health

UNC Gillings came in first on Flickr, 2nd on Pinterest, 4th on LinkedIn, 7th on Twitter, and 8th on YouTube.

#8) Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine

Tulane made up for a somewhat less than stellar showing on Facebook and Twitter by blowing everyone else out of the water with its YouTube views for a #1 placement on YouTube.

#9) UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health

Uams Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health comes in first on LinkedIn with 3,546 members and 5th on YouTube with over a quarter of a million views.

#10) Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington

Indiana University School of Public Health came in 4th place with its active Facebook presence.

#11) Yale School of Public Health

Yale had the biggest following on Pinterest, but with only 83 followers. Pinterest, Flickr, and Google Plus are not very popular among schools of public health.

#12) Boston University School of Public Health

Boston University School of Public Health came in 5th on LinkedIn and 6th on Twitter.

#13) Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Columbia was 6th on LinkedIn, 8th on Facebook, and 10th on YouTube.

#14) Ohio State University College of Public Health

Ohio State University College of Public Health is big on photos, with over 4,000 of them posted to their Flickr account. They have a presence on Pinterest too, but they only have 12 followers so far.

#15) University of Alberta School of Public Health

The University of Alberta School of Public Health has a decent Twitter following, with over 1,200 followers. Surprisingly no Facebook,  yet.


#16) University of Washington School of Public Health

The University of Washington School of Public Health got a boost from its presence on Pinterest. Pinterest is still fairly new, and only time will tell whether it will be useful to schools trying to reach prospective students.

#17) Loma Linda University School of Public Health

Loma Linda ranks lowest on Facebook. This is one of the most important social media sites, so they should really consider ramping up their Facebook activity.


#18) University of Florida College of Public Health Professions

The University of Florida College of Public Health Professions has done a great job with their YouTube Presence and has a respectable amount of activity on both their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

#19) University of Maryland School of Public Health

Adding YouTube to the mix would be the next logical step for the University of Maryland School of Public Health. They are already in the top 10 for Facebook and Twitter. With an active YouTube account, they might just be able to work their way into the top 10 overall next year.

#20) Colorado School of Public Health

The Colorado School of Public Health landed a #10 ranking for Twitter and a #15 ranking for Facebook. Their YouTube account could use some more attention. So far, they have uploaded only ten videos.

#21) University of Texas School of Public Health

The University of Texas School of Public Health has a pretty strong Facebook presence. Their Twitter and YouTube accounts would both benefit from more attention.

#22) San Diego State University Graduate School of Public Health

San Diego State University Graduate School of Public Health beat out the next two schools, the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and Texas A&M School of Rural Public Health, by less than one-tenth of a point.

#23) University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health

The Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health is doing a good job with Facebook, but should consider adding a presence on YouTube.

#24) Texas A&M School of Rural Public Health

By increasing their activity on Twitter and YouTube, Texas A&M could easily move up the list next year.

#25) University of Georgia College of Public Health

The University of Georgia College of Public Health barely made the list, winning out against Saint Louis University School of Public Health by a fraction of a point. Better luck next year, St. Louis.

Getting Social Media Right at Your School

For schools that want to step up their social media game, it’s important to have a strong presence on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Once you get your following established on those sites and get into the habit of posting regular updates, you can start adding some of the other sites.


Remember that real students are searching out your school’s social media accounts to get more information about the school. Have someone monitor the accounts regularly and interact with your followers. By engaging prospective students, you make them feel like they are already a part of your school. That feeling of belonging makes it more likely that your school will be their top choice when the time comes for them to decide.

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